This week, Gasant Abarder reveals in his #SliceOfGasant column how he beat the Black Friday weekend temptation by keeping himself busy with a furniture restoration project.
The project left him feeling broken physically but mentally invigorated. And his bank balance is still intact.
We have an eight-seater teak patio set with chairs that is about 15 years old and it had fallen into such a bad state of disrepair that I tried to flog it on Facebook Marketplace. These things cost a fortune, and it was selling for a song for just R1000 because it needed a lot of TLC.
But everyone was trying to blackball me (actually, it’s lowball but that won’t fit the pun to follow). So, this weekend I beat the urge to go Black Friday shopping to save R5 on a jar of coffee – driving out way more than that in petrol – and got to work on restoring the table.
A lot of us won’t stay in the black this festive season. In some instances, annual increases haven’t happened and there are no bonuses. I mean, throw us a freaking bonus here! In extreme cases, jobs have been cut and even salaries.
There are gifts to be bought, festive lunches, occasions and secret Santa work exchanges. The best thing to do is stay home. Or even better: Stay calm and DIY.
So, I got up at 7am on Sunday and gave the table a good old scrub. The coat of varnish applied a few years back was long gone. The table and chairs were now grey in colour with streaks of flaking varnish. My mouse sander was going to have all its days.
I didn’t know how it was going to turn out. But the process was cathartic. And when I saw life in the old girl yet, revealing a beautiful natural wood grain with the first 20 centimetres I sanded, I stood back to admire my handiwork. This was actually going to work.
I just lost myself in the job, being careful to wear gloves and safety goggles. I should have worn a mask because now all the wood particles are stuck in my nose and throat. But the mask reminded me too much of COVID-lockdown and the sun was beating down.
All the while, I was completely immersed in the project – working systematically from one section of the table to the other end to reveal a canvas that was going to look amazing when done.
There were no thoughts about money, work or what was still needed before the school year ended. And certainly, no thoughts about blowing it all on the 10 percent off that jacket I wanted.
This was soothing and a great stress reliever. Or so I thought. Later that evening, my joints seized up and I could feel the inflammation in my muscles pounding away. My fingers – all 10 of them are still accounted for – were tingling from the sander’s vibrations. I went to bed reeking of Deep Heat but also with a great sense of pride.
This time I wasn’t going to varnish the table. I hate varnish because it tends to react quite badly in the sun over time. I discovered Woodoc when I did the same project for our indoor dining room a few years back. We spill curry on the table, fizzy drinks and all other manner of things. But it never stains and only needs a good wipe of the interior furniture wax every few months or so.
When I ragged on that first part of the exterior Woodoc, the grains started showing in all their glory. This was a good few hours after I first started working. To say Mrs Abarder was impressed was an understatement.
Now for the eight chairs. Yikes! But this coming weekend we’re staying away from the shops for the Christmas specials and I’ll be sanding chairs. The same can be said for cooking. By making a home-cooked meal over weekends, you spend 80 percent less than buying takeaways. And it is equally cathartic.
This former mommy’s boy is now an accomplished cook and part-time artisan. And boy, is it fun. There is a saying about coloured people over the festive season that when everyone is on holiday, we’re busy cooking, cleaning and painting the house like it’s no one’s business.
I am so confident now I might even grout the fireplace cladding the guy I hired messed up. So, join me as I tap into my coloured-ness and lose yourself in the mundanity of it all.
Your bank balance and your mental health will thank you!
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Picture: Brett Sayles / Pexels
