excerpt from;  IF Not For You     by Joanna Fuchs

                                                                If not for you, I’d be adrift;
                                                                  I don’t know what I’d do;
                                                         I’d be searching for my other half,
                                                                 Incomplete, if not for you  

I will be strolling along the Liffey as I meander around Dublin's quaint antique shops. Perhaps I'll chance upon a matched pair of Irish occasional tables like these.

In my research preparing for this trip, I have learned that very few pieces of furniture made before the 17the century survived because of  pillaging and burning of homes by invaders of the Irish isle.
Irish furniture made during the early eighteenth century can be identified by low relief carvings of eagles' heads, rosettes, winged birds lions' masks, goblin heads, scallop shells and baskets of flowers.Shell motifs are common on chairs, settees, and tables. Plainer Irish furniture and the more elegant type existed concurrently.
By the late 18th Century, when Irish furniture followed London fashions closely, mahogany and satinwood that was brought over on ships from the West Indies to Ireland. The Irish Georgian furniture can be spotted by the deep carvings of masks along with hairy paw feet.

As I pack my bags, and organize my selection of antique shops and museums to visit while in Dublin, I am certain to "chance upon" additional locals - let's hope the luck-o-'the-Irish prevails.

A Note to my varnish stain handed husband:  DDUP  xxx ooo

                                                 If not for you, I’d never have
                                                  The pleasures of romance.
                                                I’d miss the bliss, the craziness,
                                                  Of love’s sweet, silly dance.