The Story of my Harvest Table....

Well, I have mentioned before that sometime I would share the story of how I aquired my harvest table, and I guess today, since I actually have some free time, is the time to tell you about it.
So, grab a cup of coffee, this will take a few minutes! ;)
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My family and I went antiquing after church,one Sunday in July of 2008 to my favorite antique shops. It just so happens that a cousin of mine works at the antique shop and we got to talking about our likes and interests in decor. I told her that I love more prim antiques, over victorian and so forth. "Well", she said...."have you seen the very prim and old table up here....it is so neat?!" I said "oh, no I haven't...."
As soon as she took me back to see it I WAS IN LOVE! She told us that everyone just loves it and stops and looks at it, but you have to have the right house for it, and you have to have enough room for it, because it is 10 feet long.

I was just smitten....speechless, in fact! ;) I said to my husband immediately...."This is it, this is the kind of table that I have been talkiing about. * My husband and I talked about someday adding on to our house, and I could see a lot of the design in my head and the one thing that I wanted in that room was a big harvest table to seat all our children and someday grandchildren at for holidays and get togethers! *
Well, my husband liked it and thought too that it was very nice and quite unique, but wasn't as excited as I was. "We have a table" he said. "I know, but this is a one of a kind....we will never find one like this again, and it is even on sale!" ;) * The price tag had an original price and then it was marked down quite a bit and marked firm. I thought the price was FANTASTIC! My husband was kind of agreeing, but not with me on the overall picture.
So, we later left the store: EMPTY HANDED. :( I was ok, and I didn't argue with my husband, but I just felt in my heart that that was MY table, and it was meant for me....the piece I had been searching for, but I obeyed my husband and agreed that there were other things that needed our financial attention!
So, it was now getting later in the evening, and my parents had stopped in with dessert, and later left when it was getting late. My husband having the summers off, got ready for his work week of painting a huge old building that he was hired to paint. This certain building took around a month or so....it was very large and he worked by himself. He would get up early in the morning, load up our trailer with all his supplies and ladders and head out by 6 or so to get a head start before the heat would really hit. He would then usually come home for lunch because the job was only a few blocks away from our house.
This particular Monday I was planning on having a little baby shower luncheon for my good friend Amy who was having a baby girl in August. So, 3 of my closest friends were coming over for this luncheon and I was making it all cute and pink and we were dining out on the deck. I told my husband to get home a little before noon so he could be with the kids for lunch and tend to them while I hosted for my girlfriends.
All was going well....My friends and I started having our lunch even though Bob wasn't home yet for the kids, but that was ok...I got them their quick lunch and then they were back to their playing. So, I heard him finally coming home and he came out to us and greeted all of us. He then came up to me with his one hand behind his back and said that he had something for me. He brought his hand out from his back holding an old antique scale, and he said "Oh, that's right, this is what I wanted...." *I will quickly give you an inside hint....when we went antiquing, he wanted an old antique scale to weigh clay on for pottery....and he had seen a few when were antiquing on Sunday, but couldn't make a decision on any...*
So, immediately I was SPEECHLESS AGAIN and got a little choked up.... "You didn't?" I said. And he just looked at me.....by this time all my girlfriends are like what? "What's going on?"
I was in shock......did he really go and get this? He said "I have it, it's on the trailer!" I quickly ran to the car, with all my girlfriends running behind me (including the one that is soon to give birth!) :) He certainly did have it, and I was just beside myself.....I was ecstatic! I couldn't believe that he changed his mind.
So, I had to fill the girls in on the whole story, and they were just as awwed and as happy for me as I was. They later left, telling me that they couldn't wait to go home and tell their husbands what Bob had done for me, hoping that they would take a good hint too! ;)
Bob later told me that after we got home the night before, he started really thinking about the table and he couldn't get it off his mind, and he found himself also believing that we would never find something like that again, at that price then yet. He made up his mind that he would go back in the morning and get it, and he even told my dad his plans, and told him not to say anything to me. He got up early in the morning and left like his normal routine, but never went to paint....he went right to the antique shop and was there like an hour and a half before it opened! He was sooo worried then that it had already sold the night before, and he wanted to make sure that he was the first person in the building that morning to get it if it hadn't sold. Sure enough, it was there waiting for him to bring it to it's new home....and he picked up his scale then too! :)
So, that is the story of my harvest table.....I wish I knew more about its origination, where it was found, where it was used, but no one knew. All the employees of the antique store told my husband, that he was truely aquiring a treasure..."you just don't see pieces like this anymore" one man told him.
The neat thing about it is that the table is painted this very light moss green, but it goes perfectly with my rug, and I think it fits our home just perfectly! :) So I would have to say this is one of my most favorite pieces! :)