[Keggy]

And I have to tell someone else... so you guys are the one to hear this!

Ok... background... I have been spending the day rearranging my bedroom furniture with my husband... looks cozy now too. He spent an hour or two trying to get this nail polish stain out of the carpet... its been there 12 years, (tiny stain now large) but the carpet looks great otherwise... but anyhow as you can guess the bedroom is now fumy.

More background... (sorry!) I have a dysfunctional family up the kazoo, and one of the many things that has gone on is that my sisters have taken most of the family herilooms and let me have diddly... my mother does the same and its been a huge issue for me. There have only been 4 things I wanted, a painting of the Montauk lighthouse my grandfather did many, many years ago that was stolen (I believe by my sis). A ring that he had in his jewlery box with no significance to anyone but me, and worth little that my mom gave to my daughter (who then lets me wear it) a cookie jar my mom got as a gift 50 years ago she gave to my sis, and a needlepoint that my great grandmother did that my grandfather gave to me... and my mom gave to my sis (yeah).

Ok... so now you see this is a bit of therapyto unload this... anyway....

There were lots of other artifacts that were treasures in the family that my sisters got, but those were the ones that I wanted. Ultimately, I have the ring... but thats another story.. its not mine.

Well, today after cleaning the bedroom I was picking up this old watercolor painting that no one had wanted that was in my bedroom. I wanted to take the old frame off (the glass had broken tearing the painting) and store the painting in my portfolio until I could get it fixed and reframed... thought it may look cool. I took it out of the frame and tried to put it in the portfolio but it was too big with the mat on it.

SO I started to remove the mat... its old and dingy anyway. My grandfather had taped it on the painting in about 8 places so I was carefully peeling off the tape. The painting was tearing every two seconds and ... really upsetting me!! But I suddenly realized that there was a second piece of paper behind the painting and it seemed to have a painting on it too! I lifted it up and lo and behold it was a painting of the lighthouse just like the one that was stolen years ago!!!

You wouldn't beleive the chills that went through my body!

I thought maybe I was dreaming or had passed out from the fumes from the nail polish remover!! This is like one of the freakest things!! Can you imagine! THis painting has been sitting in someones corner since 1978, nobody wanted it, which is why I got it!! My grandfather must have accidently put two water colors together and wondered what happened to that second one. Anyone else may have ditched the painting entirely after the glass broke, and tore the painting... but... being as I got so little I wanted to repair it.
Now I have that painting I always wanted..
Is that bizzarre or what?

[moose53]

OMG, ((((((Keggy))))))!!

That's a message from your Grandpa. I don't know how long it's been since he's passed, but, he put a lot of effort into contacting you now.

WOW!!

Have you ever read this: http://butterflywebsite.com/discover...ndrainbows.cfm

WOW!! I think your Grandpa must have had an incredible sense of humor!!

Hugs.

Barbara

[Milivica]

First, not only very very cool, but kinda eirie!

Second, any chance there was more than one lighthouse painting, maybe didn't like a thing or two about one so did another?

Third, how the heck can 12+ year old carpeting look great??

Mili

[Keggy]

My gp died in 1978. He never did the same scene twice, so we think he may have done this one and when he lost it .... he went back and did it again. This would make the one I have the true original, which is kinda cool.

12 year old carpeting can look great if you stay out of the room. THis is my bedroom and I am in a two story house, we only go up there pretty much to go to bed. The carpeting is actually 17 years old, the stain is 12. The one time one of dd's sneaky friends got in the room.

[Milivica]

Originally Posted by Keggy

This would make the one I have the true original

Really really neat, like one of the coolest 'karma' type stories I've ever heard.

[Wittesea]

OMG I know EXACTLY how that feels.

My grandfather passed away when I was very young (I was 7 I think), and my grandmother passed away in 1998.

