My Grandfather's Bar

Mrs D.O.M.s latest assignment for me is to paint all the furniture in the dining room white. I hate painting and I hate when it's given to me as a chore. Anyway, one of the pieces in the dining room is a bar that my grandfather made about 50 years ago. I've been putting off "re-doing" this for years. To me it's a holy item. My grandfather was a carpenter/casket maker and the bar was made from mahogany that was used to make caskets. I'm sure, the project of making the bar, was and excuse of his to escape from his family. Something ALL real men do. "What honey? You want me to make a bar? Sure thing, I'll be out in my workshop every night for a week. I'll need to get some supplies(Vodka and cigarettes) first". What's really cool about this piece is some of his writing on the underside of the shelves in the back. There are a couple of scribbled notes and some measurements written down(that I never knew were there until today)and to me it makes the bar even more special. It's like part of his spirit resides there. And don't think that I don't know how wrong it is to paint over beautiful wood like mahaogany. Norm Abram would have my head, but I see it as a way to keep it part of the family. Adapt and you survive. To honor my Dad and his Dad I really should be drinking Vodka while I do this. It is a bar after all. I'll do the final coat of paint while drinking a shooter and smoking a camel non filter.