I was given the honor of rolling the first coat of paint for the dining room table, under restoration after several years of heavy use and some peeling paint.

I got this table a few years ago at an auction, it was made with a much larger dining room in mind, but it has worked beautifully for us.

We need at least one more coat of pain, and we’re thinking of applying some Polyurethane as a final coat. We both did the sanding and priming.

All of this will take a couple of days. I like this color better than the salmon we had, I’m not sure why it just seems softer to me.  Maria chose orange.

We’ll stop painting shortly and have some dinner. I’ve started reading the new John Le Carre novel, Agent Running In The Field. He’s my hero in many ways, in his mid 80’s, his writing is strong and captivating as ever.

Both wood stoves are going, now the first time since April, and I am  reminded how much we love this kind of heat. Environmentalists are raising concerns about wood burning, but they are also raising concerns about heating oil.

Wood is a lot of work – stacking, hauling tending. But it’s good to work in this way and it makes our winter sweeter and much more comfortable. The stove fire is even and steady.

I don’t mind those $80 heating oil bills either.