There's Wood Under Them Thar Layers!

A very dear friend, from high school, asked me to re-do two rocking chairs that belonged to his wife's grandmother.  Of course, I said yes!!!  Brett holds a very special place in my heart.  Do you remember what it was like being a teenage girl?  So many days of being just plain miserable?  Maybe it was your boyfriend treating you like crap, your mother grounding you for breaking curfew, a bad hair day.....  you get the picture.  Anyhoo, Brett was always a ray of sunshine.  He had an infectious smile.  I could be having the worst day EVER and turn around and see him coming toward me, with that grin, and the troubles seemed to melt away.  There was just no possible way to feel bad when Brett was around.  So, there was no way I could ever say no to him. 

I met him last week to pick up these chairs. 

They look a mess!  Years and layers of paint with redwood stain underneath but very sturdy.  No bad wood or repairs needed.  They are very nice chairs!  Brett wants these re-done for his lovely wife as a surprise birthday gift.  What a sweetheart he is!  They hold great sentiment and memories of her grandmother.  He wants them re-painted glossy white as that is how his wife remembers them. 

I broke out my business partner, Mr. Sander, and got to work.  I didn't plan on coming down with the whooping frenzy right in the middle of this project.  We are working on a birthday deadline here!!!  I woke up Thurs. not feeling well but I got to work.  By Thurs. night, I was down.  I'm talking flat on my back down.  Needless to say, I was out of commission yesterday and I was worried.  This morning, still feeling like road kill, I pulled myself up by the boot straps and got back to it.  I can't let Brett down! 

Here's where I am now. 

In retrospect, I should have used a paint stripper but I'll work an extra ten hours to avoid going to town for something.  I'm a home body, what can I say?  It's impossible to get these girls totally down to bare wood but they are nice and smooth so after primer and paint, they will be beauty queens!!! 

I'm so excited about this!  They will be simple.  No frills, no glazing, no distressing.  Just very classic.  I can't tell you how happy it makes me to do something special for a friend who doesn't even know how much he helped me with just a smile. 

Isn't it strange how people come and go in our lives?  We move on and go our separate ways but the really important ones, the ones who made a real impact, always seem to re-enter at just the right time.

Thanks Brett!!!!