One Cool Stool

You see this little old white step stool, that our dog Dion is so curious about?

It's a newcomer to That Old House, but it's no stranger to hard work.

It was long ago nailed together from pine boards, painted a robin's egg blue:

(Can you see the traces of blue under the cracks and chips?)

Then, repainted white, and used and used and used and used . . . and it is not yet used up.

At some point, it was repaired. Look underneath, and you can see that its old leg
has a split or big crack, and that explains the boards nailed outside, for strength and support.
Waste not, want not.

That's the Show. Now for the Tell.

How did this old chipped and crazed step stool wind up in my kitchen, being molested by a suspicious spaniel?

A church friend asked me if I wanted it. Willa had devotedly cared for a very elderly member of our church, and when Ellie passed away and Willa was sorting out her things, she found this stool. "It's worn, and old, not in very good shape, but when I saw it I thought that it belonged at your house," she said. "Do you want it?"

Of course I did. We could run a halfway house
for the old and worn and not-in-very-good-shape things of this world.

But this stool has many years of service left. It's sturdy and strong, and its hard-earned "chippy" patina tells the story of the many times it has been put to good use, to reach that jar at the back of the shelf, or boost a child to reach a kitchen faucet for hand-washing, or help someone reach up to paint the trim over the door.

I like the color of those paint drips, don't you? Sort of butterscotch.

As for Dion, he has not made up his mind about this newcomer on his turf.
But as long as the newcomer doesn't claim sofa space or cookie treats, he'll come around.

And for myself, as I develop my own chipped and cracked patina, I hope I can manage to always find mission in life, and be useful. It's a very high calling, for this step stool, and for me.

Willa also said I might want to repaint this old stool. But I have a feeling she knows I won't.

Go check out other Show & Tell stories at Cindy's My Romantic Home blog.
You will be glad you did. I promise! -- Cass