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 About
the time we needed a large table the most was when we were least able to
afford one. There was youth, strength and friends to be entertained with
good food and drink. Never to be discouraged we began to shop for a
table to serve our needs. The more we shopped the more discouraged
we became. There was a glimmer once when we looked at a table on sale for
four hundred dollars. The legs were shaky from the length and width
of the top of it though. There were no chairs for this price, only
the table. The chairs would have been another one hundred dollars a
piece. With ten chairs, well? At this rate it would have been
better just to pay a couple of thousand for a set.
To make a long story short
this is what we did. My husband bought a piece of the heavier
plywood, size four foot by eight foot. On the older smaller sturdy
table with a pedestal we owned he screwed one by fours across the the top
of it in strips. On this he then screwed this large piece of  plywood.
He had already trimmed the corners for the shape you see here. On this he
applied several coats of a very good black enamel paint. Over this
he put several coats of Varathan paint, the heavy clear paint used for
protecting objects.
The plywood cost was around
thirty dollars, the paint somewhere around this too. For sixty dollars we
now have this large table that has served us for a number of years, and
I'm sure for a number more. By changing the chairs, the
tablecloth and the table settings, one can come up with endless pleasant
array of arrangements for dinner parties. I did have a set of lovely heavy
carved chairs. This was when we were younger and entertaining so
much. They have long since gone their way. One day, when I can
get to town to purchase some more I plan to do so, since they really
add a touch of class to the decor.
It has been said an artist is
never impoverished. These are the things I'm trying to share with my
grandchildren. Certainly, adults enjoy the special attention
one gives to this area of house. However, it has been a great
surprise to see how much the children enjoy these easy to do little
extras.
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