see mj write: day 20 {a hobby of yours}

i think my friend described it best when she said she had 'hobby a.d.d.'.

i'm afraid i'm in the same boat.

since one of my talents is not being afraid to try, one of my sicknesses is not being able to say no, one of my obsessions is painting {especially furniture}, one of my thrills is finding a great deal, i'm pretty good at starting a lot of things.

oftentimes, i start multiple projects at once. currently, there is a stack of fabric on my floor, a pile of yarn in a bag next to it, a collection of canvas balancing on the wall nearby and a file folder of photos on my desktop all awaiting a few minutes of my dedicated time to make them into something beautiful. fabric will hopefully turn into five beautiful baby blankets for 5 of the 47 people i know who are currently pregnant. yarn has plans to be a surprise for some rett syndrome friends. canvases are on the agenda to become family member silhouettes. file folder photos will be beautifully organized into leah's third year book.

hobby attention deficit disorder? i think so.

thankfully, i do finish projects. i finish lots of them, actually. and the hobby i know i want to continue to obsess over is reclaiming old furniture and turning it into pure magnificence.

to date, i've finished two of these projects. i'd love to do more. i'd be all for scouring yard and estate sales this weekend if i had the verbal and/or written consent from my significant other.

but i don't.

his excuse it that we don't have a yard...or a garage...or a balcony...or a patio...or even a porch...that would allow space for such a project. that's why we're currently taking donations to rent a house {contact me for details}.

and yet, even if we did have these things, the aforementioned significant other wouldn't necessarily be on board.

case in point: valentine's day 2009. i was on my way home from target and i saw the most beautiful chair on the side of the road.

okay, it wasn't beautiful. but i had plans for this chair and those plans were beautiful. so i picked it up and set it at the top of our stairs.
ryan's parents were in town visiting at the time and ryan and his parents all looked at me like i was a crazy person. but, after some dissasembly, sanding, sanding and more sanding, painting, cutting, stapling and reassembly, i'm very proud of the finished project. and so is ryan. he was amazed with what i did...and even tried to claim the sander i bought as his very own. nice try.sadly, leah claimed it as her chew toy {to her credit, that arm is the perfect height for her hungry mouth}. i'll fix it when she grows taller.

case in point #2: independence day 2009. i was on an early morning run with my cousin and saw the most beautiful end table. ok, again it wasn't beautiful...yet. she offered to pick it up later that day as her car is more spacious than mine. she thought i was so strange for wanting this particular piece of furniture. i explained how i loved the curves and the lines. she got more and more confused as i continued to speak, so i stopped, and graciously accepted her offer for its delivery. when i got home that evening, there was a piece of furniture in our carport, only it was the wrong piece of furniture. she had picked up a ratty old desk that was literally falling apart. it was old and boring and gross. and definitely no unique lines or curves. i immediately burst into fits of laughter and understood why she thought i was a crazy person. so, ryan and i went back the next day and {surprise!} my coveted side table had still gone unclaimed.

so, against ryan's will, i claimed it.

and after much stripping, more stripping, some stripping and more stripping, then sanding, priming, priming, painting, painting and painting, i'm in love with the outcome.and i'm more antsy than you can imagine for that yard {or garage, balcony, patio or porch} so i can continue this obsession. i have biiiiiiiiig plans. big.