Since it's raining like crazy...

It seemed like a good day to work inside.  Inside the garage, that is.

This is my kitchen table.

See the burn marks?  Pot stains?  Missing varnish?

Sadly, it's really not that old.  Only about 9 years.  I added two coats of varnish when I bought it.  It's predecessor had a short abused life, and I really wanted this baby to last.  About 5 years later, it got another three coats of varnish.  It was peeling badly, and should have been sanded down and done properly, but I didn't have the tools or the time.  At least it was protected for a few more years.

It's pretty much the centre of our world, so it sees a lot of action, and suffers for it.  It is of course, the place where we eat.   It is where we sit and talk.  It is where we do school.  It is where we play board games.  It is where we bake and prepare meals and roll out breads.  And it's also where the children like to play with their freakin' match box cars and trains and other scratchy little wheeled toys.

It's been peeling for months now, and we've been picking off the peels as we sit around it.  But then, my dad loaned me his new belt sander.  Now we have the tool.  And it's raining.  Now we have the time.

This is my assistant.

#2 wants to play with the sander

This is after we went 'oops, we should probably put the leaves in so they match.

This is the first coat of varnish.

 Three more coats of varnish should finish it off nicely.