The Great Lounge

The Great Lounge is where folks gather to relax around a warming fire, or simply contemplate the miracle of life as the boy Jesus and Saint Joseph gaze down protectively on all our guests.

Jesus was acquired from a junk shop in the Andersonville neighborhood of Chicago. We had gone to Sunday brunch. "How much for Jesus?" I asked.

"Seventy-five dollars," said the salesman.

We found ourselves back in the 'hood for brunch again just one week later.

"How much for Jesus?" I asked.

"Sixty-five dollars."

"We'll take it."

Jesus was heavier than we anticipated, weighing in at 85 pounds, so we both had to carry Jesus under our arms down the street to the car. We had parked in front of a Starbucks, and the entire coffeeshop came to a stop as we put the seat down and loaded him into the back of the car.

Today, we can say we're the proud owner of a well-hung Jesus.

Family history on display

The sectional sofa was orignally Grandma State's. It was covered with a lovely red and orange rose pattern, but we had it recovered with the multi-colored strip pattern before moving into Morgan Terrace. The lamp of the Giesha woman was won by Grandpa State in a blackout round of bingo. The yellow lamp with the leopard-print shade, fur, and frindge is a 1970s restoration lamp named Margarette.