Cross Another One Off the LIst!

The deck is stained!

I finally went back to sleep around 5:30, turned off the alarm for 7:30, but awoke in time for the online 8:30 service from the Francesville Christian Church.

By the time Jim was starting the sermon, Hilary and Landon had come over to walk the pigs so Gary went out to help them, and I was alone to watch and take notes.  Once again his sermon was just what I needed to hear, but that is a topic for another post later on.

After breakfast it was time to finish sealing and staining the deck.

Gary had started it on May 13 (I remember the date because I had called Jane Ann for her birthday and he was outside with the roller and the stain).  The wood on the deck was soaking up the stain fast and he was using more than anticipated.  It was also colder than I wanted it to be for me to work out there, so we decided to find more stain and finish the deck another time.

Today was the day.

What he had stained before looked really nice.  When the rain came, the water beaded up nicely, which is what we wanted it to do.  However I don't think it had ever been sealed because the stain really soaked it.  We could tell a difference in what we applied today, or at least I could.



Gary worked on the railing and the posts on the north side of the deck and the little section beside the steps to the yard.  I painted the posts and the railing on the east side next to the flower bed.

Other than the lower sections of the horizontal posts and the back side of the slats, everything was finished in about two hours.  It was hot--- the thermometer was approaching 90 degrees.

After we finished, Gary moved all of the chairs, the tables, and the gnomes back to their proper places.  It looks great!

Sometimes it's amazing what a couple of cans of stain/seal can do for a deck. It's amazing what a facelift some color can add to a place where we can sit and enjoy conversation and food.

And for me, it's thrilling to cross that item off the 'to do during the quarantine' list!  Slowly but surely items are coming off and the place is becoming more like our home!

Lookin' good!

(and as I tell Gary so often, I am SO glad we moved here!)