hope & salvage: Intercepted on the way into church

It's hard for me to claim having been to church today, because I was, and I wasn't. As I was switching my phone off, in the parking lot, it rang. Was I supposed to let it go to voice mail? I knew what it was going to be about, a young person making the wrong decisions when there were clearly more right roads to take. I answered. I listened. I shared. We talked most of what would have been mass time. A dilemma was averted, but it was hardly church. I looked online to see what the readings were that I missed and I chose this for my Sunday song.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B8ifVNaN8pY&list=PLSSTPHLHIVMTGOTG6ESCWZURTHDTRUWSA

The gospel, about "not living by bread alone" is in the later verses of this tune written by Karen Lafferty, formerly of the Maranatha Singers; and this song is sung by an un-credited children's group, unlike the 40 others I listened to before choosing this one. Centuries ago, I taught a Children's Choir and this was one of our favorite songs. We sang it accompanied by simple piano, in a round, and it was one of the offerings we presented at the Padua High School singing competition. I could impress you with our excellence by saying that we came in first in that competition. However, to be honest, we were the only grade school that entered. The rest were high schools. There was something about the pure, soulful innocence of those 50 or so kids that convinced the judges to pick us, over the polished vocals of the older students. I do not think any recordings exist of those days, as anything I would have hung onto perished in our post-Christmas blaze of 1997. I closed my eyes today though and pretended this was my choir...and...it is...in my heart. It is, of course, Seek Ye First.

"Seek ye first, the kingdom of God, and His righteousness. And all these things shall be added onto you. Allelu, alleluia. Man shall not live by bread alone, But by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. Allelu, alleluia."

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I'm not clear on what is the exact definition of the phrase, "hot mess", but I'm going to show you a photo of an object that I think, is, a "hot mess". Probably no explanation is necessary, but I will bore you with one, anyway. Especially, since I promised finished projects (even though the time I had defied that logic) and I have none. Here is one of the ones that I said would be CRAZY-with issues.

This camouflage coffee table probably has a really good back story, like living in a kid's tree house, or secret garden, or boyhood home of Rambo, but all I really know is that it is a gift from my good buddy, Ken. He could have transformed this piece into something amazing, I'm sure, but gave me first crack. And, the vision I have uses all my former life skills, including, filleting fish .

Someone spent a good amount of time painting, this way and that, on the sturdy, bamboo base.

As you can see, the top is laminate over pressed board, which has swollen from moisture. I separated the base from the top and dispatched it IMMEDIATELY! Sometimes, things are just trash. I am giddy over the plans I have for the new top. Think quilting, but without fabric. The base will be stripped and painted, and attached to a new face tomorrow. Stay tuned.

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I wanted to share with you a tip for re-doing the insides of dresser drawers that are scratched and you are contemplating putting CONTACT paper over it. DON'T. DO IT. Take a little denatured alcohol on a rag and wipe over it. It will redistribute the shellac enough to cover the scratches, and you won't have harmed the universe by unnecessarily cutting down a plastic CONTACT tree. Here is a before view:

And after: It literally took me 30 seconds and look at the difference.

I also want to put in a plug for our community Habitat for Humanity ReStores. The one I frequent is on 110th off of Lorain, but I hear good things about the Akron and Medina stores, [although they have fewer hours.] It is open 10-4, Tuesday through Saturday. Builders, construction trades, and other kind people donate their goods and time to fill these shops with excess building materials, tear-outs, and other miscellaneous that have to be seen to be fully appreciated. And for prices so reasonable that they are almost giving it away. Take for instance, this box of shoe tacks I purchased for $.30. There must be over 400 tacks in there and I used them on the bottoms of the above drawers to tighten them up. Winning! (I swear, I hardly ever watched that show.) I know you think shoe tacks should be used for shoes, but who goes around wearing shoe mold on their New Balance?