Metamorphosis Monday and Thrifty Monday

Okay ladies. I admit, this is a very lame MM and TM. HOWEVER! If you look closely, for an MM, this DOES look better and for a TM, all I used were 3 or 4 staples. I'm not sure where the rope is to redo it.



The post originally was pretty cheap. Snickerdoodle dragged it home the summer she got DC. Cabinet Man put a new post on it and firmed it up and put new rope on it. I just wish it didn't sit in my LR....but honestly, that's pretty much the only place for it. If I put it in the den, DC would either scratch my beloved sofa OR Caleb would run into it while playing slobber chewy in the evenings.



So there is my VERY lame Metamorphosis Monday and Thrifty Tuesday. Take yourself over to Ravishing Rhoda's and Sensational Susan's at for the REAL metamorphoses and treasures that people have.

Grumble, grumble, neighbor, grumble

Can someone please explain to me why it is okay for the neighbor's kid to come into my house to play with Sunshine, but it is NOT okay for them to play inside her house?

It's been a pattern for years and I've not paid a lot of attention to it, but it's annoying me now. 'H' is a nice little girl, bit spoiled as she is the youngest and only girl and a several years younger than her brothers, similar to our house, but here the next one up is a sister, then brother, then brother.

But still...is there a real reason they cannot play indoors over there? EVER? Even when it is snowing and 25 degrees? I don't mind letting kids play over here, I'm much more amenable to it here because if they DO run in and out of the house, we hardly use the A/C until July, so my bills are not sky high as they were in Texas when they ran in and out (or tried to). They have to clean up before they leave and I am not above going and fetching her to clean up. And I ask Sunshine when she comes home if she helped clean up their mess.

But come on....your oldest brother is sleeping in because of prom the night before and he didn't get in until 3. So? If he was in that late, chances are he's not going to hear you. And they are usually very lame excuses (at least to another adult)I don't let them play over here if I've got a migraine, am trying to clean or having an "Eeyore' day, but still...there is not another house that she is not welcome at to come inside and play. I honestly hate to limit their playing or their playing indoors, but when I was a kid (in the Dark Ages), there were some homes that we wanted to play inside and other homes outside, but I can't think of any particular home where we were NOT allowed to play inside, ever. And it's not like they are particularly loud games...those go outside.

Okay, I guess I am just a real cranky pants about it.

Oh well.

ANOTHER complaint!

First it's dark, now College Dude is saying that it has a 'beachy vibe' going on. Okay, so I put my little flamingo collection in there. There are THREE of them, plus a palm tree. There isn't room for the candle and the beany baby doesn't do in the bathroom. And there is not room for Mildred and her lounge chair. so she and Tiffany hang out in the living room on the bookcase.



I don't consider that a 'beachy vibe' particularly as there are no shells, etc. (yet) Maybe I should redo the trim and cabinet white, but Cabinet Man had a cow when I suggested that. Might do it anyway.

So, here are the guys (and girl). Left to right is Jerry, Blanche and George.



Maybe HE should have stayed at the Holiday Inn Express.

Also texted Specialist this morning...here is our conversation.

Me: Hey, still got my pink flash drive.
Spc: Yeah. Y?
Me: Can you send it back? CD wants his back.
Spc: Okay.
Me: Be sure and wrap it in something before you drop it in the mail.
Spc: Okay, I'll do it when I get back to Wood.
Me: Oh? Taking a few days? Where r u?
Spc: Tennessee.
Spc: I think.
Me: How do you NOT know what state you are in????
Phone vibrates
Me: Hang on a sec (as I hightail it out of the unemployment office's "no cell phone zone".
Me: Okay. So where are you?
Spc: Tennessee. I was asleep when I got the text so I wasn't sure.
Me: Got a good friend in Memphis who would probably take you to lunch. Where are you going?
Spc: Savannah. A buddy is going to pick up his sister and then we'll swing thru Alabama and pick up his other sister and head back to base.
Me: Okay. Buy me postcards when you make pitstops and send them to me with the flashdrive.
Spc: (laughing) Okay.
Me: I have to get back to the computer. Drive carefully.
Spc: Love ya mom.
Me: Love you too.
Go back into unemployment office. muttering, "sleep is the ONLY acceptable reason for not knowing what state you are in."