My grandfather used to own his own business (it was a very unique business he was the only one in the state to do this particular thing), and when my gram passed away we were all saddened to find that there was no remaining business cards or posters that were used as business ads for grandpas business - we always thought there were at least some left somewhere, but they were all gone.

So as we were cleaning the house and deciding who gets what there was this very large very ugly painting above the couch - it was one of those gas station paintings that people were given free with a fill-up all those years ago.

Everyone else wanted to just throw it out, and it did actually sit outside near the grabage bins for 2 days, but the frame my grandpa used on the ugly painting was great, so when I came to help with cleanup and clean out I brought it back in from the garbage and took it apart because I wanted the frame...

...and lo and behold, I found 10 business posters behind the ugly painting. He had used them to so that the thin ugly painting would fit in the big thick frame.

10 business posters - and he had 3 children and 7 grandchildren - and they were all in perfect condition because they were protected behind the ugly painting for over 30 years. So now we all have an original business poster that has been matted and framed properly in our living rooms. They are so old that the phone number for the business has only 5 digits.

It's so amazing and so bizarre, just like your find Keggy. So I guess our stories can be a lesson to people - don't ever throw out anything in a frame until you take it apart.

[Pamster]

Wow Keggy! That is unreal! I am so happy you found it and it wasn't lost for good in the trash. It just goes to show you should always look for the diamond in the rough.

[Keggy]

You know its funny Moose about that link. I have heard before about the butterflies being a message from a deceased person. My father died last year this month, and I have been saying all month I have never seen butterflies in my yard... at least not like we have this year.
To be true... we never get butterflies, just moths.

Gp died 27 years ago last spring.... but this painting has been sitting idle even longer than that. You know it is really expensive to reframe these babies, but my new job has a framing shop that allows me to frame stuff dirt cheap. Timing is everything.

Wittsea... thats a good story!

[moose53]

((((((Keggy)))))),

Isn't it amazing how 'things' seem to sometimes just FIT TOGETHER so well.

Like: your Grandpa knew that you *really wanted* the painting; he kept it in a safe place until you were ready (and financially able) to give it a proper hanging.

Sometimes -- sometimes -- when you really pay attention to what's going on around you, you can see so many wonderful and miraculous things all coming together in time and in location to fit one purpose.

I missed my bus home once when I was working. So, I decided to go down to Harvard Square and catch another bus. There was a pervert there dropping his trousers to the music (I guess he though he was 'dancing'). So ... by the time I got the police to come over and scoop him up, I missed another bus.

Then, the elevator in the subway station was not working.

So...I started walking down the stairs to the subway. There was an old man (mid 70s at least) walking down the stairs in front of me. He stepped on one of those flyers that they're always handing out and started to fall head-first downstairs.

I grabbed him (thank God for my home health aide training) and screamed for the man and woman in front of him on the stairs to grab him too. All three of us caught him. The guy in front wanted to wait like that until security came. I said the guy's gonna pass out -- he's upside down. So, because of my home health aide training, I knew how to flip him while hanging onto him and sat him on the steps between my legs. His heart was pounding so hard, I thought he was going to stroke out.

If I hadn't missed two buses and ran into one pervert and two police officers and one broken elevator. AND, if the other two people hadn't been on the steps in front of the old man, I would not have been able to catch him by myself.

And he would have fallen head-first down two flights of steep stairs. I shudder to think what would have happened to him. So, the four of us (with some side characters thrown in) all came together in space and in time to save that old man's life

There's so much "fitting together" of circumstances in our lives, it's really amazing.

And, still, I sit here with my mouth hanging open, 'cause your Grandpa figured out a good and safe way to store a beloved painting until you were ready for it.

Ain't life grand

BIG HUGS.

Barbara

PS: You should pay attention the animals when they're behaving differently -- they could be there with a message for you!!

[Keggy]

I am big on quantum physics.... and that nothing happens without a reason.
(Coincidence --- phooey!!)
I know by just telling you guys this story it can be a link to a larger chain of events.