Another Thing Done

 We finally got our deck stained after it has been weighing on my mind all summer! 

I wrote about how we built it in 4 posts starting  here, if you care to read about it. I was so proud of Rich (and myself too!) because he never built a deck before and did a really good job! I helped but he did the majority of the work! 

We built it with treated lumber so we wouldn't have to stain or paint it for a while. It took me all Winter and most of the summer to decide if we should paint or stain. 

We finally decided to stain it figuring we could always paint it later if we changed our mind. I always liked the way the wood looked when it was wet so we decided to just use a transparent waterproofing stain on it.

Here is the deck after we scrubbed it off with a solution of  water, Oxyclean and Dawn dish soap and let it dry. It was so dirty! 

 

And here is it after two coats of stain. 

It looks exactly the way I wanted it to!  We're happy with it and I am so glad to get this project off of my mind!

We have a busy weekend ahead. Friday I'm getting my hair done and having lunch with a friend. Saturday is Levi's 2nd birthday party with just the grandparents and Sunday I'm working! 

Until the next time stay safe and well my friends! 

Random Stuff

Work is going really good! I'm glad I decided to take the job. I've missed interacting with people and most of them are happy to be getting their yearly cider and donut fix! Last night I worked until 8 and it was getting pretty cool outside when the cider mill closed. It's going to be really cold at night in another month! I'll have to be dressing pretty warm!

I wear a mask while I work and try to keep at least 6 feet from the car if possible. Most people wear a mask when they pull up. Some don't and I'm ok with that. They have no problem opening their window to give me their order or hand me money or a credit card. I had one lady and her daughter who only rolled down the window the tiniest crack and when their order came out they opened the trunk and had us put it in there! I understand wanting to be cautious but if your that paranoid  worried about it you probably should just stay home. Cider and donuts is not an essential thing! 

I've done a little Fall decorating. Actually, Fall with a  little bit of Halloween mixed in. 

Remember those racks that people used to hang on the wall and put plates on them? They were very poplar several years ago. I had a small rack and a couple sets of plates that I would change out with the seasons. I still have the rack and it's going to Goodwill with my next donation, but I wanted to keep the little Thanksgiving plates and display them somewhere. Luckily they have ribbons on them and I was able to hang them off of my black metal wall decorations. I kind of like the way they look! 

I really hate to see summer end! I always do but I have to say, in spite of the pandemic it's been the best summer I've had in a long time! I was able to enjoy spending time with my kids and my grandsons and day after day of beautiful weather! 

I leave you with my usual pictures of Maxwell and Levi.

Someone is so proud of his big boy bed! 

And this little peanut is going to be 2 years old in less than 2 weeks! 

Until the next time, stay safe and well my friends!

Employed Once Again

 Yes, according to the title of this post I now have a part-time job!

My daughter forwarded me an ad she saw on FB for cashiers at a local cider mill. I figured I would apply and see what happened. I do have cashier experience but it's been a really long time! 

I emailed the owner and they sent me an application. I filled it out and sent it back to them and a couple hours later she emailed me asking if I could start training the next day! 

So I am now employed at Parmenters Cider Mill in Northville, MI.

So far I've worked three days. It's drive thru only because due to Covid restrictions they are not allowed to have more than 100 people on the property at one time. 

Cider Mills are very popular here in Michigan this time of year and to try to keep the crowed limited would be impossible!  

It's hard to tell from this picture but the apple crates are set up so the cars line up in a backward S-shape and there are three stations for them to pull up to. 

They pull up to my station, give me their order, pay me and then pull forward and they have runners who run their orders out to them in their cars.  

My job is to just stand there and take the orders. It's all computerized. The orders print out in the building and someone brings the food out to the customers in their cars.  It's simple and for the most part people are pretty nice! They are happy to have the cider mill open because several others in the area are not going to open at all this year!

Us Michiganders love our cider and doughnuts in the Fall!

The only problem is there is a lot of wasps around and they are a nuisance! If  I make it through without getting stung it will be a miracle! 

Also, right now the weather is pretty nice but later on it's apt to get pretty darn cold standing out there! 

I work 2-3 days a week and usually for a 6-hour shift. 

The best part is it's a seasonal job that only lasts until November 22! Done in time for the holidays! 

It feels really good to be doing something again and to be earning a little money!

Until the next time stay safe and well!

Forced Myself

This lack of ambition taking its toll as I'm not doing much of anything!

Even though I wanted to do this project while the weather was still nice I really had to force myself to get started on it. The good thing is once I got going I got into it and it was actually fun!

My project was to turn this old chair that was sitting under my desk,

into a stool. 

I'm not exactly sure but I think it was part of a long ago dining room set of my paternal grandmothers. My dad had it in his house and when we moved him out I took it home with me. 

I used it in our bedroom for a while to sit on while putting on shoes and when I replace it with a bench I almost threw it out. I'm glad I didn't because I saw this on a DIY site that I follow 

and thought it would be a perfect project for that old chair!  

First step was to remove the old seat covers. 

Underneath it was the original seat cover, I think. It's looks vaguely familiar to me. I must remember it from when I was a child!

I removed the gross old padding and all that remained is the wooden bottom.

Then I cut the back of the chair off, cleaned and sanded it,  and spray painted it black. Isn't spray paint a wonderful thing? I know it's not for everything but for this project it worked so good and was so quick! 

I bought a couple of these from WalM@rt to make masks with but I thought it would work good for this stool, too. It's just a thin cotton so it won't hold up to a lot of wear and tear but for now it thought it was good enough. 

I replaced the foam padding and Rich helped me tack on the material. 

Here it the finished product. Not perfect by any means but it's better than that old chair. 

Plus it fits good underneath the desk. 

Now I need to put painting the desk black on my project list! 

It feels good to get something done after weeks of having no ambition for much of anything!

Coming up on the next post: I am gainfully employed again! At least for a few months anyway!