Never thought retirement would be like this

Speaking of steel wool,I read that if you soak a steel wool pad in vinegar overnight, it will darken the mixture. When you paint it on the wood, it will darken more, after 20 minutes or so. Iron nails soaking in vinegar will have the same effect. Higher acidity will bring best results.
 

DaveA said:
That video of the fake GBH is hysterical, given the reaction by the visitor. Our daughter has a small fish pond and last year a GBH cleaned out 12 of the 14 fish in the pond. This year she cris-crossed the pond (and around the edge) with monofilament fishing line. barely visible to us, unless you're looking closely but evidently the GBH, that has appeared, from time to time, doesn't like or understand the line against his legs. It seems to have worked this summer but maybe he'll figure it out over the winter.
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Dave, I think the woman's comments in that video made it even more funny. She was good. Hope your daughter has solved the GBH problem, but animals are pretty clever sometimes. Good luck.
 
maggiemae said:
Maybe your parents are just letting you know they are glad that you are taking care of the place. Did they like to have coffee in the mornings? I'm just saying...
We had a deck replaced this summer. Our's was 30 years old. It is a low deck and we opted not to have rails this go around. We will seal with a clear seal after it cures. I like the natural look.
I have been trying to upload pictures but it will not let me!? UGH
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Maggiemae, I want to see your pictures. Uploading was hard for me to figure out too. Where do you get stuck?

Railings are a nuisance, especially when you want to sweep. We didn't put them on the back porch out there and it's great without them. You can sit on the edge of the porch anywhere and drink Mint Juleps, even when you don't have enough chairs for everyone. [Actually I've never had a Mint Julep.:( Have you?]
 

Meanderer said:
Speaking of steel wool,I read that if you soak a steel wool pad in vinegar overnight, it will darken the mixture. When you paint it on the wood, it will darken more, after 20 minutes or so. Iron nails soaking in vinegar will have the same effect. Higher acidity will bring best results.
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Meanderer, speaking of stains, if you like brown shades, you can use black walnuts. When the green outside hull turns black, throw them in a bucket of water for a few days, slosh them around with a big stick occasionally so the hulls come loose. It makes a black liquid you can paint on wood. My mother did this on the back porch out at the lake a couple of times. It looked good.

I can ship you a bushel of native walnuts. They are ready to fall any day now and not good for much else.

Or did you get your fence done already?
 
No, I cut grass yesterday, and we are getting a little rain this morning. One section is Natural stain and another is Solid white. I did find a video on staining wood with instant coffee.
 
Meanderer, you are certainly the expert on coffee, but did you know this? (I found it this morning)

"Coffee naturally contains about 400 chemicals, including furfuryl mercaptan, a compound in the same extended family as skunk musk's butyl mercaptan. Furfuryl mercaptan lends coffee a roasted, meaty aroma. Much of it gets lost in the decaf process, so it’s added back in later to make the decaf smell more enticing. When the mercaptans are out of balance with the other naturally occurring aromatic chemicals in coffee–decaf gone wrong–it can reek of skunk."

I knew what I smelled Friday was like either faint skunk or coffee brewing. (I'm used to drinking cheap decaf. :playful:)

The only piece of the puzzle left is whether it is possible for a skunk to smell just half bad.

TheDailySmell
 
Hey Pappy! :wave: Glad you and your house in Florida are OK. I've never had skunky beer.:)

Meanderer, I like banjo music. Had to pull up the lyrics to that skunk song. It's pretty without them, and funny with them. Split rail fences are pretty. I bet your place will look great when you finish.

We got only a fine mist of rain from the hurricane, not even enough to wet under trees.:confused: So I tried all three stains.

Cabot seems to leave a coating. Don't like that much, but it's probably a better protector. The Olympic and linseed oil mix soak in and leave a natural wood finish. All three bead water fine now, and all 3 make the deck look the same walnut tone, darker than I wanted, so it must just be because the wood is getting old. I'll put the expensive stuff on the flat surfaces, the Olympic on the railings, and save the linseed oil for the support posts. They show almost no wear at all anyway. We'll see what happens a year from now.

When you deal with a deck that small for 34 years, you get to know every board. I've named some of them and know their character. Some soak up stain, and some don't. Then there's Ophelia, a railing support, who looks like a book that got her pages wet. Will try to get it all done by Tuesday. The leaves will start to fall soon.
 
