A Tale of Two Tables

I'd always wanted a b-i-i-i-g kitchen table.  One that I could spread a project out on one end and still have room for the two of us to sit down at the other end for a meal.  One that would comfortably seat six people when necessary.  One that would have room in the middle for serving dishes.  One that was big enough for mounds of vegetables spread out on after harvest.  One that would hold six different kinds of Christmas cookies.

Several years ago, we saw a table advertised by some folks who were leaving the area and selling much of their furniture.  We went to see it, I liked the style and best of all it had a leaf to be inserted in the middle to make it the b-i-i-i-g size I wanted.

The good news was that it was reasonably priced.  The bad news was that the top was not in very good condition showing several dings and scratches.  Papa Pea said if I wanted it, he would refinish the top for me.

In short order, I soon had the large kitchen table I had always wanted.  I've loved it, we've used the heck out of it and certainly gotten our money's worth.  You can't see it very well in the above picture, but my dear old table has become sway-backed.  There's an inch (or two) dip in the middle of it where the leaf is.  I don't think it's about to collapse or anything, but it needs some reinforcement if we continue using it.

Recently we went to a huge estate sale that had some wonderful pieces of furniture including . . . a kitchen table.  The measurements of it were smaller than our current table, but we thought maybe, just maybe, it would be big enough to suit our purposes.  We bid on it and got it for $17.00!

Hauled it home (well-built and HEAVY), took the old table down, and put the new table in its place.

It's a much nicer (much!) quality than our old table, looks better with our chairs and the wainscoting in the kitchen.  It's beautiful.

It's too small.

Pardon me now while I have a spoiled brat, wailing fit that it's just not big enough.  We've been using it for over a week, even had extra bodies sitting around it, and it's just not big enough.

Papa Pea is going to use it up in his office where the beautiful top will be buried under stacks of books, files, papers, machinery manuals and other "important" stuff.  Our seventeen dollars will not have been spent in vain.  Sigh.  And sniffle.

Back in will come our old faithful, sagging-in-the-middle, slightly beat-up table which has served us so well.  Maybe old things, proven things, loved-but-not-beautiful things are the best ones after all.  (Hey, I think I may have just described myself!)