Riverbend Journal

I ran a few errands first thing in the morning. Knowing it was supposed to be the hottest day of the year, I wanted to get a jumpstart on the moving process. So I wrapped a packing blanket around the top and cinched it in place with a ratchet strap. I removed the seats in the old minivan and put a scrap piece of particle board (that the plywood for the top came protected with months ago) down to protect the altar top from the fastening mechanisms that hold the seats in place. I pushed my mobile work bench, with the altar top on top, up to the rear of the van and was able to slide it down into the back with the ratchet strap still holding the packing blanket in place. It was easy enough to get that accomplished with just myself but it will require two of us to reverse the process. With the van loaded, I prepped the tools and other things we will need for the moving and assembly process and put them into the van so they were ready to go. I laid out a selection of ratchet straps and more ...

  We've had a slow start to our garden due to the colder spring than normal but it has really made progress these past couple weeks with some heat and rain applied. Above in the foreground is our garlic which for lack of a better plan, I stuck in the unused half of my wife's raised strawberry beds. Her strawberries were decimated by rabbits last year and even this spring before I finally figured things out. Though behind the garlic, they are looking a lot better now. The garlic itself doesn't look the best. I'm assuming it is due to a lack of nutrients which is to be expected since we started this garden pretty much devoid of anything nutritional to plant health. The soil is a lot better than last and will continue to improve so there is hope for the future. The sweetcorn is really growing fast and it won't be long before it obscured the rest of the garden from the above angle. Below is from the other corner where the heavily rabbit eaten peas are staging a comeback...

  Living in rural America has one really big disadvantage in that it is time consuming to go to major metropolitan areas on either coast. They inevitably involve a transfer at some major hub along the way and based on recent years experiences, those transfers times shift around at the airlines whim between purchasing the ticket and the day of the flight, sometimes leaving uncomfortably short windows of time to complete the transfer where when you bought it, it had been a comfortable amount of time. However, our local "urban jungle" airport has been expanding in recent years and not long ago obtained a regular direct flight to New York City, a place I've been too a couple times on business but never explored much. With the kids home from school for the summer, we purchased four of those tickets and set off. Above, after managing the mass transit system of a bus and subway, is where we ended up for our stay, sandwiched on the 33rd floor of a building right next to Grand Cen...

  Part way through Memorial Day weekend, before we went to decorate the graves of our family veterans and spent time remember those who died in service, we decided to use our grill for some nourishment for the first time this year. We've been slacking on that front especially given the mild spring we've been having thus far.  I moved the grill over towards the railing so I could admire the garden while I was cooking the steaks which fed the four of us for two meals. As you can see, mulching had been started earlier and I was making plans to finish it up in the coming week before we left for a small family vacation with our two girls, both now out of school.  The enhanced electrification of the fence has been working well (when we remember to have everything connected) and the garden is looking great as a result. It is very satisfying to see all your hard work start providing results, in this case, lettuce, radishes and onions on a daily basis. Two days later, this is how ...

  After deciding on the color of the altar and aiming for a shade darker, I nervously started applying the stain. It looks fairly dark in the picture but that it before I wiped off any excess that didn't get absorbed. The next day, I applied a second coat and I think I did pretty well. Below you can see the color sample I made and if you recall, we decided on sample C only a touch darker. I think I was able to accomplish that. The bottom half of the picture is my color sample board and the top half is the altar top itself. I am pleased with the results. Next up, I started the application of the top protective coat which will protect the wood surface from damage from water or scratching, etc. I am using a hard wax oil that you wipe on, let soak in for 15 minutes or so and then wipe off.  Above is the altar top after two coats have been applied and I've just wiped off the excess of the second coat. As it dries, it will dull a little bit and not look so shiny. Above is two coats ...