I guess summer is over. Josie’s back at school.
I’ve never been one of those moms who looked forward to the beginning of the school year. I like summer and I like my kids. But I work at home so having them around never added to my stress levels like all those poor, unfortunate working mothers…
It’s funny; when the women’s movement told women it was okay to work outside the home, they forgot to mention that it would become nearly impossible not to.
Tell folks you raise horses or orchids and they look all impressed and think you’re special. Tell them you raise humans and their eyes glaze over and they look for someone interesting to talk to. As if horses or orchids were easier to raise than quality humans. As if society isn’t showing the results of not raising quality humans.
I digress.
I didn’t realize just how many projects I had going on that needed to be finished before I took Josie back to school until the day we packed up the van.
I had found a beautiful old vanity that had no mirror that made an excellent desk for her. She asked if I could refinish it, so I did. It was that hideous orange color that so much wooden furniture from the 50s and 60s is. I stripped it and re stained it with two different colors of very dark brown. I layered ebony over English oak. I also learned that it doesn’t pay to skip sanding. Sanding opens the pores of the wood so the stain takes. Big ‘duh’ there.
I found some really nice hardware to replace the nasty knobs and handles that came with it. When we remodeled our kitchen (back in ’98), it took me three tries to get the kitchen hardware correct. The way handles and knobs feel is just as important to me as the way they look. I’d put some really nice stuff on the cupboards and a year later Jay bought a wall clock that convinced me that the burnished brass I’d chosen was completely wrong and that brushed nickel would be a 100% improvement. I kept the burnished brass and have used nearly all of it elsewhere. There were still several handles and knobs in a drawer in the little bedroom and they looked spectacular on the desk. Now all the knobs are gone but I’ve still got two of the original handles, should I need them.
A month or so ago, Josie found a little white dresser on the boulevard. Her first piece of ‘found’ furniture! You have no idea how much of my stuff was someone else’s garbage. I learned from my mother and grandmother that tons of treasure can be found in the trash. This little dresser is not a quality piece of furniture but it was just the size she needs and the price was certainly right. Her idea was to switch out the knobs for apothecary pulls.
With four drawers, this free dresser needs 8 pulls. I shopped around and the style she likes cost between $5 and $7! Good thing the dresser was free. I found some really nice cup pulls at menard’s. They have a black finish and instead of the classic apothecary style, are a bit elongated with a rectangular back. The size and shape compliment the dresser perfectly. I thought the original pulls, which were white, plastic and completely nasty, were a standard three inches. I was wrong; they were two and a half. This meant I had to drill a new hole for each of the new pulls. No prob; that’s why I own a drill.
I quickly made new holes, spacing them so the old ones would be hidden beneath the plates of the new pulls. That’s when I discovered that the bolts that came with the new pulls were so short they didn’t clear the drawer fronts.
Much cursing ensued.
I never used to curse. Then I had kids who were raised in a gym. I don’t curse like a sailor now, but I curse like someone who knows where the Marina is.
Further examination of the new cup pulls gave me the answer to my dilemma: I grabbed a much larger drill bit and recessed the fronts. I was able to fit all cup pulls flush to the dresser and fit the tiny bolts through the drawers.
The black knobs on the white dresser look fantastic! Just the right contemporary touch to make the ultra cheap dresser look like a nice piece of furniture. I told Josie if the dresser falls apart, keep the pulls, as they are worth more than the particle board it’s made of.
I worked on those two pieces most of August. I also pulled out an end table I’d bought at an estate sale last spring. I’d primed it months ago but put it aside to do other things. Two weeks ago, Josie asked if she could have it. She thought it would make an excellent bedside table.
I had no plans for its eventual use, so of course I gave it to her. We discussed what it should look like, I bought some paint and got to work.
I bought the table because it had a lot of interesting detail. The top had a raised, scalloped edge so the things placed on the table couldn’t roll off. The apron was decorated with simple carved shapes and it had a lower shelf that had slightly bowed edges. The legs were nice and straight and the wood was plain, with a bad finish. In short; it begged to be painted.
Josie wanted shades of blue so I used Admiral Blue (Benjamin Moore; Ace hardware will mix sample pints for $7. Pints are the perfect size when painting furniture) and Snow White. I mixed my own shade of pale blue. I did the legs, scallop and edged the shelf in the darkest blue, used the pale as an accent color on the apron and decorative edges and filled the apron detail with metallic gold. On the top, Josie requested a sailboat scene, which I painted. On the lower shelf, I painted a checked pattern of the blues. The whole thing is very fun and pretty. I varnished only the sailboat scene; the rest is house paint and very durable.
When I fetched her from school last May, it seemed like we had all the time in the world; the whole summer! Two weeks ago, I nearly panicked when I realized how much I still had to finish before she returned. So, I buckled down and got it all done.
It’s a relief to have all those things checked off my to-do list.
Friday, Jay and the kids went to the Fair. Saturday, we packed up the van and drove Josie back to school. I was glad Jay came with; it was a lot more fun for me than if I’d had to drive home by myself. We met Josie’s roommates. They’ve all been friends for a while. One is an economics major, the other a geneticist. Josie’s also majoring in science. No room for dumb in that apartment.
After we emptied the car into her room, we went to the grocery store and stocked her up. She won’t go hungry for a week or two, anyway.
Jay and I had a lovely drive home.
It’s not so hard to leave your child at school when you know she’s in a great situation.