Better Late

There are some things that may be called “better late than never.” The arrival of a hot supper, for instance, or a loved one coming home from work or war. There are some things not better late than never, like the application of an epi-pen. And there are some things we might debate, such as an apology or a thank you.

It is into this third category that I think anniversary gifts fall. I am particularly interested in moving it to the first category, “better late than never,” because of the gift I had planned for Sara on the occasion of our sixth wedding anniversary (22 December 2007).

I have been following a list of materials to be used for anniversary gifts that I found in a day-planner some years back, closer to when we were married. The first year, for instance, is paper. So I made Sara a framed photo collage. The fourth year is leather: I made Sara a pair of braided leather trivets. The fifth year is cotton; I made Sara a Christmas-season table runner. From just these three examples you may have gleaned that it is my intent to make myself the gift, from whatever material is prescribed.

This plan presents no real problem until I come to materials like the one given for the sixth year: iron.

Now, give me a forge, a hammer, and tongs, and I’m ready to make something out of iron. However, in the selection of our new house we overlooked the presence of a forge. (We have a fireplace, but now it’s occupied by a pellet stove. Sigh.) Thus for the sixth-year anniversary gift I had to fudge a little bit. I decided on making a coffee table and pair of bedside tables; I would make the table tops, and I’d commission the legs to be made out of iron.

There’s a guy, his name is Jake, who still does wrought iron work and lives just a ways down the road from us. So I commissioned him to make three sets of table legs according to my design. He did a beautiful job: they were just to my specs. All I needed to finish them was to put a few layers of clear protective finish on them, and the tops could go on. Here are the legs themselves:



Though I had planned on using cherry for the tops, offered by another local guy who does his own cutting and milling, the wood has not come as swiftly as I’d hoped. So when I found myself in possession of some excess MDF (medium density fibreboard), I cut the table tops and painted them. They’re not as vintage-sexy as the cherry will be, but at least I’ve delivered my December 2007 anniversary gift to Sara at last.

Here's the coffee tabletop, all painted up:

I've got to hunt down the photos of the finished coffee table in the living room. More anon!

~ emrys