Today’s post is Part of a 31 Day writing series where I choose moments from my life and let them be my writing prompt for the day. Today, due to the furnace guy being here, things were topsy turvy; well, ok, they have been for awhile now. In the ensuing scramble to move stuff out of his way, a table came into play, that may find a new home as my worktable. All the thoughts swirling around prompted me to write a rather long discourse on the history of my various tables. I apologize in advance if it bores you to tears, but I feel so much better having mentally let go of the disquietude about my tables. This is rather late in the day, but since it is not yet midnight, it is day 7. For the complete series click the image below.
I just finished cleaning fuzz off the top of a table. Yes, you heard correctly. Fuzz. From the top of a table. This table was a yard sale purchase about four years ago. We were in the middle of a remodel and had not yet moved into the little house as we have come to call it. It was Court Day weekend and the neighbor across the street was getting rid of some of her
junk nice things and I immediately spied this table. I wrangled it from her for twenty bucks.
I put it in the kitchen where it immediately became a work table for the remodel crew. The top was somewhat tacky – bad paint job is my guess. I didn’t really need the table, especially two years later when I officially moved into the little house with three other tables and promptly added two more. Long story. But, it has been a well-known fact in my family for quite some time now that my mom and I have a thing for tables. And chairs. Apparently.
This particular table was finally delegated to the laundry room where it had aspirations of being the folding table. Ha! Wait for it, you know where this is going, don’t you? Of course it became the pile table. Anyway, back to the fuzz. A couple years ago I purchased a cheap, plastic, flannel backed (cringe) table cloth on a whim and used it for a while in my kitchen until I tired of it and decided to use it on the table in the laundry room. Last week, in preparation for the furnace guy coming to work on our heat system, I cleared off the table and removed the cheap, plastic, flannel backed (cringe) table cloth.
This is where things get a little fuzzy. Yes, the fuzz from the backing on that cheap, plastic, flannel backed (cringe) table cloth had stuck to the tacky finish on that junk table from my neighbor (I don’t have a picture). I was imagining that it might need a sander taken to it and a fresh paint job. Then, just today, I got a bright idea. I figured that a sudsy rag and a little elbow grease might just do the trick. It did. The table is now fuzz free, sitting in the middle of my bedroom (remember the furnace guy), blocking access to my husbands dresser, waiting to be moved.
Where, you ask? Back to the laundry room? Oh no, that would be too easy. I’m thinking by the kitchen window where it will become my new, old, work desk – without the cheap, plastic, flannel backed (cringe) table cloth. I am trying to figure out all kinds of angles so that I don’t have to paint the tacky top. Stay tuned. My father seems to think that I am on a three week cycle of playing musical tables so, it is of course, possible, that I may decide to sell or take it to storage.
Speaking of, I recently took my big, long, holds lots of stuff, work table to storage because ever since we moved in the new piano, we have had one piece of furniture too many and every time we do a move around, there is always a piece of furniture table that seems to be floating in limbo waiting for a home.
Currently, we have my grandma’s table in the middle of the kitchen, sitting where the center Island table used to be. The center Island table is by the window, where grandpa’s little desk used to be. My grandpa’s little desk is now in the little, middle room with the blue ceiling, that was originally going to be my little French dining room. We also have a drop-leaf table, inherited from a family friend, sitting in the little, middle room with the blue ceiling, in the spot where my Grandma’s table used to be, before my husband’s new piano took that space. (you can breathe now)

The piano and the middle room were not getting along for various reasons and much to my profound regret delight, I sacrificed my work room and my aforementioned work table (that has enough leaves to stretch out to 8 or 9 feet) for the greater good – my husband’s need for a piano studio so he could offer piano lessons.
I was going to use the drop-leaf table as my new work table in the small, middle room with the blue ceiling. I was ready to embrace the new space, but alas, the piano studio was apparently not big enough for an office as well, so I found myself, once again sharing a work table with Mr. Piano and then, there was an issue with the drop-leaf leg and one day I found myself working at my kitchen table, surrounded by my office crates, that have still not found a home since the recent studio organization.
Then, on top of that, today, I also found myself surrounded by crates from the utility room (remember the furnace guy) and well, it’s just a little crazy up in here what with tables that need homes and crates that need sorting.
Did I mention that there is also a sweet, little round table, inherited from the same family friend, sitting in the living room (I’ve seriously considered moving my office in there)? At one time, before we officially moved to the little house, the sweet, little round table sat (you guessed it) in the little, middle room with the blue ceiling. That room has a serious identity crisis.
The end.
Only, not really. All of this, to say, that I am having a crisis of space. Will the tables shift yet again, so that I can have my own little corner to call my mine? Stay tuned. The saga of the musical tables will continue. Once I get it all sorted.
Hoping your tables are filled with grace,
Teresa
I’m really surprised that Mom didn’t snatch up the long table before you could take it to storage. I think SHE could find room for another table. Meanwhile, at my house, I am still BORROWING a tiny round not-my-style table from a friend. Did I mention that I have a dearth of tables? Your singing tables make me groan. 🙂
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Hahahahahah! I’d give you a table if you had a way to get it to TX. Love you.
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Wonderful!! Loved this post and hearing about your tables!! I LOVE tables and furniture in general, too! When my husband and I had to leave our 4 bedroom house and move into a 2 bedroom apartment, we had to look for furniture – less because of the smaller space…some was given to us; some we found on Craigslist for a reasonable price…I don’t think we found anything on the side of the road; but what we put out from our house was definitely picked up by a happy person! And I love your comment about stopping by Shawna’s if she had anything put out by her curb! Thanks for sharing!
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I can’t help myself, I love a good junk find and I am sentimental as all get out – I find it hard to let go of things collected over the years, especially if it was a family piece. I’m working on letting go, because, I really want to feel organized in my space. Thanks my friend, for stopping by. I need to get back over your way and catch up on reading. The past couple of days have been hectic – due to the furnace guy, who will be here again tomorrow morning to finish up the job. Then my home will belong to me again. 🙂
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I am impressed that you can fill a room chock-full of stuff, yet make it look bigger in doing so! It’s not a talent I ever had. Unfortunately, if something didn’t fit when I was moving into a new place, I usually just lugged it out to the curb. Hopefully, it would be “just the thing” someone else needed.
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ha! I’m not sure I really have that talent either, but my sister seems to think I do. It really is a joke in our family how my mother and I love tables. I may need to start thinning the herd. 🙂 Oh, and if you ever lug a table out to the curb give me a head’s up – I may have to do a drive by and see if it will work with my collection 🙂
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*groaning again
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🙂
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