Happy Easter!

Another Easter - I find it so hard to believe that I haven't celebrated an Easter with Don in 9 years.  I miss him so, but it's certainly true that life goes on.  Kids have gotten older, I have teen-aged grandkids (which means my kids are experiencing the special joys of teens :-)!), and a brand new grandson who will never know his grandpa- which makes me very sad.

But, spring has sprung again, and the proof is in the flowers blooming in my garden.

 Apple Blossoms

Special Yellow Rose (A gift from Jim or Week's Roses, shortly after Don's death - a beautiful reminder of the beauty of life!)

More Apple blossoms - likely to be another good harvest!

In honor of spring, and because I saw some beautiful wood lanterns that I'm sure I couldn't afford, I decided to make some using some of my scrap wood.  They aren't exactly like those I saw, but they satisfy my need for them!  They look pretty on my patio.

I'll be spending time with Camper daughter's family and in-laws later today.  Enjoying Easter and the Hope and rebirth that the season promises.  

I wish the you the same for you.

Happy Easter!

And, a new coffee table!

If you're following this blog and keeping up on what's keeping me occupied in my spare time, you know all about my family, Camper family, the Docs, and my Logger family.  Well, two Christmas's ago Logger Family surprised me with a wonder gift - it was a large slab from a huge redwood burl that my Logger SIL had found years ago.  The slab is about 2" thick and quite long.  And, it's been sitting outside under my eaves for the past year and a half!!!  I wanted it to look spectacular when finished - with all the nooks and crannies left to enjoy.  

I spent considerable time cleaning out soft areas, bark that had grown inward, cracks, etc.  Then, using the router, flattened it, and then sanded and sanded and sanded until it was smooth as a baby's behind!  

Below are a couple of pictures as I was sanding.  I couldn't wait to see the color of the slab and doused it with mineral spirits!  Beautiful.

I wasn't sure about the legs I wanted to use, but knew that I didn't want anything that would take away from the beauty of the wood.  With a new interest in mid-century modern pieces I finally settled on steel hairpin legs.  Pictures below are of the finished table.  I used natural Watco oil for the finish wanting to achieve the same warm, rich tones as I saw with the mineral spirits.  I'm really happy with the final product.  

 It was like Christmas all over again as I worked on this table.

I'd be interested to hear from any woodworkers about how they might have handled the open nooks and crannies.  

Filled?  with Epoxy?  Colored Epoxy?  

Supported in anyway on the base of the table?

With what an how?