Replacing the Fabric on Dining Room Chairs

          You can update the look of your dining room chairs in an afternoon by recovering the cushion with a stylish new fabric..

      Our dining room chair seats were looking a little tired.  Not only was the fabric worn, but, Goldilocks would have agreed, the seats were too hard.  The time had come for action.
     I chose an upholstery grade fabric that is stain resistant.  It comes in long 54 inch rolls.  One yard will cover two cushions.  I always like to get extra fabric to make a runner for the table.  It's better to have too much fabric, than too little.  So get more than you think you might need.

     I found a four pack of foam for seat cushions at Walmart.   I was upholstering five chairs, so I needed two packs.  I also used a light duty stapler, a tape measure, and an electric drill.  My stapler is old, but you can find a similar one at Amazon.

     Turn the seat over and look at the bottom.  The seat is attached by one screw in each of the four corners.  Use the electric drill in reverse to remove the screws.  Save those screws!  You will use them to reattach the seat.  The seat will lift off of the chair.

     Using a screwdriver and my considerable strength, I pried the old staples off the back and removed the old fabric.  If your seats have not been recovered before, you can skip this step.
     I cut a piece of the replacement fabric about three inches larger than the chair seat.  Note:  Pay attention to the pattern of the fabric so that it is consistent and facing in the direction you want it to be in on the chair.  I placed that top side down on the table.   My chair seats were tapered.  I used one of the extra foam cushions to cut a long triangle to place on either side of the seat.  These were set on the fabric and finally the seat frame was added.  I wrapped the fabric around the layers rather like a present.  The material needs to be pulled taunt while it is being stapled in place.  I started by putting a staple in the center of each side.  Then a staple for each of the corners.  Pay attention to the front corners to keep them neat.  Continue to pull the fabric tight and work your way around the seat.   Extra material can be trimmed away by following the staple line.
     Place the chair on the now cushioned seat and replace the original screws.

     Turn the chair right side up and give it the Goldilocks test!  Our cat, Luna, was the first to try out the new cushions.

Redeemed

  Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;
  His love endures forever.
  Let the redeemed of the LORD tell their story— 

      those he redeemed from the hand of the foe, 

      those he gathered from the lands, 

      from east and west, from north and south.  ~Psalm 107

     There are moments in your life that change you forever.  Sometimes you can almost feel the earth shift under your feet.  Other times it happens so quietly that you don’t realize the significance of what has happened until you look back for that moment that made everything different.
     I was out with some girlfriends at a dance hall when a dashing young man came over to our table and asked me to dance.  I can still see him.  His blue eyes flashed at me under his dark brown hair, a combination that had always made my heart beat faster.  He had on a white button down shirt and brown corduroy pants.  We danced late into the night and I have been dancing with that man ever since.
     Pat and I had been dating almost a year when the company he worked for hired another young man by the name of Steve.  Steve had recently moved to the area with his wife and daughter.  Steve was short, going prematurely bald, and carried a pocket sized Bible.  He began to talk to Pat about having a relationship with Jesus.  He and Pat would have long debates on how a relationship was different from a religion.  I lived at school about an hour away during the week and went home on weekends to see my family and Pat.  Pat would call me during the week, long distance - when long distance cost an exorbitant amount of money.  Pat told me about his conversations with Steve.  He wanted me to provide him with ammunition against the things that Steve was saying.  The problem was that Steve made a whole lot of sense.
     On Saturday evenings, I went to a Catholic church with my Mom.  We always left right after communion.  Going to church made me thirsty to experience more of God.  The God I had learned about had a whole lot of rules, and seemed to become very angry with those who did not follow them.  I had studied Jesus in the New Testament before dropping out of catechism class, but I couldn’t connect the stern Father and His miracle working Son.
     One night after hanging up the phone with Pat, I prayed, “God, if Pat decides to get baptized then I will know that You are in this.”  Now where that came from I am not sure, because we hadn’t even talked about baptism.  Both of us had already been baptized as infants.
     The next weekend, Pat was about three hours late to pick me up.  He claimed that he had been busy.  What he didn’t say was that the night before he had been given a dream.  In his dream he saw hell all around him.  It was utterly dark and full of emptiness and despair and then he sensed God’s hand cover him and everything changed into joy, happiness, and love.   It was in a phone call in the middle of the next week that Pat confessed that he had gone with Steve to be baptized in a nearby creek.
     The next weekend I was also baptized in the same creek.  I remember feeling so fresh, clean and new after coming up out of that water.   My life was forever changed.
     I have to admit, neither Pat nor I prayed long eloquent prayers asking Jesus to come into our heart.  We didn’t know enough to.  God drew us to Him in His unfailing kindness with an everlasting love.
     Pat and I immediately looked for a church to learn and serve in.  We married about six months later.

