Our big ol' farmhouse table!

The dining table is the centre of the home.  It is the place where the family stops, sits down together & praises the Lord for his provisions (as well as sharing in them).  It is the church, school & trauma centre of the home  .  It is where many memories are made of loud, happy family meals, where many tears are cried over sadnesses, where much advice is given out  & where many friends are joyfully welcomed.

 The first table we purchased was just before we were married - it was a you-beaut cheapy off the floor at Super Amart - defective- which means that we got it even cheaper.  (We were on kinda a super tight budget - what with Dave having just finished his apprenticeship & myself almost completed my uni degree (I finished 3 weeks before we were married).)  We always planned on updating as it  squeaked everytime someone leaned on it  & as the years went by the chair backs began falling off - at first we could repair them, but eventually even the repair holes got too big to fit anymore screws of any kind in, so we just warned the kids to be careful & made sure guests had the couple that stayed intact.

An impromptu picnic by the silt dam - it was quite cold, but the first mildly sunny day we'd had in weeks!

  Well finally after 10 3/4 years of marriage we've done it - we've made the big plunge & updated.  Now before you start thinking flash - we are not flash.  Oh & have I told you that since reading the Duggars book, we try & use the "buy used, save the difference" policy.  We decided to buy a bigger table than just 6 seater - for two reasons - one being that we love to entertain & it is so nice to fit families around the table rather than banishing the children to another room.   We were eyeing off a few tables on ebay & were so disappointed when one that was only 3 hours drive away went before we could bid.... but finally we came across this 10-seater that was poorly listed (they said it was orange, although it looked very pine in the single dodgy picture).  We were a bit dubious about buying it, but figured at the amount we were bidding it could be redone & used as an outdoor table if it wasn't what we wanted (ie was actually orange) - we did ask a lot of questions & it sounded great   I waited to the last minute to bid & then wham-bam in only the way of online auctions, we were the proud owners of a new (to us), 3m long orange table complete with 10 matching chairs. (Yikes what had I done????)

We travelled 5 hours  to Sydney to pick this up - choosing to look at it as a fun family road trip (in case the table was a heap of junk).  When we arrived we were pleasantly surprised to see this:

A beautiful pine table in perfect condition with just one previous owner (a little old lady who recently passed away).  Also 10 sturdy chairs that looked like they could stand up to the onslaught of our boys without any troubles (a least the backs shouldn't fall off!!).  Well we packed it up & bought it home & got one of our good friends to help maneuver it into place in the dining room.  We are just so thankful for this blessing as we priced a new one of this size & we paid less than a 10th of the price (which is actually less than we paid for our squeaky, falling-to-pieces first table!) 

So why am I writing about this - well I have a twofold reason - firstly my family have asked to see pictures &  the blog is an easy way to show them all.  Also does anyone know how to get the faint smell of cigarette smoke out of wood??? - I've polished it top & bottom & it's much less, but I'm really hoping to banish it completely.

So should you visit Sunnyside, we are now ready with somewhere for you to sit & relax & enjoy the warm sun coming in the big farmhouse windows (unless it's raining which is a regular occurrence these days :) -although that's a whole new post)!

Have a happy day