Maybe it's time for a "Board" meeting!
Rabbit%20Board%20Meeting.gif
 
A picture of Ophelia's "condition." But not to worry, it's only skin deep. Do you think sanding would help? :lol:

I've been trying to ignore this for years.

ophelia1_zpsdlwmucsw.jpg


[I was sitting right there with the phone in my pocket. Might as well take a picture, right? :rolleyes:]

Got the floor done, with a brush. Slow. Probably shouldn't have started there. :eek:hwell: . At least something got done.
 
:yeah:

I have something like the bottom one pictured here. Maybe for drywall work? I use a small version to smooth goat hoof bottoms. Just tried it and it works great to remove the thinner stuff. Already an improvement. (Yes I was out there after dark.)
th

Somewhere there is a rasp with nubby things on it. I'll look for that in the morning. That and a knife should do it.

Gonna get her in shape after all these years! Thank you.
 
Just a quick note:

Temporarily sidetracked from deck job, but good news.

The reason the furnace wouldn't come on? A big wasp nest in the end of the exhaust vent pipe. Popped it out and the furnace came on immediately. Waiting for the wasps to clear out, and will clean it out more carefully.

Saved a call to the HVAC guys! :hatlaugh:
 
"Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good"

Finished the deck just now. Used a sprayer. It goes really fast that way.

I brushed the Cabot stain on the floor because it said to not let it puddle up. The other stuff (Olympic, linseed oil) just keeps soaking in. Unless I can see an obvious difference in a year, I won't use the Cabot again.

Those leafy posts look pretty good, but not perfect. It's a judgement call. If you start peeling back those layers too much they start going too deep. Counting on the sealer to protect the cracks. Certainly better than it was because water could get in between those leaves and freeze. The deck doesn't look much different, because the color came out so dark, but it's uniform now, a dark walnut shade.

I should really paint the front porch floor while I'm on a roll and it's still warm and dry weather. Should have been done last summer. :p

Still one female hummer out at the lake yesterday. I almost missed her. She showed up just as I was leaving. Such a cutie.
 
Good job on the deck, Nancy! The old saying is "A job begun, is a job half done". Getting started is the hardest part! The posts will weather the Winter OK, and will give you loads of peace of mind, as you look out at the snow on it!:)
cardinal-on-deck.jpg
 
Meanderer said:
... The old saying is "A job begun, is a job half done". Getting started is the hardest part! ...
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That is so true! Many of the jobs I've done this year should last a while, so if I do that porch floor, I might be able to just goof off and party all next year!!! :banana:
 
Feeling a little better about the color of the deck today. The sun doesn't hit it much this time of year, like it does in the summer.

A picture up the steps today with a tiny little patch of sunshine. :)

deck1_zps174tgosr.jpg
 
Great results on your "12 Step" Project! On Tuesday, I stained the 90' section of fence with Natural stain. I plan to do the upper section with solid white, tomorrow. Sunshine makes everything look better!
 
Meanderer said:
...On Tuesday, I stained the 90' section of fence with Natural stain. I plan to do the upper section with solid white, tomorrow...
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Good for you, Meanderer. ..Did you whistle while you were working?

I don't suppose we could get some pictures, could we? .
.

nrfence.jpg
Tom Sawyer (Whitewashing the Fence) Norman Rockwell, 1936
 
Dentist appointment this morning for cleaning. They took X-rays. Last time was 3 years ago. Dentist is sitting behind me, hygienist brings in the X-rays, and I hear dentist say...

"Oh Lord! ... mumble, mumble, mumble..." (not a good sign:rolleyes:)

"Come back here and take a look, Nancy!" Then he looks in my mouth and says,

"Oh boy!...(long pause)"

I called him on that language both times, and he said, "Sorry, they did teach us in dental school to keep it to ourselves, but..."

He found problems with the remaining bridge. I hate what bridges do to your teeth. He said if I wanted another implant to call the surgeon ASAP! Don't put it off! We will call for you, if you like! Finally I said, maybe we should just call an ambulance. :rolleyes:

He is a good dentist, but he gets a little over-dramatic sometimes. He loves his job. You can tell. I like that.
 
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Dentists seem to be more interesting than doctors. I tease this one a lot. He is a good sport. Said the students in dental school used to make jewelry out of gold crowns.

th
:eeew:

I had a dentist long ago who was a real character. One time he referred me to his orthodontist friend. Just before I went to see this man, he (the dentist) told me they lined everyone up on the first day of dental school and asked them to hold out their hands. The ones with shaky hands were sent on to orthodontics.

Just found out the surgeon who does the implants served as a C-130 pilot in the USAF. He always shakes your hand when he walks in the room. You'd think he wouldn't want to get germs. Not your typical specialist.
 
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