A Little Project Turned Big

Oh my, my...a new year and no posts. The month of December was a wing-ding-a-doozie! Did I just say that? Man, I'm getting old...and slightly crazy. Hopefully it's endearing.

I am currently sitting at what may well become one of my favorite spots.

This is a little niche in my bedroom. It's right next to the fireplace. I know, right?! A fireplace in my bedroom is amazingly wonderful and relaxing and feels ever so indulgent...especially since it's gas and I can turn it on whenever the heck I feel like it. So cool, or rather, warm!

Because of the fireplace, we ended up with a weird little nook. I'm guessing Nelson probably planned it, actually WE probably planned it. The problem was that it was too tiny for any desk that I fell in love with and all we could find that would fit were those little roll top desks which I hate. Don't take this personally if you have one, they're just not my cup of tea.

Nelson came home with this little "antique" several months ago and it fit, which meant like it or not, it was a keeper. And, well, I must say, it's growing on me as the space evolves. I'm still debating whether or not to change the handles on the drawers (feel free to tell me what you think).

A few years ago, about this time, Nelson decided that the space would be better with some bookshelves and I whole-heartedly agreed. After all, I’m an English major with no space for books. What I didn't understand was that he wanted to design and build them. I think he goes into house building withdrawal every so often and needs a project. Needless to say, it took him awhile to get them finished as woodworking is not a previous skill of his.

He was oh so proud when he brought the cut wooden pieces back home - all 15 or so of them. "Here you go," he said as he plopped them down. To which I wondered, "Um, is that what they're going to look like?"

After he explained how they were going to fit together, which I must admit went right over my head, he told me to finish them. Dude, I paint. I don't stain and I definitely don't sand.

Guess what?

I do now.

In a nutshell, here's how my end of the bookshelves balanced against his one night of cutting them. I sanded each and every single piece. Then I cleaned them off. I picked out and bought the stain and other supplies begging the poor guy at Lowe's to teach me how to stain. I stained for hours and let them dry for a day. Then, get this; I had to sand them again. Then I stained them a second time. You know what? They had to be sanded and stained yet again. After that, I had to seal them...several times. A week or so later, they were finished.

The next stage of said bookshelves was for them to sit in the basement for many, many months until my wonderful husband hired someone to come and hang them...the day after Christmas.

Remember me telling you about that list of projects Nelson had for the reunion? Well, on that list was a mantel for the fireplace in our bedroom. Guess what was dropped off the day after the shelves were put up? That's right! More wood for me to sand, stain and seal...hooray.

That being said, you're beginning to get a small picture of what my December was like on top of the regular holiday activities. I think I'll use January to tell the tales. I'm hoping the farther I get from them, the fonder they will become.