Home Furnishings as Comforting as Food

Fall officially arrived in the third week of September. But it wasn’t until one day last week, when the temperature dipped and the wind picked up enough to blow most of the leaves off the trees, I made a beeline for the kitchen and my mother’s stew with dumplings recipe. This past weekend, I shopped for a big boned roast, so I could make soup. Yes, with the first little hint of what winter will bring, I’m reaching for those comfort foods that I know will keep the chills away.

But what if furniture from Cymax Stores could do the same thing as a hearty bowl of homemade soup or your favorite casserole?

While we’re waiting for dinner to cook, let’s sip a nice glass of full-bodied wine. Ornately appointed and sumptuous, the American Drew Bordeaux Upholstered Back Arm Chair is unabashedly traditional. Carved arms, classic decorative motifs and a medium dark wood finish make this occasional chair worth tasting.

Bordeaux not to your liking? Let me pour you a glass of Cabernet 2-Piece Armoire by Accent Furniture instead. Featuring door fronts with recessed oval panels and classic bail hardware, this armoire has plenty of room for everything you need to safely store away. Transitional, but with traditional decorative elements like crown molding, this armoire has plenty of style, too.

For the main course, there is Beef Tenderloin in a Grand Marnier Sauce or a Stanley Furniture Louis Louis Marble Top Cherry Night Stand in Grande Marnier Finish. Full bodied and versatile, the textured marble top creates visual interest. The roomy drawers provide convenient storage solutions.

No meal is complete without dessert. The South Shore Furniture Back Bay Dark Chocolate Platform Bed is rich and delectable with its smooth, yummy finish. The lines are soothing and have a distinctly modern appeal.

Let’s finish off the evening meal with the Alphaville Redondo Arm Chair in Espresso. The sensuous lines of the back and arms lend this club-style chair a comfortable and inviting appearance. A great place to relax while sipping a cup of coffee, it would look great parked in front of a fire. That would certainly be the perfect remedy to a cold winter day.

Presto the Dog

Within weeks of being brought home, Presto’s owner had originally given him the name Rover. The young Border collie’s fearless dawn-to-dusk strays far from the house and barn on that remote and massive Saskatchewan farm made it a fitting choice, and in the sweltering heat of that summer “Rover” got to know every inch of the place like the back of his paw.

It wasn’t until fall passed into the brutal prairie winter that he earned his new moniker. Each day, as the deadly cold night bullied the sun over the horizon, the farmer and his wife would each bring in an armload from the woodpile and build a heartily warm fire in their fireplace.

Somewhat to their surprise, the change of seasons hadn’t changed Rover’s routine one bit. Indifferent to the snow and howling wind, Rover would foray out into the endless stretch of white each morning with a fresh set of paw tracks for any who might be so hardy as to follow him.

One night, only minutes after the flames had fully taken hold of the stack and the couple had taken their seats, there came a scratch at the door. Rover accompanied the gust of frigid air that invaded the room as the farmer opened the door but for a second. At first he seemed apprehensive to approach the strange light, but as the ice beads around his snout melted with each tentative step, Rover was utterly hooked on the nightly fire.

The next day, the fact that Rover disappeared into the frozen expanse came as no surprise. The fact that his arrival that evening came only shortly after the flames had again filled the windows with an azure glow was determined to be a “coincidence.” Some five days to a week later, there was no way his clockwork arrival could be seen as a coincidence any longer.

The flames began to light the room and the heavenly warmth reclaimed the air of the home. As the farmer sank into his recliner with a contented smile, the wife chose to break from the norm and moved to the door instead. Peering through the glass, it was only minutes before a familiar shape came labouring through the snow banks. She opened the door just as he drew near and jokingly said “Presto!” as is she had conjured a chilly pooch from the night.

Needless to say, it stuck.

The routine was played out nearly every night between early November and March for years and years. I say nearly because as Presto grew older there was the occasional time he’d skip his daily jaunt and stay in, particularly if the grandkids were up from Regina for a stay. Most nights, however, the tiny orange-ish glow on the horizon meant it was time for him to hurry back across the wasteland to enjoy his beloved fire-time.

