Family History

This is a intricately carved room screen from Thialand. The best part? It is now in MY dining room. Sadly, my husband's mother died recently. She died too young, we weren't ready to already be burying a parent. As things took the normal cycle after a family member dies it came to retrieving things from her possessions that meant something special to her son. This was the only thing he wanted.

This room screen was brought back from Thailand by Steve's father. He was a navigator in the Air Force and after a tour of duty hauled back this 70 pound screen on a military transport. It was a gift to his wife, Steve's mom. Steve says any house his family lived in, that he can remember, had one unifying element, this stunning screen.

It took us some time to get it to Alaska. The shipping was several hundred dollars. The packaging was nerve wrecking. Pieces of wood connected by an eighth of an inch didn't seem likely to make a journey of thousands of miles. Steve reminded me it made it to the U.S. from Thailand but it was of little comfort. When he handed it to the UPS employee I felt we were making an awful mistake.

But it made it! The damage was minimal and easily repaired. The best part is this family history is now part of our lives. And what beautiful history!