i suppose i am not the first person to get suckered by the allure of antiques. but it feels like i am.
just before leaving miami i found a darling old wooden school desk at a garage sale (the kind with the little bench attached behind the desk, you know, like laura ingalls would have used?) and i wanted it. $20. i couldn't justify buying it a week before moving cross-country, tho. we had to mail everything that wouldn't fit in our car.so when we got here i magically happened on another one. different style. different price. did i mention it was in terrible condition? it wasn't until i'd wrangled the thing--which weighs as much as a tank--into my car and unloaded it at home that i realized it was almost certainly covered in (peeling) lead paint.
many months pass. many trips to the hardware store to buy: lead test kit, sand paper, wood filler, spackle knife, dust masks, rags, brushes, white lithium grease, biodegradable paint remover, red paint, primer, silver paint, more red paint, more primer, more silver paint...is this boring?
i hack away at the project hour by hour as Little sleeps. i ruin a tarp and a pair of jeans. i leave it outdoors exposed to the elements. rust happens. a black widow spider takes up residence and weaves a sac of baby black widow spiders. i continue the fight.
it's not quite over yet, but i am close. stay tuned for my redemption, should it ever come.
8 comments:
I am excited to see the finished project, as I'm sure you are as well! Remember that little couch I re-covered for Lyza? Yah, took me about 7 weeks to finish that monster!
hilarious! I have a visual and it is one reason I enjoy living vicariously through other people's projects.
You keep it going! good for you. I can't wait to see Laura Ingalls' desk restored to its original beauty!!
I can't believe you did exactly the same thing I did back when I had only three kids! First we have facial hair in common then antique school desks. I can't wait to find out what else lurks in our gene pool! A guy in our Arizona neighborhood bought a whole school room full of them and sold them for 5 bucks each. I bought two--a big splurge for me back then. I painted the metal parts on one bright red and the other bright yellow to accent the wallpapers in Alex's and Annie's room. And didn't even think about pealikng lead paint. Which may explain a lot of other things.
I can't believe you did exactly the same thing I did back when I had only three kids! First we have facial hair in common then antique school desks. I can't wait to find out what else lurks in our gene pool! A guy in our Arizona neighborhood bought a whole school room full of old desks and sold them for 5 bucks each. I bought two--a big splurge for me back then. I painted the metal parts on one bright red and the other bright yellow to accent the wallpapers in Alex's and Annie's room. And didn't even think about pealikng lead paint. Which may explain a lot of other things.
Oops! How did that happen? Oh, I know. I just wanted to edit my first comment then it wouldn't delete so I tried again but...oh, what the heck! First one to find the edit wins the prize.
Sometimes I enjoy your life more than my own. A cute little desk to bring back to life? It makes my excel program seem nerdy and pasty-white....wait, that's me.
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