Saturday Project Line Up

Saturday often comes with its own projects, aside from those in the middle of the week. I have had little housework to do other than laundry and dishes, my most hated jobs. I piled the laundry in a chair in the living room, all bed linen, bath towels, and bath clothes. I’ll get to it during a t. v. binge. I have to do that today because I’ve stripped my bed.

I don’t have a lot of pain today. Just some aches and pains that come with specific motions. I’ve been barefoot all day, too, putting on my shoes only when I went to get Mike.

Mike is doing his laundry and helping me with those Saturday projects. He likes to take short cuts so there is a constant heated discussion going on but I don’t bother getting mad at him. That's who he is. The severe ADHD wrecked his life and I’ve decided there is no point in expecting it to magically disappear. I’m tired of people who do. I’m not discussing that now.

He’s got the new security light put up, after months. It was always raining or deadly hot. The job isn’t hard or time consuming. It is a solar light that stopped working and they replaced it free. Today is a beautiful day with neither rain nor much heat. So, now the light is up.

We began work on the next project: working on the pass-thru window between the kitchen and den. It is anyone’s guess when we will finish it. I began 2017 but a ruptured disc derailed it.  I did the counter portion, but the rest remains incomplete.

Today, I got the top board inserted. This is just a nice piece of wood to cover the ugly brown painted board that was there. I could have ripped that board out but I don’t ask for trouble. Who knows what is on the other side? My experience in home improvement: you don't mess with some things.

Once, years ago, I inserted a sheet of foam between that board and the top of the window because there was a space where wind, debris, and bugs filtered in. That sealed off that problem. We'll do a similar treatment on the side sections because the space between the house and limestone facing may allow critters and wind in. I can put insulation in there. Attaching the side panels to the limestone is the real challenge.

I can see the end of this project nearing and I feel such relief. I will stain the wood when I’m done and put a coat of poly on it to protect it. That’s the easy part. I love doing woodwork and staining wood is so soothing. Watching the grain come out and the variation of the tones is marvelous. I don’t brush on stains. I hand rub them because it seems to give me a nicer finish. Brushed on stain looks heavy to me. I rub on a coat, let it set a bit, then rub it off. I'll apply more as needed until I get the depth I want. Some areas will absorb a lot, others, very little. To me, that is where the beauty of the wood comes out. Each piece I’ve ever done differs. It has been years since I worked with stain but I’m looking forward to it.

Once I finish this project, I can move to the next thing. The walls of the two bathrooms need attention, and if I can have several good days like today, I can do it. We have most of the supplies so expense isn’t an issue. Well, except for the bathroom that needs new wall board. That'll be a minute.

Time to stop. Braves baseball begins at 4 and I'll lose my helper, so I need to have this stuff finished soon.

I like to think I'll be writing later. Maybe I will.