52 this morning, overcast but turned partly cloudy. Maybe showers later? I can hope, as we need rain, again.
Yesterday we took an unexpected trip, south to a little community called Gallipolis Ferry, WV. The reason? An ad for a beautiful old buffet.
When I contacted the man, he said it was in good shape with normal wear and tear for its age. I should probably have asked him to be more specific, but the pictures looked good, and the price was really good, so we took a chance and went to see it. And bought it.
It has issues, that's for sure, none we can't correct. The wheels had been taken off at some time, probably back when everyone had carpet and casters got all messed with with carpet fibers and didn't roll correctly. And when the casters are taken off, the legs get too much stress put on them when the piece is moved, which means wobbly legs and often cracked or split wood in otherwise beautiful furniture.
At work--the legs are off and it's upside down, being clamped, glued and whatever.
That's what happened to this piece, so Larry has a job of work to do getting it all fixed and sturdy again. Someone had put L-braces on the legs, and tried to glue them but had pretty much made a mess of it. So all that had to be removed, the glue stripped off, etc, etc. Then there is a drawer that will need a new bottom. And the felt-lined silverware drawers--oh, my. I don't know how or what they did, but the felt is all pulled up like a cat has been scratching at it. So that will have be burned out, and then new felt glued in to replace it.
All of this is doable, although to say "normal wear and tear" was certainly stretching the point. However, when we're done with it, it will be a beauty once again, with casters firmly in place.
Aside from this project, I finally finished up the last of the "big" garden canning jobs--a bushel of peppers, made into a sweet pepper relish. It is absolutely delicious. I sort of combined two recipes to make it, one from The Spruce Eats website and one from a cookbook I have called So Easy to Preserve. Both called for the same basic ingredients, with some slight differences. It made a LOT of relish, which worried me because it's not something we usually eat much of, but this is so delicious I can see many uses for it--on eggs, sandwiches, burgers and hotdogs, and more.
Today I am preparing for a weekend poetry writing retreat, which I am looking forward to very much. I haven't been doing much creative writing this year, and I need something to jumpstart my mind. It seems that I have been too busy with the mundane--and yet satisfying--things in life: gardens, house, projects, and the like. So no maybe it's time to take some time to do this other thing that I love so much. I'll be in a beautiful part of West Virginia again so will probably come back with photos to share.
Stay well, my friends, and enjoy these beautiful Fall days. They may end all too soon.
Have a beautiful weekend. Looking forward to the pics!
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