Geez. Kids.

PS: Lampy, I'm still trying to get the pic/link working. Ladies, www.ward57.blogspot.com is their blog. Go visit. You'll be glad that you did.

I've had a complaint

From College Dude. The bathroom is darker. Okay, I need to change out the bulbs in there and yes it is darker. But seriously, you are a male college student who rolls out of bed, has breakfast, brushes your teeth and you are gone. The ONLY time you are in that bathroom is when you are brushing your teeth. I'm not convinced that you are ALLOWED to complain about it.

Kids!

I'm going to have to put a layer of a clear coat on the cabinet...it seems to want to rub off, But maybe that's just me. I got the cabinet doors put back on last night. I wish I could figure out an angle to take a picture of it...the size, the door placement and the hallway conspire to keep me from taking a picture. Or a decent one. I can get the towel rack, dog's water bowl and wall, or I can get the toilet, corner of the cabinet and wall.

Job applications

Sent out a few this week (between painting sessions!), and remembered that we have a pretty big hospital system here...should I apply? Or not?

See, several years ago when my contract position at GE expired, I applied for two jobs at the hospital. I was turned down (yeah, I know, unbelievable!) So I got the boilerplate letter in the mail, thanks but no thanks. I tossed it. Two days later I got the SAME letter for the SAME position...again. I tossed it. Over the next week, I got 5 more copies of the same letter for the same position. Okay, I get the message. I didn't get the job. You apparently think that I need to be told repeatedly in order to drill it into my brain that I am not worthy of being employed by the hospital system. Okay, I get it.

When the last letter arrived, I decided to Take Action. I pulled up the hospital website and found the HR administrator. I addressed a new letter to him, remarking that yes, I understood that they were not hiring me for that position, but it seemed to me that they needed someone who could work with IT and make sure that sort of careless mistake didn't happen again. A couple of copies could be written off to a simple error, but 7 or 8 letters over the course of a week? That's carelessness (or at the very least, lack of communication with IT and sloppiness.

And no, I never heard back from him, but it was a very witty and charming letter. I let hubby read it and he howled. Now, if I can just find the letter from a former co-worker...it was a refusal of a refusal letter...I'm sorry, but I have received so many refusals that I find it necessary to refuse one of them. I'll be there for work on Monday. I'll find it again...it was a very funny letter.

Off to the unemployment office tomorrow to make sure they got everything!

Oh yeah. I messed up the Praying for David button, but Lamp Tramp told me how to fix it. I'll do that in the AM...light came in our bedroom window starting at 4:30 this morning AND the birds started yelling at the tops of their little leather lungs...and we don't have trees in the back where our bedroom is! Does anyone know if they make a silencer for a shotgun?

Paint coat number TWO!

Okay, finished painting the bathroom with its second coat. Turned out I had another half gallon of paint out in the garage that was really close in color...so I dumped more white into it to stretch it a little more and water to thin it a bit...BACK up onto the countertop, toilet and a chair I dragged in there to do the bit around the wallpaper border AGAIN! For some reason it went faster this time. And do you know that if you use an 8" roller instead of a 4" one...you can get finished a LOT faster? I still had the 4" for around the trim and tight corners and that little bit between the 'incutting' of the border and the big roller stuff. Just to make sure. But I got the switchplates back up and I'll add the doors back on the cabinet and the mirror back on it. Then it is done.

And I have realized that I need a new rug in there. After pondering for a day or so, what I need is one of those old chenille ones...maybe 60s or so? They look almost cut out with a design around them. I know the one I want...in my mind...not sure if it exists.

It's really the bathroom for College Dude and Cabinet Man. Their toothbrushes are in there, etc. I never use it, guests do and Sunshine does. So I need to find a few hand towels for there...maybe just fingertip. We use paper towels in the half bath and kids' bathroom when school starts again...turns out it is more hygienic...I tried it a few years ago and we seem to have fewer colds. Admittedly, everyone but me had the flu this year, but that I consider that a fluke. The girls are in a school of 650 K-12 and CD is, well, in college...it's a big school but still...CM got it from the girls. I washed obsessively.