 Let the redeemed of the LORD tell their story— 
   those he redeemed from the hand of the foe, 
 those he gathered from the lands, 
from east and west, from north and south.  Some wandered in desert wastelands, 
finding no way to a city where they could settle. They were hungry and thirsty, 
and their lives ebbed away. 
 Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble,  and he delivered them from their distress.  He led them by a straight way to a city where they could settle. 
 Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love  and his wonderful deeds for mankind, 
 for he satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things.  Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love 
 ~Psalm 107

     Sometimes, you meet a  stranger who asks you to dance and your life changes.  But anytime God asks you to dance, your life will always be changed.

     What has God done for you?

21 Graces: Week Six

     On Friday's I post 21 things for which I am grateful this week.  Here is my list for this week.
I explain how it works here.

1. Winning movie tickets for two at our dentists office.  Pat and I are planning a movie date for the weekend!
2. My boys went back to school on Monday.  New beginnings.
3. Continuing our home projects.  Moving into the kitchen.
4. My husband went out and bought all of the specific binders, colored folders, # 2 pencils, highlighters, graphing calculators, index cards, red pens, spiral notebooks, boxes of tissues, hand sanitizer, and paper the teachers requested for class.  THANK YOU, Pat!
5. My new planner - which is amazing!
6. Shopping for baby girl clothes for a friend.
7. New school shoes.
8. Getting to see my students again.
9. An encouraging word from a friend.
10. A tiny frog in my yard.  It was about the size of a nickel.
11. Moving the alarm on my clock to off on Friday night.
12. Kayaking on a quiet lake.
13. The fresh smell of rain.
14. The trees in the neighborhood sporting their first tinges of fall color.
15. The sound of thunder rumbling in the distance.
16. Evening walks with my husband.
17. Our cat curled on my feet at night.
18. Any dessert involving Nutella.
19. Hair dye, which restores hair to an actual color found in nature.  (Not for me.)
20. Being in Grand Central Station.
21. Red, white, and blue on 9/11.

One Person. One Child. One Action.

“Who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?”       ~Esther 4: 14

     One person.  One simple ordinary person.  A mother.  A father.  A sister.  A brother.  Busy.  Enthusiastic.  Dedicated.  Courageous. Willing.  Game playing.  Not famous or rich.  Hard working.  Wanting to be more.  To do more.  Ordinary.
     One person with a desire to make a difference.  With a vision for change.  Willing to take the challenge.

One child.  One child in need.  Innocent.  Living in poverty.  Dragged down. Lacking clean water.  Needing an education.

     Willing to risk believing that some one, someone they have never met,  could care.  Hesitantly going to a Compassion Center.  Turning their faces to a camera in hope.  Breathing a prayer of need.

One action.  Sponsoring a child.  Changing lives forever.  Spreading hope.  Making a difference.  Showering love.  Answering prayers in an envelope.  Breaking the cycle of poverty.  Recognizing the potential of the onel.

     See what God can do through one person willing to respond to His call, to be used by Him in love.  Are you that one?  Visit Compassion International.

Entry Closet Reorganization - Preview

     We have been working on our entry closet.  This closet serves as our launching pad for the day.  It houses coats, backpacks, and shoes.  It is used by guests, how embarrassing, and family.  There were even seasonal tablecloths stuffed in there.
     Let me give you a glimpse at how far it has come.

     Here is the sad looking before.  In an effort to organize several years ago, we added this shelving organizer.  It was a bit of a disaster and never worked for our family the way I hoped.

     Here is the same closet now.  Not quite finished, but coming along.  It does make me smile!

     Here is another angle of the sad before.

     And the after.

     I'll post finished pictures and tell you how we did it soon.  We also added beadboard and a chair rail to the hallway.  So excited!

