This day began entirely too early for me. I was rousted (ever so gently) a bit before 5am, and forced (by all the love in my heart, which overcame my will to stay in bed) to trudge blearily out to the van with Megan and Paul, who had made the brilliant plan to hike this morning from the center of Phoenix back to our house — a total of nine miles — along the canal trail. That meant driving to Central Avenue and Indian School Road to let them off (I was completely dubious about dropping them off in the dark by the side of an empty lot downtown, but was at least comforted that my husband is both well trained and well armed). After saying adieu, I motored back to my side of town, crawled back into bed, and stayed there for another couple of hours, which was extremely luxurious. I woke up just before they got back home, which I admit made me feel like a little bit of a schlump, but I was too thankful for the extra zzz’s to beat myself up badly.
There wasn’t much time before Megan and Geneva had to leave to go to a friend’s house for a birthday party, and Paul left to go to Lowes to purchase supplies for his project of the day: building benches for our dining room table. You see, when we bought this table and the 8 chairs that came with it, I was charmed by their rustic look and the table’s sturdiness. However, the chairs were nowhere close to as sturdy as the table, and have grown ever more precarious since then despite attempts to shore them up. Thus it came to the mind of my ever practical husband to replace them with benches. And as we all know, when my husband builds anything out of 2×4’s and 4×4’s, there is very little chance that even a tornado could tear them apart. Things of style and beauty they are not, but they will last for-stinking-EVERRRR.
So it was that he went and got the schtuff, and then he went and got some Gonzales kiddos, and brought them all back for the day. I ran with Laurent and picked up some pizza and soda pop for lunch, and then the work began. The girls had fun on the computers, while the guys worked together out front.
I have to admit the end result is pretty awesome — they even slide neatly under the table to save space! My only question is, should I paint them, and if so, in what color (or colors)? If you have an opinion, sound off in the comments – I’m all ears! 
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Stacey
19 Oct 2013Beautiful! I vote for staining them the same color as the table….. Maybe a little color on the legs
Paul and the young men did a great job.
Annette Heidmann
19 Oct 2013They definitely did a heroic job. Thank you for your input on the color question!
I have much to ponder – not the least of which is the possibility of refinishing the table, or perhaps painting the table legs and the benches to match… So many ideas!
paulyho39
20 Oct 2013My thoughts were exactly the same as Stacey’s….bench tops stained like the tyable…and colors on the legs and cross bars….???
Annette Heidmann
20 Oct 2013Your vote has been tallied! Any ideas on the color scheme?
Laurent
20 Oct 2013Grafitti-tag-spraypainted.
Annette Heidmann
20 Oct 2013I should have guessed that idea would pop up….. might have to bring them outside and have a tag party in the driveway after church!
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