Just call it patina

Don't sit in that lawn chair - the seat is rusty, and it will leave a stain on your pants. My other half calls it patina which means he doesn't have to sand and paint that chair. The word has become the darling of decorators and landscapers, and I may adopt it as my all-purpose excuse for "not new."

The definitions from my computer dictionary are more up-to-date than the one from my 1989 Miriam Webster Pocket Dictionary that defines it as the green film on copper and bronze formed by exposure to moist air. Sounds like something we should avoid.

The later version calls it a "pleasing surface sheen" and mentions aging and frequent handling. That is the definition I am going with. I like the aging and frequent handling part and "pleasing" is in the eyes of the beholder, right?

My plastic pots and planters all have patina. Whatever shine they once had is long gone and the spots of mildew add character. They are about eight years old and certainly have the aging part. Today I can buy pre-mildewed pots for five times the price. It's a good thing I kept mine.

A few years ago I bought a "patina" kit, painted my pots and then added a chemical and - instant patina. It made my clay pots look like copper or bronze until they got chipped, and the orange clay showed through.

My faux wood desktop has patina to spare. The nicks and scratches, ink stains and nail polish drips all scream "surface that develops with age and frequent handling." The word that doesn't quite fit is "sheen" - surface sheen. But the rest of the patina is there.

We had two copper trays with beautiful patina but with ugly rings from drink glasses on them. Patina and drink rings don't go together so I polished the trays. Now we have to wear our sunglasses when we're in the kitchen.

Our wicker rocking chair is white with the paint worn off the arms and front edge of the seat. It is an old chair, circa 1992, and defi- nitely shows signs of developing patina. My other half thinks it needs a coat of spray paint, but I am holding out for the patina.

We have a silver plate serving spoon I love. I understand that the plate has worn off the handle in spots, but I prefer to think that it is developing patina. This feeling was especially strong after I got an estimate on resilvering it.

I am disappointed that leather doesn't develop patina in most cases. Maybe saddles develop some after being cleaned and treated, but my taupe leather chair just isn't aging in a "pleasing" way. Neither are my black shoes. I guess scuffs aren't patina.

Last summer I asked my other half to power wash the deck because the parts under the railing and my pots were turning green. He said it was patina. I was speechless. This summer the green marches on. Any ideas?