These pics are the two in that bath. The watercolor print is Paula Vaughn...might end up in our room when I redo that. The other is an enamel on copper that was a wedding gift. I don't really like it in there, but we'll see. I love the pic. CM's uncle owned an art gallery in San Antonio years ago and this was from there. It is still one of my favorite things we have. And I have the same problems photographing something with glass on it that everyone else does.



Well, that is today's stuff. No huge metamorphosis so I won't like to Susan's posts, but I do wish I'd taken a pic of the front porch. The wicker chair, bistro chair and plant stand are painted white, the door is done and the storm door done (for now). I really want a wooden screen door to go on there...guess I need to hit the ReSource store on the north side. I'll do that when I go back to the office to get the other antique dresser and the other wicker chair. The armoire is just going to have to wait til I get SOMETHING out of the garage!

I also dropped Sunshine off at a slumber party tonight and tomorrow when I pick her up, she's going to know everything! She's staying at a Holiday Inn Express! Yep, 5 9 YOs, one mom, tons of snacks to have a slumber party. ONE huge king size bed, another 'side' room with a wall to the ceiling and no door and a set of bunks inside...inside pool with a slide, breakfast on them...what a GREAT idea! But she is going to know everything ;D

I hurt.

This is why. I used an artist's brush.



I wanted to paint our half bath that hubby and College Dude use. I like the wallpaper border in there and didn't want to take it down. Besides, taking it down meant that I'd have to find something else for up there...and spend money and I didn't want to do that. I have no idea what to call the paint color, other than it is lighter than what I used on the front door. I think. Anyway, it only took a quart...roughly. I do need to take the few drops left down and have someone mix a pint (or maybe a quart) for me of it. It's been years since the walls in this house have been painted so it soaked up a lot. But touching up is no problem. We've got a humid (for us) weekend, so I'll let it sit til Monday.

Did I mention that I also used a 4" roller? Yeah. We're one vehicle right now and while normally that isn't a problem, Cabinet Man was onsite yesterday, so I couldn't dash over to the shop and take it. I KNOW that somewhere in the garage is a frame for an 8" roller. I saw it last week. Trim was taped off, mirror removed, etc. and I went to grab the roller and frame. Roller in my hand and I can't find the frame! Anywhere. I know it's there.

Have I also mentioned that I'm not real crazy about the fall and spring color combos of brown and blue? Guess what color my bathroom is. Yeah. I still might go back and do the cabinets/trim in white, but rather doubt it. The trim around the house inside is plastic, wood-grain stained an dark oak. I think it's supposed to be oak. Maybe it's just a pretend wood color. So he wanted it to not be too different from the rest of the house. Hey, he really doesn't ask much and let's me pretty much do whatever I want around here decor wise so....that's okay.

I'm going to take more ibuprofen...and read. Too humid to paint or anything today.

Dresser Party at Pretty Organized Palace

Well, stumbling around at other blogs, I ran across another party. And since I managed to find a CD of furniture pics yesterday, I'll play!

My FIL made a dresser for one of his boys at least 35 years ago. We received it around 20 years ago, give or take. It was just paneled, stained....green maybe? Antique-y sorta. Anyway, as Snickerdoodle was going to use it, I decided to paint it white. I was forgiven by MIL for painting it. Geez, it was for HER granddaughter...anyway. A few years later my older sister came up from Houston for a visit (ended up staying a month :D) We decided to work on Snickerdoodle's room. I'd made a pretty valance and cornice for the window, white metal daybed with pale green comforter on it and the white dresser. That needed work. So we dug through all my Mary Englebreit stuff, she had brought some of mom's old calendar up, and we bought a few cards. Extensive cutting out ensued (mostly by me) as I cannot paint. My older sister sure can, or rather could until her rheumatoid arthritis got the better of her. She sure could paint and draw. She still quilts and designs patterns. So, here it is. Probably 14 years later and I still love it. Needs to be touched up a little but it's still perfect to me.