21 Graces: Week Five

     I've always admired those faithful people who are counting a thousand blessings.  I thought about attempting it from time to time.  But,  recording 1,000 blessings seemed a little overwhelming.  I'm good at accepting blessings, but to write them down was another story.  That's why when I saw the idea behind 21 Graces, I was excited to jump in.  Everyday I note three things which blessed me.  That's it, just three things.  At the end of the week there are 21 Graces.  So simple.  God always blesses me with far more than three each day.

     Friend, you are welcome to join in on the fun.  Visit Jordy Liz Blogs to link up or to find out more.

1. My son, Brian,  came to visit for the long weekend.
2. Brian replaced some of the light switches in the house for us.
   
3. A second trip to the Renaissance Fair.
4. The generous heart of my youngest son, Connor, who gave $1.00 to Robin Hood because the actor said he needed money for the poor.
5. An inspiring Convocation speech from our new Superintendent for the opening of the school year.
6. Productive meetings for the first few days and time to add the last touches to our classrooms before the students come on Friday.
7. Continuing work on projects around the house.  We are beginning to see some things coming together.  So exciting.
8. A little frog sitting in a mud puddle enjoying the day.
9. We built a small fire pit in our backyard with leftover pavers.  Camp fires at home!
10. We had s'mores!!!!
11. Building a fire in the fire pit is like an open invitation to the kids to stop whatever they are doing and come sit with Mom.  
12. Reviewing a new book by Misty Leask.  The book is Dear Wife.
13. Giving a friend a picture that I took of her and her puppy. 
14. Passing an art picture on to a friend who will appreciate it.
15. Changing our bedspread for Fall.
16. Listening to my boys laughing together.
17. Making a new friend at school.
18. A thoughtful husband.
19. Encouraging others to sponsor a child through Compassion International.
20. Watching our chickens peck and scratch on the lawn.  The girls won't eat earthworms.  I thought all chickens ate worms.  If you have chickens - do yours?
    
21. This.

Tag! You're It!

And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.  ~Jeremiah 29:13

             I crouched in the dark trying not to breathe too loudly and give my hiding place away.  I listened intently for the person who was trying to catch me.  My heart thumped against my chest.  I flinched at the tickle running across my ankle and hoped it wasn’t a spider, or worse, a snake.  A twig snapped close by.  Should I run for it?  Or should I stay?  There!  A flashlight scanned the clump of bushes to the side of me.  I leapt to my feet!  The flashlight flashed across my face and chest accompanied by a triumphant yell, “I found you!  Tag!  You’re It!”  I squealed, caught between disappointment and delight.  I hurriedly took the flashlight from my friend and eagerly began to count.
     Now it was my turn.  It was dark and the way was uncertain.  There were obstacles to go around and many places that needed to be searched.  Gleefully, I turned the flashlight high and low searching out my friends favorite hiding places.  We never tired of playing flashlight tag.
    God says that we will find Him when we seek Him with all of our heart.  But how do I keep my focus on Him in this demanding world that pulls me in so many ways?    I want to have a childlike wonder at the closeness of Jesus who loves even me.  Me.  Me with all of my warts and worries, sins and secrets, me.  It is so easy to lose sight of Him when my attention is arrested by the busyness and stresses of life.  I ricochet from one thing to another like a flashlight in the dark.
     Still, I want to grab hold of the light and chase away the dark.  I know the Lord is not hiding from me like my friends were in our game of flashlight tag.  He wants to be found.  To be found and passed along to others.  Everything you and I do as believers should point to God.  We are to shine.  To make a difference in the lives of others.  To take charge over the darkness.  We draw others to God by pointing, or shining our light in His direction.  Person to person.  Hand to hand.  His love reaching out.
     One way to shine your light is through the ministry of Compassion International.  Right now, there are children waiting.  You can sponsor a child with a tax-deductible contribution of $38 a month.  Your support provides food and clean water, medical care, educational opportunities, and even more importantly, your sponsored child will hear about the Light of the World.  Please visit the Compassion website.

Your word is a lamp to my feet
.   And a light to my path.  ~Psalm 119:105

     Tag!  You're it!

http://www.compassion.com/sponsor_a_child/default.htm?referer=133234