Picnic Table

We had some really high winds come sweep through here a few weeks ago. When I looked outside I saw that our umbrella to our patio set was laying on the other side of the back yard. After retrieving it I walked back over to our table to find the glass top shattered into four billion pieces (approximately). We love sitting and dining outside and to be without a table has stirred Mica to appoint me as project manager. 

We looked for patio furniture that might be on sale with the changing seasons but we were a bit too late to get in on some of that action. We decided a picnic table would be cool and I set myself to build one. I landed on some plans on found online, wrote down the shopping list and headed to the Home Depot. Now, if you're from Eugene/Springfield you are incredibly spoiled. I guess I've just taken advantage of the fact that our "Jerry's" is the largest privately owned home improvement shopping center in the country! They not only have everything you could possibly want they also have an incredibly well-trained staff with years of field experience, and they do customer service like non-other.  So I'm down at "The De-pot" looking for lumber for my picnic table and they don't even sell cedar deck boards! Ha!  Therefore I resorted to Doug Fir while the boys and I proceeded to sift through two units of lumber until we obtained all the best-looking boards.

I spent the next day cutting and sanding in preparation for the application of some kind of wood treatment (stain, sealer, etc.), which I wanted to apply prior to assembling. So I'm back down at "The De-pot" in the paint department talking to a surprisingly knowledgeable sells guy who told me that I had plenty of options, that is until I told him my table was being constructed of Doug Fir.  Shaking his head he told me that it was unfortunate I had not gone with Cedar, for now I would have to go with a full-color stain because Doug Fir does not take stain very well.  I call this “The De-pot Paradox.”  I miss you Jerry’s.