I'm not a crafty person.  My experience in Home Ec. class was a disaster during the sewing portion.  I have learned to knit, crochet and embroider - Mom did try to instill some homemaking skills in me- but I've never loved doing those things.  

And don't get me started on drawing, painting and the like.  My projects are epic fails.  When I used to teach Sunday School, little kids would mistake my "Pin the Tail on the Donkey" as a mongrel dog! So if you do see me doing something in the arts and crafts department, it will be for the social time and not the actual activity.

But of late, I thought I'd try my hand at refinishing a piece of antique furniture.  Some friends of ours were getting rid of old items they found on their new acreage and we happened to be around at just that moment.  So we dragged two dressers home; they were in good shape and had all the drawers, legs and most of their hardware.  I saw potential in these pieces and asked myself: how hard can this be?

I recall my Mom refinishing an old fold-down desk that had several coats of lead-based paint on it. Mom used some kind of product/chemical to remove the layers of green, cream and blue paint and scraped and wiped until the natural wood was revealed.  After it was cleaned thoroughly, Mom applied Danish oil, which brought out the beautiful wood grain and enhanced the colour, a soft honey-gold oak, if I remember correctly.  The desk became mine; the writing surface lowered and it contained cubby-holes where my little notes and pictures and keepsakes could be hidden away from pesky eyes!  

Somehow, my childhood memory didn't account for the difficulty of removing paint, layers of historical eras of fashion and style.  I don't remember Mom being frustrated or delayed in the project.  One day the desk was painted a hospital green, the next it seemed to be a lovely antique.  Reality is that as I have applied various chemical products, scraped and used much "elbow grease" and still the paint is taking  forever to get off the old dresser. 

The antique effect that had been quite popular must have involved two or three applications of product to produce said effect.  Last fall I experimented with the various methods of removal and then let the project lie for the winter.  I finally got to it this week.  And made some reasonable progress...

The larger dresser had a mirror, with various ornate pieces on the bracket that attached the glass to the chest of drawers.  I had done most of my experimenting on the littler pieces to find which method worked best.  But after realizing how difficult and time-consuming this would be, I've decided to just tackle the smaller dresser and then finish and repair the mirror to be hung above the little dresser.  

I'm doing the project in the shade outside, out of the heat.  And hopefully before the snow flies, I can post pictures of the final results of all my work.  The wood is a light birch (as Walter can ascertain) and I think it will look rich with a coat or two of Danish Oil and some new drawer pulls.  The mirror frame is probably of a similar wood, but the glass is broken.  I will refinish the frame first and then see if it is worth replacing that mirror.  

Any advice from those of you who've done this type of thing before?  Let me know any tricks, tips and shortcuts that may be helpful for a novice like me!!!

 Cottage, cabin, summer home.

All these conjure up in my mind quaint, rustic and simple structures.  Basic shelter for sleeping or protection from inclement weather, but nothing fancy or ornate.

That's what we have as a get-away spot!

Some history: over 25 years ago, one of our dear First Nations friends offered us the use of her cabin at Sandy Beach (between Lebret and Katepwa in the Qu'Appelle Valley).  Gloria and her late husband owned this cabin and they and their family had enjoyed wonderful times there.  But all their children had moved away from the area and now Gloria wasn't using it as much.  So we got a set of keys and directions to locate the cabin and away we went!

The lot is a lovely treed space with a front and back access for parking.  Tall birch and elm trees towered over us, with overgrown and scraggly Caragana bushes lining one side of the lot. There were two wells on the property; neither one was working as no one had used or maintained them in recent years.  So we took it upon ourselves to tidy up and work on a few projects around the cabin and lot in exchange for the use of the space.

The cabin itself is a two-room 30 foot by 40 foot building.  Set up on concrete blocks, there is no basement or true foundation.  A lean-to was attached to the side with a separate entrance off the narrow deck.  It was used for a wash space and storage, or extra sleeping area.  The main room had a large picture window along one wall, couch and two chairs all circa 1950's to 1970's style.  The kitchen area had a small sink, two feet of counter space, a regular electric stove with a small fridge across from it.  A square table and four chairs sat beside the fridge, giving only two feet of walking/working space.  The corner of the cabin contained a tiny bedroom with a 3/4 mattress, small dresser and open closet with shelf and row of hangers underneath.  A sliding door separated the bedroom from the living room.  A window opened onto the lean-to from the bedroom and the kitchen, so clearly it was an after-thought!  

It was fun and cute and our kids thought it was fantastic!  They were all under 10 years old back then and their standards and expectations were pretty simple.  

The main living space was outdoors.  A picnic table, firepit area and lots of open grass for playing games and catch with a football or frisbee.  Ideal for active kids.  As we explored, we found a shed filled with rake, shovel, lawnmower, random tools and containers of nails, screws and such.  The shelves were laden with old pails and shovels for the beach and toys for outdoors.  Treasures!

And then tucked beyond the shed in the trees and bushes was a white, one-seater outhouse.  Cobwebs, odor and squeaky hinged door all made for wrinkled up noses and hesitation to use this facility.  But we cleaned it up, using disinfectant and a broom and soon it was not so bad.

After a year or so of using this cabin, Gloria offered it to us and our co-pastor's family for sale.  None of her kids wanted the property and Gloria's health was declining.  She made us a deal we couldn't refuse and so we bought it in installments along with our friends.  We made plans to open it up for the season on the May long weekend.  Our two families packed up food, tools and cleaning supplies and went to work.  Noisy fun and some progress was made as we removed plywood covers from the windows, repaired some rotting wood rails on the deck and trimmed trees and grass.  We roasted hot dogs and marshmallows, and enjoyed the fruits of our labours!  

Since then, we have spent a couple of weeks a year, or maybe the odd long weekend there with our family.  With no functioning well, we have to haul all water for drinking and cleaning.  Spit baths are all one can perform at the cabin; we used to have access to the campground coin-op showers but not these days.  So hosting our whole family now that we have spouses and a grandbaby isn't really possible.  But the memories are so special and we cherish the adventures over the years.

Hiking the trans-Canada trail, days at Katepwa Beach, fishing and boating, tours of the Motherwell Homestead, watching fireworks on July 1...great times together!

This summer, Walter and I have spent a couple stretches of time sitting around the fire, cutting grass and piling up kindling and firewood, driving our quad along the trail or up the valley on the backroads, and cooking over the open fire as often as possible.  The cabin was used for our pastors' day retreat, kids/youth campout, personal prayer retreats and family vacations.  I remember we hosted a corn roast for about 30 people one year!

With some planning, we can rig up a showerhouse and add more sleeping space with RV/camper trailers pulled onsite.  I think "Gloria's Cabin" will still have lots of use in the future!  I sure hope so.  The cabin is one of my "happy places" and God's gift to us when we need rest.