A Story, About a Table

A long time ago, in a city far far away, I took an old table out of my parent's basement.  It was big, and round, and ugly, and brown (I think).  I sanded it and painted it and made it beautiful again.  It moved from house to apartment, to apartment, to apartment, with us.  Then we bought our house, and it moved again, except it was round and didn't really fit in the dining area.  I loved that table, and was sad to see it go.  I didn't love the next table, even though it was free and fit, it was rather flimsy, not the best thing in a house of boys.  And then we moved again, and got a huge table from my dad's house.  It was nice, until we moved back here, and it didn't fit.  So we sold it, thinking we would find something else pretty quick.  Except at this point I was not ready to just settle for anything, and I am cheap.  So for the past year and a couple months we've been using an old small table of my mom's.
Earlier this week I walked into Goodwill, looking for shorts for Zachary actually, and (cue star bursts and angelic tadas here) there was a table.  Slightly beat up, but solid, and just the size I've been looking for, with a price tag of $15.95.  So I snatched it right up.  Didn't even go home to get a truck, the Goodwill guy just took the legs off and slid it into the back of my car.  After a stop at Home Depot for sand paper, stain, and polyurethane I got to work.  In July, in Bakersfield, in the middle of a heat wave.

First step, sanding off the old finish, I think this is the easiest part.  Just because I don't have to be patient, there is no waiting for one layer to dry before I put on the next!

Then I put wood conditioner on it, to make sure the stain absorbed evenly.

Next comes stain (three applications), then the polyurethane (another three coats).

And finally, all done!  It fits just right, and more importantly we all fit around it.  I will be on the hunt for a bench and chairs.  It's possible that may take me awhile.