Quilt As You Go, Simply Done

Simply Done

Playing Pool

Do you Play Pool or Billiards?

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We decided, on the spur of the moment, to go to Anchorage for the weekend so that Tom could play in the Fur Rondy Pool Tournament. First, for anyone not in Alaska, Fur Rondy has its traditions in the old fur trade (furs are still traded today) and as a break in the monotony of the tremendously long arctic winters.

When Sarah and her cousins were growing up, it was the highlight of our winters. I’d bundle up the kids and we would go to the carnivals (outdoors rides like ferris wheel, tilt-a-whirl) then go see the snow sculptures, maybe stay late enough for the fireworks. Then we would do the indoor stuff. Craft fairs, face painting for the kids, whatever sounded interesting 🙂

That kind of stuff waned as they became teenagers, so I haven’t really participated in any of the Rondy events in years. In the past I had visited one of the local pool halls, in the basement of a popular bar, just to see what it looked like, but you could cut the cigarrette smoke with a knife and I can’t stand the smell of it, so I quickly left (besides it was intimidating with all the guys concentrating on their shots and games).

Anchorage banned smoking in restaurants and bars a few years ago and the pool hall moved to a new location so I was in for quite the surprise.

Anchorage Billiard Palace was an exceptional treat. So much so that I gave up the chance to shop for fabric, poke around for a few antiques and all the other errands that I put on my list when I heard “two whole days in Anchorage”.

Tom taught me to play pool and he’s very, very good at both playing and teaching. He placed on both Saturday and Sunday, in 8 Ball and 9 Ball, and I thoroughly enjoyed watching him and the other players in the tourney. Most of all, the staff at the Billiard Palace was outstanding. Polite, friendly, warmly meeting the needs of all the players and spectators, allowing me to take video of the room, they are the reason I’d go again. I am shy by nature and a hermit in my old age, so it takes a *lot* to get me out of the house, but I’m thinking about putting in the practice hours on the table so that I don’t embarrass myself if I ever play at the Billiard Palace. I put up a poll on the right hand side of the blog, at the top, because I am curious – do you play?

Some of the things I loved the best: 12 nine foot tables, good lighting, great staff, dress code for men and women, no children allowed, central location in Anchorage and the nicest, most interesting people I’ve chatted with since I came back from Quilt Market.

I did get to see Sarah and Audrey for breakfast and some fabric shopping, but afterward I couldn’t wait to get back to the games! If you have never been inside, here’s what it looked like for most of Saturday and Sunday:

Storage space under the stairs

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Well, the old 8 foot pool table is *GONE*! I can hardly believe it. Sometimes I go downstairs just to check that it really is gone! The pool room is cleaned up and clear of clutter, with new barstools – nice! Tom is going to build a small table to complement the barstools – we have the design all worked out but we need to wait for the logs to thaw for milling.

Tom had to completely knock out all of the stairs to get the slate out of the basement and when he put them back in he reinforced the treads from the underside. Then I started cleaning, sanding and priming. There used to be a closet door on the tall side (he took it off, frame and all) and the angled side used to be closed in with plywood, making the enclosed space virtually useless.

We are going to store all the canning supplies (about 12 cases of jars) way in the back, on rollers so they can be pulled out easily, and then Tom’s going to build some shelving. I’d like a small office area, just for typical desk clutter. He is happy just to get the jars out of the way!

New 9′ Pool Table!

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Hurray! We have a new to us (used) 9 foot pool table in the basement and the basement floor is cleared of clutter allowing us room to play! How cool is that?! This has been a year (plus) long endeavor and we still have to get the parts of the 8′ table out of the basement – no mean feat in itself.

Tom did an absolutely awesome job of leveling and smoothing the table and together we stretched the cloth. It is sweet!

Now the chore is clearing out under the stairs to the basement, knocking out the stairs, suspending the winch from the roof rafters and winching up the single sheet of 4′ by 8′ (1″ thick) slate without breaking it. Then we have to lift (no winching) the base of the table up and out of the basement – all in 1 piece. The ball return is built into the base and there’s no taking this baby apart. She went into the basement as a single unit and will come out the same way, about 30 years later. Tom and his brother Steve grew up in the house and learned to play pool on this table.