I still think that I'll try to make some pretty drawer pulls for it. My MIL is not big on 'folk art' and wasn't impressed. I still don't think she likes it. She prefers the Masters and to each his own. I like some of the "Masters" but what makes them Masters? Their use of color and light? Their ability draw you in? I consider someone a Master if I can get lost in their pictures, am drawn to make up my own story or search out more of their art. But I also like certain types of folk art, and that is what I consider ME style to be. Folk Art. There is an innocence and a joy that I have seldom seen in the Masters...and what good is art if it doesn't evoke some sort of feeling inside or draw out an emotion. ME's art makes me smile. Plain and simple. And if that is not 'great art', then I question your definition of art. Her style is instantly recognizable and draws you in. I enjoy finding different things in it each time. And for the record, I was in a consignment shop that I frequented and I'd become friends of sorts with the owner. I was excited about the dresser (and an occasional table and bedside table that we had done) and took in pics. She offered me $600 on the spot for it...said she could probably sell it for $1000. I was quite surprised. I couldn't see paying a thousand for it, but this was the time when extravagant, over the top nurseries were taking off, so maybe she could. She was interested to see if we would do a glider rocker and ottoman set...but sheesh. There isn't enough money for the amount of work that went into it...and it was the shared time, the fun we had, the memories we made...and the heirloom. I've decided when my time comes...take the bottoms out of all the drawers and fold my legs up. I want to be buried in it ;D

Economic Statistic - TODAY--EDIT!

I have to add this update for Tuesday Morning - got a call around 7:45 from Joe...he is the truck foreman on the jobsite. He called to let me know that a new hire was going to call me around 8 and come by and pick up some information and then go for some testing. I had to explain to him that I wasn't there any more...he was really surprised. The funny part is that I wasn't gone 24 hours and they'd needed me. So that made me giggle. I can see where some expenses could maybe have been cut, but when you need a huge parking lot for those big dump trucks and belly dumps (the ones that open on their undersides to drop a load) and 18 wheelers and pavers...you need parking space and shop space to work on them. We'll see. I made sure not to burn any bridges ;D

Well, apparently corporate didn't think our little office needed my shining face around there this week, so they told me that today was it. Humph! Well, I never! I did think it odd they wanted me til Thursday, but it would give me a chance to clean up, label drawer and cabinets, teach my boss (again!) how to use the voicemail ;D, find the directions to change the message on the voicemail, show him which invoices were coded and ready to go, which ones were waiting on documentation, how to find the phone bill online, print it and get it coded and ready for payment (he'll gain an extra week doing it that way), notes on job applications, drug tests, etc. I hope I got him at least HALF the information I wanted to leave him. And if I remember anything else, I'll email it to him.

In the meantime, he let me leave two projects up there until I find room in the garage for them (so I have to get my fanny in gear)...and I have absolutely NO reason not to finish the two dressers and armoire, paint the bedroom and den (but I don't want to have to spend money on paint...but I have my heart set on two specific colors)...oh well. I was very good. I came home (2 hours early...if corporate didn't want me there, I didn't want to be there), unpacked most of my stuff (where am I going to put my flamingos? Blanche, Mildred, Beau and "I'm not sure yet what his name is" and the pics of my kids. Those will probably go on the wall behind the sofa...time to look for a table to go back there....and sent out two resumes. So I AM jobhunting.

But God provides. Cabinet Man has an appointment in the morning with a former potential client (long, weird story). This time the sister has taken over the remodel and this might end up being the job to carry us through the fall! Holy cow...that means I have to meal plan and grocery shop (nah...he's better than I am at it), and do the cleaning (this will be Snickerdoodle's senior year...maybe I need to find another name for her), I'm not sure if College Dude will ever move out,but since he's paying what loans and grants don't pick up, I can't begrudge him a place to sleep. Guess I need to clean out that closet after all if I can get to it.

But I'm not in the 'state' I was last time I got laid off...and the economy is worse and so are job prospects. Maybe I'm finally learning something. Either that or the drugs haven't worn off yet ;D

Thrifty Metamorphosis Monday.

