it is finished

I thought I couldn't do it. I started the process of sanding down my dining table last weekend and it was going terrible. The varnish (the clear coat) was so gummed up and gross that it was just making a mess of my sander and gumming up my sand paper. I was extremely discouraged. I put the project aside last weekend and waited a few days. I even contacted a woodworker I found on Craigslist to get some advice. (He didn't call me back for several days). I decided that I was just going to get a furniture stripper and take the varnish and the stain off the table and start from scratch. This was NOT my original plan. So I took one of my dining room chairs to Ace Hardware and picked out a stain. I flagged down an old guy and asked him if he had ever refinished furniture before. He had. (I almost kissed his feet right there). He told me about this miracle product that dissolves the varnish off without stripping the stain. It was $12.50 a container and it was a harsh chemical. But I didn't care. I practically skipped out of the store. Well, as well as someone who is carrying a heavy chair can skip. I went home and immediately put the product to the test. It was amazing. All that sanding was just a waste of time. I went through a whole container on just half of the table. So Skip ran and got me another one. I was only able to finish the table top, excluding the 2 leaves. Over the last week I have applied 3 coats of polyurethane. It's not perfect but considering I thought I was up a creek without a paddle last weekend, I'm very pleased. I put the final coat on today and will be ready to use the table tomorrow for dinner! I'm so proud of myself. The pictures aren't great, but I just had to show my end result!