One of the main things I remember is his extreme patience with me. He was always kind to me and was not critical or judgemental about my shortcomings. I remember how kind he was to me as a small child and the time he would spend with me. He would talk with me a lot and would be interested in how I was feeling or concerned with my struggle with depression. I would always think that the next thing would make me happy but he would always remind that the grass was not greener on the other side - just different!! This has proven true over and over in my life and I can truly say that at 54 I have learned this. I don't look for the next thing to make me happy anymore I just enjoy where I am and what I am doing and really try to make each experience great!!
I share a lot with my father - we are very much alike. He was always late because he was doing 1 more thing before he left or just plain not fretting about being on time. Unfortunately I seem to have learned this trait as I have good intentions but am always about 5 minutes late everywhere I go. I have his love for beauty - it almost makes me crazy with delight and whenever I see a sunset or a beautiful sky I am reminded about his passion for these daily events. I remember him yelling across the draw - Robin - you've got to see this one. I was reminded by my brother Chuck this last week of how he would show you a plant and you would tell him you had seen it and he would say but look at the uniqueness of this one. Each one was truly unique to him and special. His spirit lives on in many of his children and as my brothers age I see so many of his mannerisms in them and it truly amazes me of God's creation of man and how genetically we in families are connected.
I inherited his knees!! I have had both replaced and had crooked legs like him and had them surgically straightened. This has put a damper on my love of gardening but I have been doing Zumba and seem to strengthening them so I feel hopeful I will want to garden again.
The other thing I share with my father is love for wood and fixing old pieces of furniture and making them beautiful. When I work with old furniture pieces I feel a real connection with my father and I can hear his voice in my head as I remember the things he taught me and just the many hours I spent with him in his shop observing what he was doing and spending time with him. I think this gave me a real appreciation for finishes and doing things well. I have been taking some pictures of furniture I have redone and want to start recording them on my blog. Here are a few pieces.
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| I am painting this dresser for a cute young mom that I painted the bed for that is pictured further down. |
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| This is a desk I purchased from an estate sale - the original was a honey maple color which was quite dated. I repainted it with chalk paint - the bottom is in old ochre and the top is painted in duck egg blue. |
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| Here you can see the distressing a little better - I think it turned out beautiful. It is for sale at This Old New House in Spokane, Washington. |
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| This is an oak stool which Kari found for me it was just a brown oak. I painted it with red chalk paint and distressed it. My sister Lori bought it for her photography studio. |
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| This is a bed frame that I repainted for the same lady I am painting the dresser for. She had purchased it and the paint was peeling off and I repainted it for her. I also distressed it. |
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| Another view of the bed frame footboard. |
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| This is a view of the headboard. It was beautiful!! |
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| This is a shelf that was painted white and I painted over it with chalk paint - distressed it and the white came through. It is available for sale at This Old House. |
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| This is a very old chair that I painted with chalk paint. My sister Lori purchased it for her studio. |
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| This is a table I painted with chalk paint and distressed. The colors underneath came through and added great depth and interest to the table. I sold this at the 2 Women Show. |
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| This is a magazine rack I painted with red chalk paint. I sold this at Julie's show she had in Spangle. |
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| This is a magazine rack I painted with green chalk paint. It is currently for sale at This Old New House. |
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| This is a piece I got at Thrifty Living on Pines in the valley. I painted it with pink chalk paint and sold it. |
