So far this room contains my piano, sewing table and an amoire my Dad built that holds all my crafty supplies. What I lacked was a table to sit down and work on projects. I was hoping for something long and narrow so Rory and I could sit down and work on projects together.
My vision started coming together when I found this table out for the trash. The legs were the valuable part. Josh took the legs off and got rid of the table top because it was in bad shape. My Dad sanded down the legs and smoothed the tops. All we needed was a board for the top. Dad and I headed to Lowe's and purchased a pre-cut 2' x 6' board. We got it home and started laying out the pieces of the table. Dad was moving his tools around in the garage so we could get to work. As he moved his table saw into the center of the garage he casually mentioned, "Hey, there is that piece of cabinet board from your old house." He quickly moved on but I had to reminisce for just a quick moment. I quickly realized that piece of board would work perfectly for our table (and cost $0)! We cut it down just a bit and had the perfect table top so we returned our pre-cut piece to Lowe's.
It may seem silly--I could have gone to Target and bought a long narrow table. Not only did this table cost me less than $10 (all I had to purchase were small brackets to hold the table top to the legs) but it is now chock full of memories. It holds a small piece of our very first home--our home that Josh and I started as newlyweds and a home that we put in a lot of time, money, sweat and I'm sure I shed a few tears. This will be a table that I will always remember building with my Dad.
My Dad has always taught me how to use tools properly and I may be more adept than most women only because my Dad took the time to show me. When you ask me for a screwdriver I will respond with, "Phillips or Flathead?" I don't ever remember specifically learning to use a power drill but my Dad made sure I knew how. In my teen years I'm sure I grumbled as I stood in the garage and watched but those have turned into powerful and very useful lessons. Not too long after Josh and I purchased our first house our faucet busted and by busted I mean water started spraying everywhere! Not that I'm a plumber by any stretch of the means but I knew how to shut off the water, what to purchase and asked enough questions to install a new faucet and pipes. I'm not saying this to toot my horn but to give credit where it's due. I owe a lot to my Dad. If it weren't for him giving me these valuable lessons I would be intimidated to learn these things or try out new "handyman" skills.
The two things I will remember most is that I learned to use a table saw (and if you don't move cherry wood fast enough it will burn) and that I used a hand plane from my Great Grandfather. I never met him, in fact, neither did my Dad. He was killed in a car crash when my Grandfather was a young man. It was humbling to hold the tool in my hand. We think my Great Grandfather worked at the railroad docks as a carpenter, literally miles from where we live now. It's like coming full circle and it's a feeling that is hard to describe. He was where I am now and now I'm holding his tools....
Anyway, what I thought would be a fun simple project will now be a piece of furniture that I treasure for as long as I'm alive. The little piece of our first house, the tools of generations past, the memories made in construction and the memories that will be made as we gather around the table to create.
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