Boat dishes. What do you use?

What do we use for boat dishes? After buying some cheap plastic plates at Wal Mart I thought I had it all figured out. They were the right price, unbreakable and bright colors. Perfect, right? NO! They were so gross when I washed them. The grease from the dishwater just clings to them. We don't have hot water in abundance so washing in cold water is normal. Something has got to change. Shopping I will go! Not a problem. After a few stores and endless searching online I finally found what I want and I love the colors as well. I got dinner and salad plates and bowls. They match with our blue theme on the boat and they look like stoneware.  They are thick, sturdy, wash up nicely and they don't seem to scratch to badly when cutting on them with a steak knife. The glasses that I purchased are a clear melamine rocks tumbler with a diagonal square design. I love them all.  I also purchased wine glasses that were plastic with a stem. For a wedding gift we received some stemless wineglasses from http://www.govinowine.com/

I must say that I use the stemless more. I really love them and they made a wonderful gift for a boater.

Our boat table

The design of the Catalina 27 in 1973 was a Formica table to look like teak. Well it doesn't look like teak and it is very unsteady. Because of the small space in the boat when you try to sit into the dining table you lean on the corner of the table. This way you can shimmy yourself back in there. Unfortunately there is only 1 leg on the front side of the table. This makes the table come unhinged from the latch in the wall and topples. Of course everything that's on the table goes into your lap or onto the floor. We decided that table had to come out and a new one will replace it. Mark made a table out of different types of wood pressed together and then he varnished the hell out of it. He also put fiddles around the edges to avoid things sliding off when healing. He did make an opening in the two corners though to make washing the table easier. The attachments on the back of the table are more solid so that we don't have the same problem when we lean on the table. We like the new look. I will post pictures soon.

This is the old table. It is warped and has a sway in the middle.

Mark is working in the shop on the new table.

Fiddles are being put on.

This is the finished table with a nice varnish on it. It is beautiful.

And works great with the locking hinges.

What is a chore?

At what point is it when you are doing something you enjoy that it becomes a chore?

 

Chore is defined as: 

1. a small or odd job; routine task.

2. chores, the everyday work around a house or farm.

3. a hard or unpleasant task

I have always enjoyed mowing the lawn it is something that I love. I am outdoors, getting exercise, and getting something accomplished that has a beautiful end result.

Even when we lived in Gretna Louisiana, it was so hot and humid outside. The love bugs would come and land on you, but I still enjoyed it. I knew that when I finished I would get to jump into the swimming pool that we had in our backyard. It was my own little reward.

Now I am out mowing the lawn and I feel like its a chore. There are more times than not that I don't enjoy doing it. So I ask myself, when did something that I enjoy doing become such a chore? I realized it was when it was an expectation of me to get it done. No one else was going to lend a hand. It wàs going to be me every week of the summer. They relied on me. Ugh! Why do we have to have such a big lawn! I have a renewed appreciation for when my husband plows the snow.

What have you done that you really love that now seems to be a chore?

DIY Outdoor Pallet Furniture

The Table

I have always looked at other peoples outdoor furniture and have wanted something for myself. I love thye magazines that have the gazebos or canopies with a big sectional type sofa underneath and lights going around. It looks like a big extension from the indoors brought outdoors to be in the sunshine. Why can't we be comfortable when we're outside lounging. There is no reason to have to lay on plastic furniture that makes you sweat and creates lines on your legs. I wanted outdoor entertaining in style.
But have you seen the prices of the furniture in the magazines? The sectional, like I would want,  is about $5000. That is the lifestyle of the rich and the famous. I am neither. So how can I have what I want at the price that I can afford? So I started looking around. And I kept seeing all of the pallet designs. I am a pretty crafty person and I could definitely replicate what they're doing. A little bit of thought process and budgeting ....I could make this work.
First on the list is pallets. That part for me came pretty easy. I worked in a grocery store and had access to pallets off of our trucks that came to deliver my produce. We had a coordinated so I would drive the truck into work that day and he off loaded the pallets on to my truck. I took 12 of them. Now in all of the videos that I have seen, they take the pallets apart and rebuild them. So I tried doing that. It was harder work than you would think. The nails are made to hold. It took me about 2 hours to undo 1 pallet. The second pallet I tried to dismantle wouldn't even budge.Back to the drawing board.
I decided to use them whole the way they are.
My first choice was a table. I had to decide on the design but I would like. I have seen some with glass tops and shelves underneath but glass is expensive. So I contemplated on what other style I could have. We went to the restore here in town and I found tile. So I picked out multi colors for the top and smaller ones to make a design. I made the table 2 pallets hi. And I chose a color that I decided I wanted. I chose dark walnut stain. You may choose to paint your pallet or stain it a different shade. No one will see the inside of the pallets so all you have to do are both sides and the edges. After staining I screwed the two pallets together. Then I laid down a sheet of plywood 40x48 and screwed that on. Next I screwed on a 40x48 piece of backer board. Now comes the tile then the grout. Then four 4x4 posts in the corners on the bottom for legs and 4 casters on to them so you can easily move the table. This will also raise it to its desired height. If you would like it higher or lower choose the size of the leg posts accordingly. Stained the posts and screw then to the bottom pallet in all four corners then screw in the casters. For a finished look I will also add half rounds to the edges of the table and stain them. 

Seats

I stacked the pallets 3 high and I stained them like I did the table. I did not screw them together for ease of movement. I did put a sheet of plywood on the tops 40x48 and stained that as well to make it weatherproof. SD for the cushion , I went shopping. Find what you like. What will fit and what fits into your budget. The long teal cushions on the bottom came from Lowes. I paid $150 total for them. The small pillows I found at Wal Mart. They were $7.99. (Lowes had them for $13.99) The solid colored pillows I made out of the Sunbrella fabric I had left from making things for the sailboat. I got the pillows to cover at a garage sale last year at 3 for $1. They are an ugly floral design but it didn't matter because I one they would be covered. Throw it all together for an amazing end result. if you decide to make your own, please send me a picture. I would love to see your design and creativity. Have fun!