The Island

An entire day went by and no PW recipes. I was busy! Very, very busy!!

Last fall we acquired an antique cabinet that I knew I would have to work into my kitchen at some point. The cabinet sat out on the front porch all winter till we had a warm spell a couple of weeks ago. With the temperature in the high 60's that day, I dragged the top portion of the cabinet to a sunny spot in the yard and began the arduous task of stripping off layers of paint.

I have never refinished a piece of furniture before. It is a daunting task.

At first I though it would be fun. Slop on the goopy stuff. Wait till the paint bubbles up. Scrape it off.

Seems simple enough.

There are some things that you should know about me. I can't tell you all of them at once, but here is something I have told you before. I DON'T LIKE CLEANING! It is the mess factor I believe. Some people look at a mess and instantly see how to make it better. I think they can imagine what the space or object would look like organized and neat. They may even be able to visualize the sequential order of steps that they will need to take to get to that beautiful finished product.

Not me. When I see a mess my first reaction is to feel overwhelmed.

On the other hand, I love to paint. Painting offers instant gratification. Take something old and with a few swift strokes of the paint roller or brush...behold!!...a new room!! The transformation is quick and complete!

When I started working on the cabinet I thought (foolishly) that it would be a process somewhat equal to painting, but in reverse. I believed that the old, ugly paint would ALL magically disappear under deft strokes of the putty knife, leaving a fresh and shining surface ready for the proper finishing treatment.

So, I slopped on the goopy stripper. I waited till the paint was bubbled and peeling. I pulled on my heavy-duty gloves and applied the putty knife. Yes, most of the paint came off. but certainly not all of it, and not in the neat, tidy way I was anticipating.

The old paint mixed with paint stripper is a gloppy, sticky mess. It clings to the putty knife so you have to use something to take it off in between strokes. (I chose the blunt edge of a brick that first day.) The residue gets onto the gloves which then pass it to the putty knife. Soon it feels like everything you touch is coated with sticky goo.

I worked for a while on the cabinet and then stepped back to admire...I was horrified! It looked SO MUCH WORSE after an hour of work than it did before I started!! Multicolored streaks of paint still remained along with clumps and globs of the icky residue. Yuck!

I nearly threw in the towel right then. But I knew that there was no way out but forward. That mess, that complete disaster was going to hang on my freshly painted wall in the kitchen and hold my dishes IF IT WAS THE LAST THING THAT I DID.

I worked that day for a couple more hours and basically got the frame on the top cabinet done. Yesterday and today I tackled the bottom cabinet.

I had to keep my focus. I had to stay the course. I had to chant to myself...Keep moving forward, keep moving forward...ok, it wasn't that bad. But nearly!!

Before bed tonight all the drawers and doors and the base of the bottom cabinet that will be our new island had been stripped, sanded and primed with two coats of primer.

That is all I did today. No cooking. Just cereal for breakfast, sandwiches for lunch, and I asked my darling husband to please bring something home for dinner.

Perhaps tomorrow will be a cooking day. I am ready to make PW chili!!

For the record, yesterday I did make the Beans and Cornbread recipe. Both were wonderful and I will make them again. I also fixed myself Huevos Hyacinth for breakfast.