Table that

I have always hated the top of our kitchen table.  Over the years, it had become a collector of grime.  Newspaper grime was the worst and I could never get it off.  It also had lots of deep scratches.  So I decided I would refinish it. 

Well, not sure what it was finished in before, but removing it was a disaster.   I tried sanding.  It would gum up the paper and would tear it in only a few seconds.  I tried 2 different strippers, one was old so I bought a new one, nope, didn't do anything but leave a mess on the top.  It was extremely frustrating.  I finally gave up, so we were left with an un-useable table. 

We have had the set for about 15 years.  I have glued or screwed the chairs together 3 times (2 were broken and un-useable, so I took parts from each and made 1 we could use, so down to 5 chairs total), so maybe it was time for a new table.  I went looking online and at the store, but they were not my 'country' style and were way too expensive.  Hmmm.  What to do?  

Oh, yeah, Craigslist.  Sure enough, found a couple of choices I liked much better, went and looked and bought one.  About 1/4 the cost of a new one, it is about 5 years old, gently used (recycle, yes!:)  It has a leaf to extend too, the top is tile.  I'm happy.