Picnic

 

I've known for a long time that if I don't blog in the morning, I don't have any ideas left after noon. So when you notice a few blank days, you now know that I was using all my thoughts up while vacuuming, cleaning bathrooms or grocery shopping. It's after eleven now, so I better rush this one through.

We've had the same picnic table since we moved in the house in 1986. It was old then, but I put some wood filler in, painted it, and have been using it ever since to put my step ladder on whenever I needed to climb on the roof. Year after year, I used wood filler, epoxy and paint to hold it together I gave up on one bench about five years ago. The other bench didn't rot quite so fast, but this year it was obvious that not only could nobody sit on it, but that it wasn't sturdy enough to hold potted plants.

So you might wonder what shape the table was in. I told Jerry that I wanted a new table three years ago. If you looked at it sideways, chunks of wood fell off. Still, I need to get on the roof to clean the gutters, so I used it. Carefully of course. I had to place the feet of the step ladder where pieces of solid wood still existed.

In May, we started looking for a replacement in earnest, but found only metal tables or tables with attached benches. We even looked for a carpenter to build a new one for us, but the concept of a picnic table and separate benches flummoxed them. Finally, last month, while Jerry was talking to his coffee pals, one of them mentioned that he liked to build things. Bingo. He said he would build a table for cost plus a six pack. I only hoped he would drink the six pack after he finished the table.

Yesterday, my new picnic table was delivered. It is beautiful. Well, it will be after I paint it, which is what I would be doing if I wasn't writing this. It is made of sturdy, six by two planks, and will last for at least as long as I intend to clean my own gutters.

Nancy Sherer

 

 


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