What To Do When It's Too Hot?

75°f at 8am, 24.9°C. Light breeze, a few clouds. Now at 4pm it is 95°f, 35°C. 

It is too hot. Too hot to be outside even for a few minutes,  definitely too hot to do anything out there. We got into the garden early, watering, tyibg up tomatoes, hoeing, and I stuck in a few more peppers and picked some zucchini,  lettuce, beets, carrots and onions. By then it was 10am and I was sweating from the top of my head to the tips of my toes, literally. Dripping sweat from my face like a river. Yuck.

But it was nice to be out there with Larry, as we both puttered around taking care of little things. And nice to get back to the porch under the fan! After a late breakfast, we have been working on inside things--cleaning, laundry,  etc. Then got to work on projects, which was pretty much the same routine as yesterday, when it was also over 90. If we can't be outside, there is always a piece of furniture, or two or three, that we can work on.

Like this washstand. Made in the 1800s, it had been painted dark brown over older gray paint. I bought it through an online auction and thought it was a wood finish, but of course it wasn't.  I considered painting it, but when I started sanding and saw the beautiful wood, I knew we had to restore it. Many hours of sanding, two coats of stain, and three applications of dark wax brought it back to life. It's not perfect, but it sure looks better than when we bought it.

I like the unique catch on one door, where a handhewn piece of wood slides up into a groove to hold the door closed,

the keyhole 

and the little porcelain casters. Will it sell? It will probably take a while, honestly, because natural finish wood does not move quickly here. But I am happy to have it back close to its original beauty, and eventually someone else will appreciate it too. I hope.

I also finished up the desk we pulled from someone's curbside trash during the town's cleanup week. Pretty happy with this one too, just need to find a chair to go with it.

We bought this chair at a yard sale for a couple dollars, already painted a pretty dark green. I had thought to paint it to go with the desk, but why paint something that already looks great? All it needed was for the seat to be glued and clamped, and cleaned up a bit. So it will go to the booth as a single. We sell quite a few single chairs, actually.

A few small projects, some finished, some still in progress.

This plant or candle stand needed only a fresh coat of paint.

A very old child's chair needed a lot of repair and is still a fragile piece, good only for decorative use. We couldn't bear to toss it out though, so Larry did what he could and perhaps it will fund a home.

I painted this small table/plant stand a color called Morning Sunrise, a cross between blue and lavender. The name always cracks me up, because when else does the sun rise if not morning?

Still have to attach the fabric to the seat here, put another coat of paint on, distress, and dark wax this stool. I think I will tip the legs in antique gold, just for fun.The seat lifts off for a small storage area.

Old birdcage just needed paint. One coat on, at least one more to go.

And last, another child's chair, this one a rocker. I am not in love with the color I chose, but I think after dark wax I will like it better. I was thinking this color for fall and even Christmas decor, but I don't know. Maybe white would be a safer bet? 

Not pictured is a Hoosier cabinet we have been cleaning up. It is pretty much done, thank goodness, because we were working on it on the deck when it was cooler! Only need to clean some paint off the porcelain table top to complete that job.

It feels good to get projects finished up, because we have many others waiting on us to have time to do them. 

Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.