I'm calling it a Thrifty Metamorphosis 'cause I used what I already had and free paint. How clever am I that I combined TWO blog posts into one? Yeah, give me a little credit. I've got to find room in my garage to bring home the projects from the shop bay at work since I won't have that space to work in...and I have NO clue where the armoire will go...I've been made to 'understand' that it cannot go to the shop...CM is ramping up for a kitchen project which means...NO space there at all...it'll be cramped in the garage for a couple of weeks, but if the weather holds, I can get some stripping and refinishing done and maybe try my hand at drawer repair. I'm hoping the bedroom furniture can be painted when he does a run of cabinets this week...again, clever incarnate. I want the furniture painted white, the kitchen cabinets that he is doing this week are white, so they'll just be sort of 'added' onto the run...my paint of course. He'll use the client's paint for the cabinets and mine for my bed furniture. Then I have to rearrange...oh dear, head hurts so I'll get to the point ;D

First was Sunshine's bed. Or rather, Specialist's bed. We had a loft system of bunks for the boys when they were little. They could then be converted to twin beds. We realized that it actually contains enough stuff for 3 twin beds. Specialist took one, Snickerdoodle had one and Sunshine had one. College Dude has the antique iron double bed. Apparently the Army provides beds (or he finally bought one), so Specialist left his here. I finally got into the garage and arranged and manhandled the thing to the old spray tables that CM left when he relocated the shop, and painted them white. I'd been dying to do it for a long time, but hadn't done it for one reason or another. They are pine...anyone remember Cargo furniture from 25 years ago? That's what it is. And that stuff has worn like iron all these years.


On it's way downstairs and out into the garage. Very plain and simple design, but timeless...barring the names, smiley faces, etc. engraved into it.

After:

I'll have to show off the quilt my mom made for her in another post. The comforter is looks faded and soft colors, very feminine, although it is not old at all. Hello Kitty was in the washer. I picked up the little lamp at Goodwill and the lampshade at Walmart for $1.50. It has a blue/white gingham ribbon around the top and bottom that I'll be changing out for pink and white. Because of the construct of the bed, regular bedskirts don't work well..so I cut the deck out of one, and stapled the ruffle to the siderail at the back. I could probably have made it a little short, but it's stapled on, so I can always shorten it that way. The other side isn't on yet. It was going to be shoved against the wall, but by putting her bedside table sideways against that wall, it gave us a LITTLE room beside the door. Very awkwardly designed room. The preferred corner for her bed is directly over the heating vent AND on two outside walls. It would be really cold, along with blocking the vent. There are only two corners that do not get the light in her eyes from the hallway and the bed is currently in one of them...but it shares a wall with the bathroom. See what I mean? I plan to figure out something later on this summer when we get her desk painted. Maybe put it under the window and a smaller bookcase? Who knows? I'll ask for help when the time is closer.

The other is our front door. It's been the ugly, original gray since we moved in. I'm not sure why I didn't paint it before, but I didn't. The inside was white...ugly. The gray might have been the original color of the steel door. I've never bought a front door before so....anyway. I've wanted a red front door for ages. I painted the front doors on our house in SugarLand a sort of maroon color, but they were cheap doors (thinking back, they might have been hollow core too--odd on front doors) so I didn't do much with them other than the paint. But I've been viewing my cousin's pics of her first trip to France and fell in love (again) with the blue doors) She takes stunning pics...my blog header is one of hers. I didn't want a black door, my neighbor across the street hates red doors and since she has to look at it, I kept deliberating. This is what she had to look at until today. It's actually light gray...primer gray.


Well, I had all this paint I brought home from the landfill. I was testing some for the half bath. Okay, that's too dark. Hmm...that's shiny...weird....let's see what happens when I pour a lot of this one into that one...oh, I like that! It's not quite as bright as the French blue, but it gives the same feel of it and goes with the house colors.

