Woodn't it be nice?

In the past weeks, since we've been home from our travels, I've been much occupied with wood in various shapes and forms. It started with the old blanket chest we've used as a coffee table for some years. I bought it about twelve years ago, always planning to strip it and either oil or polish it depending on what it looked like. But, as usual, life got in the way and I never got round to it – until a few weeks back, that is. 

After returning from the shipyard, I was looking for projects to keep up my momentum and decided on an impulse to clear out the chest (or kist as we call it here) and get going. It took a bit of work involving paint stripper, a scraper and lots of sanding, but Koos and I are pretty pleased with the result. The wood is oak, so it has quite a fine, dense grain, which made stripping it of all the old dark varnish quite time-consuming. We haven't got all of it out, but we don't mind as it gives the wood a bit of character. Anyway, it's so much classier than it used to be.

Then, I saw another old pine kist advertised locally for €20, which I felt we simply had to have. It's a traditional Dutch Zeeland design and ideal for storing my spare duvets and blankets. I wish I'd taken a 'before' photo because it was painted a hideous red-brown colour with fake grain over the top. 

I remember 'paint, grain and varnish' being a popular technique when I was a child and I think this chest was the result of someone's amateur attempt at it. Unfortunately, it's been even more challenging to strip than the other chest and has taken considerably more paint stripper, as well as a sturdy belt sander (which sadly died from its efforts). The photo below is how it looks so far. There's still some work to do on the moulded edges and lots more sanding, but I'm looking forward to finishing it with wax polish. It weighs a ton (well, maybe 60kgs), so getting it into place upstairs at the crumbly cottage is going to be another challenge. Wish us luck with that one. Woodn't it be nice if it turned out to be easy?

Another woody job I've embarked on is the stripping and refurbishing of the teak doors to my entrance hatch on Vereeniging. I'm ashamed to say I've neglected to maintain them properly over the last few years, so despite some interim cosmetic revarnishing, the weathering has left patches where the varnish has peeled off over time and the wood has become grey and stained. Last Friday, I spent the day scraping and sanding. 

As you can see, the grey patches still mar the wood, so I'll need to treat them with a fluid we call ontweringswater here. I have no idea what this is called in English as the translation says it's decontamination water, but I'm sure that's not right. What it does is reverse the effects of weathering and the grey returns to the wood's original colour. Maybe one of my readers here knows what the correct name is?

Anyway, these photos show what I've managed to do so far. I'm hoping to finish in the coming week and get some protective varnish on before the cold weather comes. It's been incredibly mild this October, so I'm counting my blessings that I'm still able to do this kind of outdoor work. Woodn't it be nice if I could keep going all winter?

Lastly, and on another subject entirely but which sort of falls into the category of 'wouldn't it be nice?', we've been cat sitting this week. My daughter has been away and we had the great pleasure of taking care of her two purry friends. The adorable little black and white cat, Mini, is (hopefully) recovering from what is normally a fatal disease, FIP, so it's been a joy to see her gaining strength day by day. However, there's no guarantee that the improvement is permanent, but wouldn't it be nice if it were? We're keeping everything firmly crossed and more.

Ready to pounce from the landing

Seeing sheep for the first time; her eyes were like
saucers

And this below is Sumo, an old lady who has stayed with us many times. She came with my daughter from South Africa and is a real street cat toughie, albeit it very sweet and loving. I should also say that her name is no accident. She's fifteen now and still has mad half hours around the house, bless her. Wouldn't it be nice if she were still like that in a few years to come? Sadly, she and Mini don't get on so the week was punctuated by occasional snarling matches when the two of them met in doorways or on the stairs. Luckily, no blood was drawn, but flick knives claws were constantly at the ready. In fact, it would be really nice if they were to call a truce and just be friends.

Actually, the cats went home today and the cottage seems very empty without them. I'm glad my other daughter's cat still comes visiting – sort of. He lives next door and considers my garden part of his territory, but he's quite nervous and has kept his distance more than usual since Sumo gave him his marching orders in no uncertain terms. Wouldn't it be nice if all our feline furries were friends too?

Well, enough of the woody word play...wishing you all a great week allemaal and I hope to have some more DIY progress to recount for you next week.