The Finished Project

Around here a guy has to be pretty creative with his time. There are no casinos or taverns (or libraries or soup kitchens, for that matter) to pass these sloppy late winter days. On Saturday Tera mentioned she would like a bench for the entryway to our front room and that was all it took. I guess you could say her comment broke up a pretty substantial creative log jam. I had already peeled the logs--from an ornamental cedar tree that fell over in my sister-in-law's house on the coast, a while back. They'd been sitting under the work bench in my Aunt Maureen's shop. The barn wood had been stacked under a tarp since we put it there after tearing down some of the old sheds around here. I just sketched it out and got busy. It all came together pretty easily, although I have to thank Maureen for coming to my rescue on Sunday evening. I was on the verge of slapping the thing together and calling it good -- having done no sanding whatsoever -- when she came out and convinced me to take my time. Together we did a bunch of trimming and sanding until the posts and rails were smooth to the touch. On Monday, I rushed home from school and spent the entire evening, except the 20 minutes it took to scarf down some spaghetti, sanding down the barn wood until it was safe to sit on. Again, Maureen came swooping in to help me put some nice finishing touches to it. By 7:30 Tera and I were moving it in! I still want to add one more finishing touch which I'll reveal at a later date.