Foam

Lots of things fascinate me. Today I went with my mother-in-law and sister-in-law to a foam and upholstery shop to replace the foam inside the seat cushion of my mother-in-law's favorite chair. Now, it really wouldn't have occurred to me to do such a thing. I would have considered the chair old and ready to be replaced. But mom just wanted new foam. So we found a shop that did such a thing. The place looks like its been around for 30 or more years. It is one of those places where, no matter where you look, you see something interesting. Old signs and notices, any kind of upholstery you can imagine. The telephone was the old rotary kind. Even the cash register looked like it was from the 50s or 60s with the buttons and the bell when the drawer opened. I love places like that. They have so much character.

When we walked in, the owner was cutting foam for another customer, who was refinishing a camper. It was measure, mark, cut. Very quick and very accurate. The foam was cut with an electric saw. I was enthralled with the way the man worked; no unnecessary movements. You knew he had done this thousands of times. We had the chair cushion with us. The man traced around it on a thick piece of foam, cut it out, again quickly and accurately, and glued batting on it to make it more cushiony. More customers came in behind us and I could have stayed all day watching.