Of course, since we’re hosting Thanksgiving this year, there were oodles and oodles of recipes to pick and groceries to buy. And of course, I went grocery shopping after work on the one night that involved 37 degree weather mixed with decently heavy rain and large rivers through the parking lot. On top of that, I wore my boots that have a giant hole in the bottom on that day.  Not my smartest set of decisions ever.

But that’s what warm sweatpants are for when you get home.

That covers the traditional preparations.  There were also some non-food creative ventures that happened recently.  A few commissioned paintings allowed me to dust off my watercolor paint brushes.  That was a somewhat scary experience, since the subject matter for one was a bit outside of my normal trees and such.  I like how it turned out though:

It’s an antique dive helmet, in case that isn’t obvious.  It’s also slightly brighter in real life.

After the watercolor adventures, there was a furniture painting adventure.  We’ve had this outdoor table and chairs since some good friends moved away several years ago.  I love inheriting furniture from friends, because it reminds me of people I really really like.  I also like that it’s free.

The table and chairs were cute when we got them–orange plastic with red metal legs on the table and chairs.  Unfortunately, sun and rain and potted plants on the table do eventually leave furniture in need of some TLC.  A few years ago, I painted the plastic portion a darker red to match the legs and bring the set back to its former glory.

Fast forward two years, and things were starting to look shabby again.  Now, thanks to two cans of spray paint that I bought years ago, they’ve been transformed into two shades of green that are really quite nice in our living areas inside and out.  Yay!  Furniture that looks brand new!!!

Now the munchkin table is fresh and Thanksgiving-worthy.  Thanks for the table, friends.  It is being well loved.