Tuesday, December 07, 2010

Everything old is new again

My parents bought this dresser and a matching crib, just before my brother was born in the early 1940's. I am not sure what the original finish was, but I think it was stained oak. It served my brother, me, my two younger sisters and lots of cousins before it was put into storage.
In the early 1970's when I was expecting Thesha - our first child and my parents first grandchild, I asked my dad if I could have the dresser for the nursery. It had quite a few coats of paint on it by this time, the last one being a blue and white Roxatone finish. Roxatone was a spray on gritty type finish that covered up lots of chips and dings nicely. Trouble being, it was ugly, looked pretty ratty after a few years, and was almost impossible to strip off. Dad lovingly tackled the job, stripped the kazillion coats of paint off, sanded it all down, repainted it a pale yellow for me and transported it from Toronto to Sarnia,(a four hour plus trip) in his truck. Ahh, what sweet memories pop out of every drawer each time I see it now.

I used it for Thesha and Althegal and put it into storage a few years ago. When Thesha was expecting Smudge she asked if she could have it for the nursery, so once again it was pulled out of storage, stripped down, sanded and repainted so it could take a place of honour in the nursery.

There is a matching crib that goes with it and I used it for our kids, but it no longer meets safely standards, so it is still sitting in storage. The wood in it would make a delightful toy-box, bench or table. Sadly it didn't get used for these kids, but maybe the next generation will use the wood for that purpose, so we keep it.

In the meantime the kids think the little closet in the dresser is a fabulous play area. They can both squeeze in in a pinch, but usually take turns.
One will go in with a flashlight, and the other will close the door. They sit in the dark for a few seconds then pop out and the other one goes in for a turn. The door unlatches easily with no chance of getting locked, so it is a safe cozy place for them to play.
Yes, everything old is new again.

4 comments:

Anvilcloud said...

You were speaking of your dad, and then you said "memories pop out."

D3 said...

I can't believe you let dad make a dad joke on your blog! (except I guess since he made a dad joke that really was a "dad" joke, I guess I just made a dad joke, too!!)

Lorna said...

"Everything old is new again."

Not me.

Cuppa said...

AC - it came through loud and clear when I re-read it before posting. Seems very appropriate for Poppo doesn't it?

D3 - You are so funny. I used to call my dad Poppo, so it seemed very appropriate to say the memories "popped" out at me.

Lorna - Yep, you too! Just add a little extra sparkle today and shine, shine, shine!