On Board

Everyone should have a hero.

I have the best kind of hero. One that goes garage saling with me on chilly Saturday mornings in Old Village Plymouth. One that actually likes to go garage saling with me (some of our best dates are garage saling!)

He also is on board with many of my schemes - sometimes right away, sometimes after he "sees" the wisdom in going along for the ride.

So this is how this particular Saturday morning went: We were walking up and down Mill St in a very light drizzle, finding all kinds of treasures (and for great prices, too!) when I spotted this beauty. Alas, Hero was not feeling this one. I inspected it inside and out (a very sound piece) and the price was just ten dollars. But, we walked on without it. On a side trip to Starbucks for hot chocolate and hot cider, I did my best sales talk and convinced Hero of the serious potential of the trunk in question. I could not drive back fast enough (25 mph limit) to see that our new treasure was right where we left it. A few minutes later, it was in the back of our truck!

Good solid piece, with no water damage, and bandana handles!

Part of the deal in purchasing the future side table was selling our perfectly good, matching tables that we have had for about four years. As soon as we got home, I had those babies cleaned up and ready for their photo shoot for Craig's List.

A lovely woman who is setting up her new home after a divorce fell in love and picked them up a few days later. We now had the budget for the new tables!

My children were not quite sure why I was selling these tables. A few of them really resist change. They got it eventually.

I found a fabulous blog called knock-offwood that has some amazing furniture plans that are even better than name brands (like Pottery Barn, Crate and Barrel, etc), because they are better quality and MUCH cheaper. Hero and I choose two plans, purchased the supplies and got to work.

Starting to look like a sofa table to me!

Isn't it awesome? I mixed some leftover paints together, filled the gaps and nail holes, even waited a few days after painting it to fill it up and here it is! Just what I had in mind.

New home for our scriptures and magazines. I want to get little metal label holders for the front of each cubbie.

The new coffee table is a much better size for our great room, with room for baskets (of games) on the lower shelf, and a lift up lid for other goodies. This one got a distressed paint job, so a foot on the top or a watermark will not be a big deal. We love it!

With the new tables, I got creative with the pillow covers, too. The whole room looks much fresher!

Oh, and that trunk? It got a facelift, too. Painted the whole thing white, antiqued it and sanded it, moved some drop cloth slip covered chairs in, and it is gorgeous! Lots of storage inside, too. Thinking about putting some emergency supplies inside - handy, but out of view.

That is a project for another day.

No bandanas anymore! Might get a belt from the thrift store to make new handles.

This is what happens when Hero gets on board. Together we make great stuff, and an even greater home.

I love when I do not miss something.

I am sure I miss lots of things, things that would make me wiser, kinder or stronger. Things like instructions on how to choose the correct paint brush from the friendly paint helper at Lowe's. Or, seeing someone step up to help another in need. Or, even an opportunity to bear my testimony. I know that I get a little unfocused when I am out in the world and may not be paying attention to small things all around me. But today I did not miss one of those things.

Have you ever heard of crowder beans? Me either. But I saw them at Randazzo's today. I was not really interested in the beans, but I have to look at all the signs because they have some unusual produce at Randazzo's, and I am curious as to what they are. Produce like Santa Claus melons, cactus pears and daikon. I see people inspecting these interesting things and stocking up on them. I have tried one or two myself - casaba melon is pretty good.

I walked right by the crowder beans though. I knew what they were by the sign. And they kind of look like green beans, but are brown and speckly, like the green beans went wrong somehow. But as I walked on by, I saw two women stopped to inspect them. One, who clearly was as knowledgeable about them as I was, stood there trying to figure them out. The second one is the one I am glad I saw. She knew what those babies were. And I knew she loved them. She saw the perplexed look on the other woman's face and instantly smiled. It was a, "I can see you are unsure, but I can help you. And I am going to help you. You can count on me" smile. She popped one of those beans open to reveal the treasure inside, how to get them out and what to do with them. And the smile stayed the whole time. I found myself wishing I had not walked by the crowder beans.

But at least I did not miss something. I was a witness to this sweet little act of charity.