I'm 'sturdying' up a plant stand for the porch and painting it. I got the wicker and bistro chairs painted. Now I need some flowers for the bistro chair. After I finish doing that, I'll show the whole little porch. I'm also scoping out exterior gloss white paint for the porch. Since our landlord isn't painting it this year (that we've been told), I'm going to paint the front porch and the window trims. We face west so they look faded and bad. She's such a great landlord and when we downsize or purchase, we hope to get one of her other houses. The body paint itself is still reasonable shape, but the porch is awful. It's only white so that's easy enough. I haven't decided yet if I am going to paint that wicker wreath. There is a storm door on it also and we need to change out the glass for the screen, but I'll paint it also beforehand. I might even decide to hang out there. The two dressers, armoire and chairs that I snagged for the patio are next...more painting. When I went on my usual landfill run this week, the guy did ask if I was spray painting the whole house. Uh, no, but some of the ones I grab from the dump don't work so...when I take them back I remove the lids and the sprayers so no one else gets stuck. AND I scored an even bigger box this weekend...did you know that Kilz also has a can for treating stains on the ceiling? I'm loving Kilz...spell check is still highlighting armoire...it wants me to use 'armour' or 'armoury'. Okay, I don't keep my guns in the TV cabinet!

Now, trot over to 'other Susan' and Rhoda's to check out their treasures.

http://betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/2009/06/welcome-to-22nd-metamorphosis-monday.html
http://southernhospitality-rhoda.blogspot.com/2009/06/more-thrifty-finds.html

I'm an economic statistic--starting Thursday

Well, I got the news on Friday noon that I won't have a job after Thursday. Oh well. Rather suspected it was coming as our office has outgoing costs/expenses and we're not bringing anything in. We do state road and highway construction. Few jobs out there but not very bid ones and heavy competition. VERY heavy competition.

So much for the stimulus creating/saving new jobs. I'm in an industry that it is supposed to stimulate. My boss predicted in February that the money would not be there until the end of the year at the very (unlikely) earliest. The reality of it would be 18-24 months. He might not have a job after November/December, when the current job in WY is finished.

We do have enough work coming in that we'll be okay this summer. We can get work done on Cabinet Man's website and get his portfolio up to his exacting taste and standards. I'll see what temp work I can dig up and job hunt. But this will give me some summer time with Sunshine (she's been very clingy lately). Hm. I have no excuse not to get the two chests and armoire done, do I? Or get the den and bedroom painted. Wait, maybe not painted as I am not sure I want to spend the money on paint now.

In the meantime, I'll collect all my stuff from work, job hunt on the computer there (with my boss' blessing) But it sucks all the way around.

Think I'll have to write a letter and tell The Big Guy that his stimulus isn't working...I hate unemployment. And the articles like this that I see...just annoy me no end. http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-funemployment4-2009jun04,0,7581684.story It's great that some people have stupendous severance packages, trust funds or can live off mommy and daddy. But all mommy and daddy's money went with his last illness 19 years ago, the lawyers ended up with what could have been a trust fun, no spectacular severance package for support staff. And I've been thinking it over since I read the article and I'm not jealous...I'm more puzzled that there is such a lack of work ethic out there. But I should be surprised. I can't see that the president has any kind of work ethic and these are the kids that voted for him.

Thrifty Thursday

PRETEND THIS IS A PICTURE FROM THRIFTY THURSDAY AT BLOGGERITAVILLE AS IT WILL NOT WORK FOR ME!

As promised, here is the other chest that I received from freecycle. It’s in worse shape than the Art Deco one…only 3 of the casters, one of the drawers is intact and I have to fix the rest. Good part is that the fronts and sides SEEM to be okay, so just the bottoms and back to fix…it’s been a while since I looked at all of them. Some of the hardware is missing. I have to borrow clamps from Cabinet Man so I can glue them back together. It is better wood than the Art Deco…it’s quarter-sawn oak so it needs a proper finish instead of paint. Darn. The finish that I have stripped off already was a real mess…it also has a mirror frame with it. That part is still in excellent shape. I shudder to think what a proper mirror to go into it would cost. To be appropriate, I think it would need to be an oval shape, beveled. So until I have the money, I will probably just hang it on a wall and put framed mirrors inside it…maybe. Maybe it will just hang out in the garage until I decide what to do ;D

I sent pics to my sister and she’s guessing 30s or 40s…I’m leaning more towards the 40s…the wheels are wooden, as opposed to the steel ones on our old iron bed and the Art Deco dresser. Why? WWII…steel was rationed, collected and used in the war effort. It wouldn’t go for something as silly as wheels for a dresser when wood worked. I’d love to find a 4th one for it, but I honestly don’t know where to begin looking. I might have to convince older sister to check her sources. Here’s a closeup of the front legs. Back legs are very simple.

