Friday, May 01, 2009

Tables

Finding a table one can afford that will sit a family of 11 can be a challenge. I dreamed of a BIG oak table with tons of leaves....but we've never been willing to put out the money for "real furniture" with so many little ones in our home. We want them to love the table and not see it as a thing to be revered. ::snort::

We tried several ideas. We had Mom and Dad's oval table (with 3 leaves) for years. This worked well.....but it was narrow and eventually there were so many table settings that there was no room for food.

We've used a kitchen bar for a "buffet" ... but *I* really like having everyone sit down to PASS FOOD! ::snort::

We've received wonderful suggestions throughout the years: an old door which you can stain and add table legs to, a 6 ft chapel table, framed in tile slab with legs.....

We found our favorite solution in Alaska. We purchased two small tables. In AK we were able to have both set up as two separate seating arrangements....we mixed up various people at each table quite often and this allowed for a lot of smaller group interaction.

Our TX home here has a smaller dining area and so the tables can't be used as separate dining units. We've placed the tables end to end to seat 14.

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We most often had them side by side so they resembled a square. This allowed LOTS of room for food and school books....and comfortable seating for 8. It was easy to separate them to play games.

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Having been warned by several in Misawa that they couldn't fit their table in their dining room and had to put it in the living room, we KNEW we needed to downsize to one table. I'm not sure we're quite at the spot where one small table is going to work well for us. Fitting 8-9 around this table is tight (though they'll only be 7 in Japan - it's still tight). Deja has suggested we find benches before we leave. That may help. I'm currently setting up "outriggers" to the table. Yep, looks like a maze at dinner time. ::snort:: We pull bar stools over to hold drinks or salad...and I set up wooden "TV" trays at each corner to store food...and the last person to the table has to straddle the leg. ::snort::

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I realized today that I DO have one last folding "co-op" table....that would certainly give us more room, though I like the wood look better. What have been some of YOUR table solutions?

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Choosing Joy!
©2009 D.R.G.

~ Coram Deo ~
Living all of life before the face of God...

Friday's Funny

We were at Lowes discussing how much to spend to "increase the value of our home"...you know how that goes...

"Do we need the $5.57 a foot carpet or will the $1.47 a foot do as it looks fresh, new and clean?"

"How cheap can we go on kitchen sinks (OUCH)and faucets and still look nice?"

"Well, these blinds will look much nicer and they're only $8 more per blind."

When I spotted this....

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Really? Does it work this way?

"Gee, Gertrude, I like this house but can you flush a bucket of golf balls?"

Maybe you have to be in the midst of moving craze for this to seem hilarious?

Choosing Joy!
©2009 D.R.G.

~ Coram Deo ~
Living all of life before the face of God...

Productivity.....

We worked until we dropped! OK, I'm planning to drop as soon as I post this entry. ::snort::

Hmmmm....what did we do today. Arielle and I went through the game closet - or game room - or something. We store games on big shelves in the garage...and in 7 big, black, wide Rubbermaid drawers. We threw out a lot of games with lost pieces. I packaged up puzzles and games for Salvation Army.

Mike, Jamin and Jared emptied out our storage unit. We discovered (as I suspected) 80% of it belongs to the girls. ::snort::

Arielle & I packed away all the snowmen and Lent things and put up the normal fripperies....now to figure if I should take any since I won't have an entertainment center, hutch or piano to set things on. ::snort::

Jamin discovered parts to a bed and claimed it.

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Mike and I took a load of stuff over to Josiah's apartment. The boys will move into their new apartment mid-June.

Ah - Josiah DOES have something on the walls of his apartment....the family calendar I made this year. ::snort::

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Mike and I went to Lowes and bought a Kitchen sink, faucet, mini-blinds, 2 toilet seats and something else..... We also discovered it may be cheaper to buy a NEW dishwasher than it is to replace the rusting racks. We priced carpet.

I called and scheduled another painter and a carpet place to give us estimates....this way we'll have two estimates of each.

We came home, ate dinner....Mike and Jared are hanging mini-blinds. Josiah was here briefly and then had to leave. Jamin's at work. The younger ones are hitting the showers after a full day of bike riding and such.

Choosing Joy!
©2009 D.R.G.


~ Coram Deo ~
Living all of life before the face of God...

Appliance Storage

I AM going to google and see what I can find out. We will NOT have an overseas TMO briefing - the packers arrive before the once a month briefing on base.

If you've stored (or heard of the correct way) freezers and fridges....pass on your expertise. I think Betsy told me to put charcoal in there. Mike is quite sure she didn't mean a bag of Kingsford.

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Back to sorting.... BTW has anyone else ever taken a chunk out of their face when they were shaving their arm pit? How did I DO this????? It's not healing quickly....this means I will attend PWOC's tea tomorrow with what looks like strawberry jelly on the side of my face.

Choosing Joy!
©2009 D.R.G.

~ Coram Deo ~
Living all of life before the face of God...