Pink Workbench

I do believe we just had the nicest weekend, weather-wise and maybe even otherwise, of the year.  It was sunny and breezy and cool.  The girls loved it and Husband and I were able to get some outdoor work done. 

A few weeks ago, Husband bought an old workbench off Craigslist, mainly because he wanted the vise that was attached to it.  He asked if I wanted the bench for a work table and I jumped on that.  He sanded off the top, filled in the holes, put down a varnish to help waterproof it, and added an extra inch and a half to stabilize it. 

Meanwhile, I scrubbed down the metal frame with an SOS pad.  The girls helped.

 

 Evelyn sang along with the siren they always test at noon on Saturday:

They had a blast running around the yard and caught the biggest toad I have ever seen in my life. 

The photo does not do it justice.  It was the size of a salad plate. 

The toad was relocated to the pasture. 

Husband had some pink spray paint that he used on the metal frame and while he worked on that, I put several coats of white semi gloss paint on the tabletop.

 The top is just sitting on a workbench while it is being painted.

Evelyn crashed out in the workshop next to me to catch up on some zzzz's.  She's my painting buddy.

Why did husband have pink spray paint?

Well, seems that some decades ago (mid fifties?), Fender decided to start coloring their guitars.  They used paint that was common at the time on cars - stuff like foam green, shell pink, placid blue (Husband collects vintage guitars).  Anyhoo, a loooonnnnnngggg time ago (predating Husband and me) he went down to the store to get some spray paint and they had released a line of those vintage guitar colors.  He thought that was cool and bought a few.  He still had two cans of the pink (I can't imagine why he didn't have tons of projects to use it on).  Even though it is very elderly, it worked well enough to cover the frame of my new workbench. 

Frankly, I don't see him using that particular color on any of his big woodworking tools.  He actually started to put the pink on the vise but changed his mind for some reason.  Go figure.  The vise is now yellow, instead. 

I mentioned in my last post that I'd dug up the water shut off valve by the barn.  Some years ago, apparently, they shut off the water to the barn and since that time, the location of the shut off valve had been lost.   The valve was broken, by the time I found it and we hesitated to turn it on for fear that what it was connected to might not be water worthy.  We called our plumber, Ron, and made arrangements for him to come out on Monday (today) to replace the valve.  Meanwhile, Husband went out and dug out some of the hole to give Ron some working room. 

While digging, Husband discovered a significant leak (the reducer didn't fit right).  He was covered with mud, including his hat.  And not happy about it.   When the leak was covered with clayish mud, it was fairly stopped up but as soon as the clay plug was gone, it started gushing.  It was in the ground, several feet from the barn so we weren't worried about flooding.   That began, last night.  I stood out there for a few minutes watching it bubble like it was boiling.  Husband was fretting to the point where he was driving me crazy and I kept saying, "Ron will know exactly what to do."

Right at 8:00, this morning, Husband called Ron who, as it turned out, had already arrived and was standing out in the pasture looking at the lake. 

I love our plumber.

Ron swiftly shut off the water, pumped out 60 gallons, repaired the leak and had a new shut off valve in place in less than thirty minutes.

The man is phenomenal.  He didn't even get muddy.  I'm not kidding. 

After that, he checked to make sure the pipes in the barn were working.  Bad news.  The pipe that was replaced by the guys who put on the siding was a mess and spewing.  Ron fixed it.  The toilet was cracked and needed to be replaced.  Ron is going to do that.  The sink in my studio looked like someone was high on something when they put the pipes in and Ron is going to simplify all that.  The sink in the bathroom was also leaking.  Consider it done. 

I don't have to worry about water when Ron the plumber is on the job. 

Mimi came to town, today, to take a painting to her stepmother.  I hadn't seen stepmom in years so was looking forward to seeing her.  She is pretty much a force of nature and it did my heart good to see her.   She took one look at me, stood at the threshold before I entered her home, placed both hands on my face and stared intently.  After a moment she sez,

"You are just as beautiful as you ever were."

Okay, maybe it is the lawyer in me but part of me wanted to laugh out loud since she really hadn't said anything complimentary - not really - but I just said thank you and tucked away that little comment in case I ever need it should I find myself in a similar situation.  She fed us the BEST beef soup and cornbread.  I had to scoot to drive husband to the airport and retrieve my quilts from the fair (2nd place, 4th place and 5th place) but it was a lovely visit.  I then came home and set up my new Barbie doll pink and white workbench.

 Husband is going to build a shelf for the bottom, soon:

 

Husband is just off on a short, overnighter, and the girls and I are going to take it easy, tonight - probably hit the hay early.  I'm still a little fatigued from working in the yard all weekend, digging up the water shut off and working on the workbench.  MY VERY OWN WORKBENCH!!



Happy Quilting, Penny, Evelyn and Pearl