I realized last night that it might be a good idea to post pics of the drawers (mess that they are) and a closeup of the hardward on the top ones. The lower drawers just have wooden pulls.

Check out Leigh for other goodies! http://lbratina.blogspot.com/2009/05/thrifty-thursday-plus-tablescape.html

Thrifty Thursday

This is what I scored from Freecycle...I heart Freecycle. I've gotten two antique dressers from there and an armoire. Today I'll share the armoire and one of the'new to me' dressers.

First the dresser. It's pretty sad, but it will be fun to bring back to life. Art deco style, veneer off in a lot of places. My older sister is my 'go-to guru' for antiques and glassware. The age is probably 1920s-30s...it has all four caster wheels and they are steel. That in itself is a hint of its age. I have another chest that is probably 1940s...wooden wheels...all the steel went into the war effort. The drawers are all perfect. I don't know if someone else fixed them at some point, but they are dovetail joints and Cabinet Man pulled them all out last night and checked. He doesn't want to have to fix them ;D The veneer would be held on with hide glue. I've not decided if I

want to try actually re-veneering it myself...Cabinet Man is too busy this summer to take on this project and has already pretty much hinted told me that I am on my own...he'd rather design and build from scratch than refinish, although he can, does and will...but he has to be paid. I can't afford him, can't seduce him, and he's a better cook than me, crying has NEVER worked so...but I want to try doing it myself anyway. I will have to beg/seduce in order to use his clamps (apparently you can never have enough of those things) and glue. So I may just get the veneer off, decide that is as far as I am going and paint it either black or white...I think with black I could mix red and black to fill in the lines...not to 'fill' them in, but to color the design. Make sense? Didn't think so. I know what I mean though...

Isn't that the prettiest design on the front? I hate seeing it like this, but if it weren't like this, I'd have not gotten it so...she'll be happier eventually.

This is the armoire. Solid wood, cherry/mahogany finish. One door missing, the back needs to be fastened back on and it is deep enough for the television (we don't have an LCD...yet ;) Probably going to be painted white. I thought about black, but it's big enough and our den is small enough that it would probably be overwhelming, so white it is. I'm repainting our den a yellow, so it will be enough difference to stand out, but not be too imposing.

I forgot this chair until I went out to take a pic of the armoire. I've got the armoire, a chest and the chair in the shop bay at my office until I can get a bit cleared out of the garage and CM can move a couple of pieces of equipment to his shop (like he promised 3 years ago!) Then we can hang one of the bikes up and...never mind. Suffice to say I'll never get a car in my garage...ever.

This was a 'side of the road' discard...as in on the way to work, "Hey, circle the block so I can check out that chair!" (grumble, grumble, gripe, keeping me from doing my work...) I checked the sturdiness and figured I'll learn how to do wicker repair. If nothing else, I'll buy some caning like you do for a chair bottom, glue it in there and paint the whole thing. Either way, it's getting painted again. I drive by there on the way to work daily...2 other pieces in the backyard I'm hoping to score when they toss them ;D Or I can come up with cash this summer (and nerve) to stop by and offer them $25 for the other chair and table or footstool.

Since all the trash pickup in our city is private contractor with households, we don't have a City Wide Put out your trash day like I see other bloggers talking about. We won't discuss how long it took me to figure that one out. Our city has decided that they want to regulate that now and ruin the efficiency of the system. I'm not sure what areas they are talking about where trash is scattered, etc...more a case of our city government is wanting to try to bring in money as they can't figure out how to cut costs. Considering that we would have to buy the trucks in order to do this...I'd much rather they spend the money in clearing off some side roads after a bad snowstorm. But that's a topic/gripe for another day.

Linky to http://lbratina.blogspot.com/2009/05/thrifty-thursday-plus-tablescape.html for other fun finds.

PS. Spellcheck thinks I am misspelling 'armoire'....am I?