One evening after dinner, Albert was drinking a cup of tea and browsing a catalog of herbs from around the world. He would often order away for special ingredients to remake recipes that had become overly familiar to him. As he looked down the lists, he noticed a very special mint leaf that had just been added to the catalog. It was a rare type of Japanese mint which only grew near the base of Mt. Fuji. Albert excitedly placed his order that night and began to imagine all the different types of things he could make with this unique ingredient.
04.28.2021
One notable thing about this image is the arm chair. It is roughly based on a chair I have that was my paternal grandfather’s. The upholstery of the chair is in pretty rough shape and has been as long as I can remember. If you look past the peeling, marbled red vinyl, you can see the multi-green covering that was on the chair in its previous iteration. The bones of the chair are strong though, and one day we’ll get it spruced up again. My fondness for the chair has some to do with how comfortable and sturdy it is and much to do with the fact that it is something that belonged to my Grandpa Carl. He died before I was born, and I always wished I had gotten to be around him. He loved sports and was a hog farmer. He was the first person in the United States to sell a pig for $10,000; I remember seeing the newspaper clipping as a kid. The buyers were a group of Japanese businessmen who were building stacked animal pens like high-rises back in Japan. I always remember my dad sharing that one of my Grandpa’s dreams had been to go into sports journalism, but that when it came time for him to go to college, he paid for his sister to go instead. I’ve always admired him for that, and it’s always kind of broken my heart, too. It’ll be good to get the chair reupholstered someday, but to tell you the truth, I’m pretty comfortable with the tatters too.
