This apartment turned out to be a very cozy, pleasant and safe haven for both of us. I used to stop by every day to visit with her on my way home from work. These visits were a huge comfort to me as my marriage of 10 years was deteriorating at a dangerously rapid rate. Then one late evening at the end of June, things got to the point where I felt it necessary to steal away from my home in Wylie and go over to the apartment to stay. This stay turned into a few days, then weeks, and finally up until this month.
Here are some pictures of how the apartment looked before we finished packing it up for good today:
The first picture is of the Living Room, which was where we spent most of our time at home on the couch chatting, surfing on our computers, and watching TV. Watching over us on the couch was "Elaine", a beautiful lady in a tapestry named "Lady of Shallot", which is based on an 1888 oil-on-canvas painting by the English Pre-Raphaelite painter John William Waterhouse. The work is a representation of a scene from Alfred Lord Tennyson's 1832 poem "Lady of Shallot" in which the poet describes the plight of a young woman isolated under an undisclosed curse in a tower near King Arthur's Camelot.
According to legend, the Lady of Shalott was forbidden to look directly at reality or the outside world; instead she was doomed to view the world through a mirror, and weave what she saw into tapestry. Her despair was heightened when she saw loving couples entwined in the far distance, and she spent her days and nights aching for a return to normality. One day the Lady saw Sir Lancelot passing on his way in the reflection of the mirror, and dared to look out at Camelot, bringing about a curse. The lady escaped by boat during an autumn storm, inscribing 'The Lady of Shalott' on the prow. As she sailed towards Camelot and certain death, she sang a lament. Her frozen body was found shortly afterwards by the knights and ladies of Camelot, one of whom is Lancelot, who prayed to God to have mercy on her soul. The tapestry she wove during her imprisonment was found draped over the side of the boat.
"Elaine" was one of the guardian angels who watched over us this past year. We were blessed to have her!
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| The Living Room, Featuring "Elaine" and the Dogs |
Here is a picture of the actual painting:
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| "The Lady of Shallot" |
Next is a picture of the fireplace, which was right across the room from the couch:
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| The Fireplace with Elaine's Mirror |
We had a very pretty iron scroll on the fireplace, but I can't find any pictures of it. The picture is still a nice one though.
Here is a picture of our patio, which served as an extended Living Room for us during warmer weather:
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| The Patio |
And last, but not least is the beautiful "Princess Room" which served as our bedroom!
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| The Princess Room |
We just loved this room and have recreated it at the house we live at now!
We cleaned up the apartment for good today and turned the keys back in at the office. Right before we left, we said some parting words:
It looked so empty when we walked out for the last time and closed the door! We hope that the next tenant enjoys it as much as we did! Goodbye Apartment 145! We will remember you fondly!
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