So... What are YOU doing? - Part 8

[tango]

It's quite nice here. Morning walk with my wife was warm but not unpleasantly so and there was a nice breeze when we got back so we sat on the porch rather than in the air conditioning. I'm debating whether to try and get some work done in the construction room or take a break from it. What I need to do will create a lot of sawdust and I still can't get a respirator, so maybe I'll just sit it out for a bit.

If I could find a dust mask with a valve that would work but they are hard to find as well.

 

[Naiwen]

Sup there all? Because it’s pouring cats and dogs outside again today, just staying inside before drifting to sleep tonight.

 

[tango]

I decided to press on with the room, as it needs to get done. I'm just working slowly because I don't want to breathe more dust than I need to. I did find my nice new quarter-sheet sander has an attachment that takes the same bag as my random orbital sander but also is sized perfectly for my shop vac hose to jam into the outlet. That does mean I lose some of the benefit of having cordless tools but also means I don't have any sawdust drifting from it at all. And that makes a big difference.

So I dug out the last pieces of window trim, found I had already removed all the nails and they are in pretty good shape - certainly good enough to put back in place without major refinishing. I just sanded off a couple of sections that looked worn. When I figured I was finished and got cleaned up I realised I'd missed one, so maybe I'll get that done tomorrow and start getting things stained tomorrow afternoon. Then I can lacquer on Monday, pin them into place and be a major step closer to being finished.

 

[Lamb]

Eating breakfast. Trying to figure out if it's going to rain or not outside.

 

[tango]

Lazy morning, I didn't bother to set an alarm and didn't stir until nearly 9. Which was nice - after doing my sanding work I was half expecting to have a disturbed night and keep waking with a dry throat. It's a real drag doing renovation during COVID season - it's hard to get breathing protection that works and if you've got a bit of a cough or a sniff because of sawdust people assume you're going to kill them all just by going outside.

Here the forecast is mostly sunny all day, so we'll head to church and then maybe do our walk around town, then I can think about fixing up the last piece of trim - the one I forgot about yesterday - and make a start on the finer sanding and then staining things.

 

[Naiwen]

Yo sup all? I’ve just had my 3 hours weekly therapy today. I’m too exhausted and drained to do anything else but resting in bed before hitting the pillow tonight.

 

[tango]

Lazier day than expected, but much appreciated. We skipped Sunday School, went to church and then came home and had a nap. Not sure why my body felt it needed a nap - I slept for nearly nine hours last night - but never mind. Then I went out for my walk. I started out pretty fast and at the junction where the 5-mile route and the 8-mile route diverge I really wanted to do the 8-mile route but was aware it was hot and I'd been drinking my water figuring I was doing the shorter one, so did the shorter one from there. Then I got home with water to spare, so I could have done the longer one.

Then I got to cleaning up some stuff in the work room, so I've got some finished pieces out of the way and a pile more sawdust cleared up. Tomorrow I can lay out my drip sheet again, put some stand-off strips of wood in place, and get busy staining. I can also use a little filler to fix up the very edges of the oversized hole in my drywall and then I can get away with an oversized face plate so I won't need to make one myself. That alone is hugely helpful. While I'm doing my staining I can run a little more paint at the bottom of one section of wall - on the first pass I didn't get it quite far enough down so there's a small unfinished patch just over the baseboard. Not a big deal, just a bit irritating to have to revisit it.

At this rate it should be pretty fast to get to the point where I can lacquer the floor, and then get some furniture back in there.

 

[Lamb]

Watching the church service on YouTube since we still aren't meeting on Sundays.

 

[Naiwen]

Hey sup all! This morning, been outside taking a stroll on the road by my home today as it’s a much cooler and fresher day today. The afternoon, just enjoying my usual TV show before heading to bed tonight.

 

[Lamb]

Waiting for someone to come work on our water pressure tank for the well.

 

[Naiwen]

Hi all, how are you today? Today, I’ve gone out for my usual walk. Tonight, just listening to music before dozing off.

 

[Lamb]

It's supposed to rain all day long because of some tropical storm. Not sure what I want to do but am drinking pumpkin spice coffee right now

 

[tango]

Heavy rain here, so no walk for me for a while. I don't mind walking in light drizzle but this one doesn't look like it would be much fun. So I guess I can get on with staining my pieces of wood. I had a quick visit to a friend's house, his plumbing sprung a leak and he had a fountain in his basement that wasn't supposed to be there. It's hard to get a plumber to come in any time soon around here unless you're prepared to pay silly money so I said I'd look at it for him. It turned out to be a relatively simple fix, just needed to get some connectors and cut the damaged section out. Hopefully this will hold together for a long time to come.

Just one more reason why I'm glad I'm learning how to do a lot of this stuff for myself - some tradesmen around here are really good and some talk like they know what they are doing but it's only later you find out they were making it up as they went along. Needless to say the good ones are busy and I'd rather do a job myself than pay someone to botch it.

 

[NewCreation435]

We had our 3 hour team meeting this morning and now I am going to see two clients this afternoon. I started reading a book by Richard Foster called Life with God that is pretty interesting.

 

[tango]

Got the first batch of boards stained. I'd like to do them all at once but only have so much space available. The first batch are stained, left to let the stain soak in, and then wiped. Now I'm leaving them to dry. They are all looking nice, the red oak in particular is beautiful. I can't wait to see how it will look once it's lacquered. Next up is the pieces of trim from above the windows and the door. That's a smaller job because all I've done is sanded off a couple of sections that were a bit scabby. In due course I'll probably replace them completely, once I can get my hands on some yellow pine. For now I just want to get things finished.

 

[tango]

My cable company transferred their business to a new company. Apparently this was the only company they trusted to look after their loyal customers. Today is my second day with the new company, and my second day with no phone. They aren't answering their support number, their billing number or their sales number. I haven't paid for August because they haven't sent me a bill.

So this new company, that was apparently so carefully selected, has taken two days to make me wish I'd never heard of them. I'm very close to transferring back to my previous DSL company - I never liked them much and their customer service is mediocre at best but at least their service worked most of the time.

 

[Naiwen]

Hey sup guys? How’s it going so far with your day? Today, I’ve been making a new “Hello Kitty” theme because it’s raining heavily all day outside again today, overcast and humid. Tonight, just enjoying “Home Alone 1” on YouTube before tucking myself to bed.

 

[Lamb]

Cleaned up after the tropical storm rolled through. Our back yard was filled with debris.

 

[tango]

Evening walk was delayed by rainfall and a special weather warning of a severe thunderstorm a few miles away and headed our way. Thankfully "severe thunderstorm" for us meant some heavy rain for about 5 minutes and that was it. So we went out for a walk after the rain. I wish we'd left it just a little later so we could have seen the fireflies over the field, but we saw a few towards the end of the walk, which was nice.

Now I'm hot and sticky so it's time to take a shower and cool off. Maybe my boards have finished drying, if so I can get them ready to be lacquered. That will be good.

 

[Lamb]

Our internet was out again this morning due to storm damage. There are lines down and people still without power in my town. Debris everywhere on the roads and trees down. It's a mess.

I spent the morning walking around my area and then picked 12 cucumbers out of the garden! I made sweet pickles like my mom used to make.