nancynall.com » Three pictures of tables.

Three pictures of tables.

I have lots to do today and little to say. You can use the comments as an open thread if you wish — maybe that’ll spark my imagination, if the grocery shopping doesn’t do the trick — or you can say something about these tables. First, the “before” of my mom’s old sewing table, which I started restoring in the spring:

It’s finally finished. The “after:”

I’d say it cleaned up purty good. (Next project: The room it sits in. Yes, that lamp will go. So will lots of other stuff.) And finally, here’s the guest of honor’s setting at my brother’s birthday party, held at my sister Pam’s house:

In her semi-retirement my sister has become an antiques dealer, specializing in glass and ceramics. However, she keeps drinking the profits, so to speak. That china was an auction find, and she got it for an incredible price. It’s gorgeous and flawless and pink, so it’s both midcentury and firecracker-hot, as recent eBay transactions reveal. But even though some gay hostess w/mostest would probably give her four figures for it, she cannot let it go. Truth to tell, I don’t blame her. It really makes a nice table setting.

Back later.

Posted on Tuesday, September 12th, 2006 at 10:07 am in Same ol' same ol'. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.

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brian stouder said on September 12th, 2006 at 10:25 am

It’s finally finished. The “after:�?

No no no – it’s not “the after” – it’s “the Reveal”!

I was taken aback by the headline at msnbc about the fall of the HP chief executive (which has been updated) which said she went down in a “pretexting scandal”.

I had no idea what that meant – and then read this

Dunn apologized for the techniques used in the company’s probe, which included “pretexting�? in which private investigators impersonated board members and journalists to acquire their phone records.

See – THIS is what marks you as getting old; resisting the move to make all the nouns verbs, and all the verbs nouns!

nancy said on September 12th, 2006 at 10:45 am

As Jon Carroll said today: It’s called “pretexting,” apparently, because the investigators use a pretext to get the information requested. That is, they lie. They could call it “lying,” but that’s such a harsh word.

brian stouder said on September 12th, 2006 at 10:56 am

Come to think of it, it DOES sound like some ‘Bonfire of the Vanities’-type corporate lawyer came up with the invented verb “pretexting”.

I noticed a particular one of those late-night commercials that contingency-fee law firms run, fishing for a medical mal-practice case – if your baby ‘suffered any birth injuries’

Birth injuries?

No wonder Chomsky is a linguist!

mary said on September 12th, 2006 at 12:17 pm

Brian
Birth injury isn’t a euphemism or anything. It’s usually associated with oxygen deprivation causing cerebral palsy, or is related to the position of the baby at birth, injuries from forceps or other equipment. If a physician is found at fault for the injury some parents sue. Especially if the injury is such that it causes lifelong problems or major medical expenses.

brian stouder said on September 12th, 2006 at 12:27 pm

Mary – understood; but the term cuts right to the conclusion of a “birth injury” rather than a “birth challenge” (or whatever) that the doctors faced, and in so doing made things better than they would have been. And indeed, the spots mention a whole array of things that may well have nothing to do with the birth process, let alone that they are “birth injuries” (as one would expect, in an ambulance chasing broadcast search for human fodder).

I guess the old fashioned term was “birth defect”, which lacks the profit potential of a “birth injury”

Rory on Lawn Guyland said on September 12th, 2006 at 12:27 pm

Nance: High kudos on the refinishing job! Table really came out nice. Care to share with the hoi polloi a quick review of what you did to get the table that way? Please feel free to recommend products and tools used. I have a few pieces kicking around my garage that I’d love to tackle, if only I knew where to begin.

–NOT Norm Abrams

mary said on September 12th, 2006 at 12:34 pm

Brian
A birth defect is not a birth injury. They are two completely different things.

nancy said on September 12th, 2006 at 12:37 pm

I took most of the paint off with a heat gun, and got the rest with chemical stripper. (I started with the low-environmental-impact citrus stuff, but ended up beaming up to the toxic-waste variety. However, that was only for the toughest parts.) When that was done, I went over it with two grades of sandpaper. Then Minwax stain in the shade of your choice, followed by tung oil until the shine came out. (That was three coats.)

It sounds like a lot, but actually it wasn’t too bad. I took my time and worked outside on pleasant summer days. This was my no-pressure, learning-curve starter project, and I’m really pleased with how it turned out.

Oh, and the new drawer pulls are from Restoration Hardware.

Danny said on September 12th, 2006 at 12:39 pm

Brian, guess I am not seeing it either. I think injury is warranted when something happens during the birth process as opposed to something in the genetics which is more properly termed a birth defect. I just had a friend at work have a hip replacement because he was a breach birth and his hip was damaged when the doctor turned him around. He does not have a birth defect. Nothing is wrong with him genetically.

On another note. Anyone interested in Bob Seger? He is releasing an album today (first one in 11 years). He is going to be interviewed on Jim Rome’s radio show today (sports lak show, but Bob is a sports fan). The show came on about 40 minutes ago. It is a three hour show. Not sure which hour he will be on.

nancy said on September 12th, 2006 at 12:39 pm

Oh, and Mary’s right about birth defect/injury. The former is a congenital defect (like Down Syndrome), the latter inflicted on an otherwise healthy infant at birth for any number of reasons (non-congenital cerebral palsy is probably the most common).

Danny said on September 12th, 2006 at 1:04 pm

UPDATE: Bob Seger in hour number 3 on Jim Rome show.

Go to http://www.jimrome.com/home/apr/affiliate_list.html for list of affiliates (if you are interested). I’ve never heard an interview with Seger. Should be fun to here some of his sports takes.

mary said on September 12th, 2006 at 1:35 pm

Any chance for a close up on the screw heads of the drawer pulls?

Danny said on September 12th, 2006 at 5:27 pm

Here’s a shocking headline on Drudge:

‘GIRLS GONE WILD’, FOUNDER GUILTY IN SEXUAL EXPLOITATION CASE…

In other news, sky found to be blue and kettle is black.