Covid Journal, Day 103: Birdsong and Projects

71 and humid this morning. A windy day mixing sun and clouds and threatening rain off and on, but no rain so we watered the gardens. High of 83, felt hotter because it was so humid.

Yesterday morning I got up early enough to catch the early birds' concert. What a show they put on!

Today has been a nose-to-the-grindstone kind of day. I had several furniture painting projects in progress and was determined to move them all along toward completion. I stuck to my plan, and managed to get 2 chairs finished and their seats covered in new fabric. Then I worked on another chair that I had almost finished but didn't like the way it looked. So sanding, a little more paint, and waxing has it pretty much done, although I will give it another coat of wax. I've been painting a corner cabinet, and today got the painting finished on it, so all it needs is sanding, distressing, and waxing.

Then I tackled a problem dresser. The drawers simply would not take the wood stain properly. I've tried several tricks and none worked, so today I tried one last thing: I put some dark glaze on the parts that were too light, let it set for a few minutes, then wiped the whole drawer with the glaze. It seems to have worked. We'll see what it looks like in the morning. I'll take photos of everything tomorrow--too tired to do it tonight.

Larry is still working on the new shelves for the cellar. I am going to have so much more room! I'll take a photo tomorrow. He had to go to town to get a water pump for his truck, probably putting it on will be on his to-do list tomorrow. His truck is 20 years old and always seems to need some repair or other, but who can live in the country without a truck?

Neighbors are putting up hay still. Some finished up yesterday. We saw two farms yesterday where the men were working on the balers. I remember the bad old days when we'd be trying to get the hay up and the baler would break down. What a hassle, and what stress! I am glad I had the experience of haying, but very happy not to have to do it anymore. But there is something so beautiful about a field full of fresh-baled hay, and the smell is heavenly.

I think I will start writing down what we eat each day so I can look back at this blog when I need inspiration. Today:
Breakfast: apple pancakes with homemade apple syrup
Lunch: cheese and crackers
Dinner: A friend dropped off some fish he caught this morning, so Larry fired up the grill and we had them for dinner, with Mexican rice made with homemade salsa from the cellar; green beans from the cellar, and fruit salad from the freezer (Schwan's pineapple, blueberries, and strawberries).


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