Eventually, the time came that the old man’s age necessitated an end to their farming days and, at 13, Presto was getting on in years as well. The couple sold the farm and moved into a Regina town home to be near the family. With all the time in the world, they had plenty of it to invest in new hobbies; one of which was figuring out how to use the home computer their son-in law had bequeathed to them. The Mrs. developed a fondness for online shopping.

The transition to “city life” wasn’t a smooth one for old Presto. As much as he enjoyed the walks to the store or to the lake with the old man, they just didn’t have the same sense of the rural unknown to them. And of course, the fact the town home didn’t have a fireplace meant there was something missing each time they arrived home on a winter evening. Presto wasn’t much for central heating, however adequate it might have been. Furthermore, the Mrs. was always on that computer when he got home, perusing something called cymaxstores.com. Presto preferred her knitting with a mug of tea and a lap-blanket, much more classic as far as he was concerned.

One night, as Presto and his beloved owner returned from a suitably sub-zero ice fishing trip, a forgotten yet familiar sight greeted Presto as they came through the door. Could it be, he thought, wondering if his failing eyes might have been deceiving him? The Mrs. was eagerly observing him as a he slowly and apprehensively moved across the room, much the same as he had so many years ago, toward the flames. Her new Classic Flame Electric Fireplace wouldn’t be popping the embers that would grab Presto’s attention like the old farm one did, but it did have the same visual appeal and radiating warmth for the old boy, and she could almost sense his joy as he plunked himself down in front of it. In fact, the kids and the grandchildren became so enamoured with it that they too chose a Real Flame Heritage Fireplace from the expansive selection of fireplaces at Cymax Stores Online.

This of course meant that Presto could enjoy his winter evening fire even on the nights when the grandparents traveled cross-town to see the grandkids, including his favourite, Christmas Eve. Long after everyone had retired, they’d leave the fireplace switch on and Presto would lie there as content as could be.

Just like old times.

Snow Day!

Brrr. It’s cold these days. The kind of frosted, bone-rattling chill that Vikings and black-metal bands are always talking about. But people who are baffled by snow and slush and wind in the throes of winter irritate me. What do you expect, when our world is a mere blip amidst an endless cosmic vacuum of freezing cold? Sunny skies and tropical heat? Mere illusion! Cold is the nature of the universe, and the Second Law of Thermodynamics says that things are only getting colder. Get used to it, princess.

Therefore, here’s what I think we should all do: let’s have a childhood fantasy Snow Day and embrace this bitter cold. What else is there to do? Stand around and ask each other if it’s cold enough yet? Oh, it will be cold enough. Yes indeed.

To start the day, eat one of those fruit-flavored oatmeal packets that you just add water to. Mmm. Peaches and creamy. Add extra brown sugar on top, just to be sure it’s sweet enough to make your teeth shrivel. Pick up your books and throw them on the floor. Who needs those today? Not you, my friend. It’s Snow Day!

If you are a pansy, you should bundle up as warm as possible. It's never cool to wear a hat and scarf and mittens, but today you are throwing fashion to the wind. After all, there is a lot of work to be done. Snowmen (or is it snowpersons?), snow angels, snow forts and, best of all, snow fights. In our Snowmaginarium, the snow has a perfect wet to dry ratio, allowing for perfect snow stickiness. No harsh, gravel-filled iceballs today! That is, unless your annoying neighbour walks by -- then you become the Wendigo, delivering a pelting snow-storm to drive the jerk to his frosty doom.

Your day passes in a blaze of soft downy flakes. Finally, red-faced and panting, you run indoors. Your cardiovascular system is begging you for mercy after a full day of exercise and fresh air. After devouring hot soup and a grilled cheese sandwich, it’s time to relax with family by the fire.

Everyone’s in a good mood, because despite the overwhelming snow and sub-zero temperatures outside, something about a hot toddy in front of the fireplace puts everyone at ease.

Make sure you end your best ever Snow Day with a fireplace from Cymax. With just the flick of a switch, you can turn off the flames, go upstairs to bed and dream of a lifetime filled with Snow Days. And hot toddys.