Reupholstering chairs: "like pulling toothpicks from a rhino."

Most of Wednesday, I was crouched on my parents' dining room floor reupholstering their dining room chairs. I live almost entirely in a barter economy: home-cooked suppers exchanged for babysitting, veterinary services for more babysitting, interior design for still more babysitting. Since I ditch my kids with my parents on a regular basis, redoing a di…