Brooks Robinson and the Baltimore Orioles

[BaltOrioles]

Let me preface today's post with a short story. My wife and I were high school sweethearts and in a few weeks will be celebrating our 41st anniversary (46 years together). Kathie knew I was an Orioles fan and collector. She didn't walk into this blindly. We've lived in the same house for nearly 40 years and raised our family there. When we moved in, I was given a small area off the downstairs family room to display/store my collection. Forty years ago it seems adequate.

Fast forward to last summer. The boys have long moved into their own homes and we are empty nesters. We had a piano in the family room that no one had played for years. I suggested to Kathie that someone might enjoy the piano and I could expand my territory. She said if I could find someone to take the piano without damaging the floor, she would part with it. Now it was a 100 yr old heavy, heavy piano and I don't think she thought I could get rid of it. It took me all summer, but just before we left for Florida in October, some friends from church and I delivered the piano to a lady about 20 miles away.

Last week, IKEA opened back up and we made the 8 hour round trip from Maine to Boston to pick up my shelves. This week I've been redesigning my space and discovering items I haven't seen in awhile. I'm no interior designer and my space is limited, but I'm happy with the results.

Here are some photos of the new space. I'll also post some pictures of the original room.

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