Slogging On

I could say a thing or two about the siren call of the garden at this time of year, when the peas and potatoes are burgeoning and the roses are blooming and another weed is ever raising its impudent head, taunting you to pull it. No matter that I've got a five-and-a-half-year-long woodwork refinishing job languishing inside: the season is progressing and the garden wouldn't wait.

But by the beginning of this week I got the vegetable seedlings pretty much all into the ground and I've put myself on restriction against buying any more flowers to plant. The early spring bloomers I deadheaded on Tuesday, and the rose of Sharon and silver maple tree volunteers (courtesy of my neighbors on the west) are easier to pull when they're a smidgin higher. Right. So I wrested myself away and Tuesday afternoon resumed woodwork stripping for the first time since April 11th.

Dare I say I'm almost done with the biggest part of it? True, there's still the front room, but that I'm not messing with till next year sometime. But the campaign that includes the dining room, living room, 1st floor hall, stairway, and 2nd floor hall-- for that, the end is in sight.

The only thing† I have yet to strip is the casing between the 1st floor hall and the passage to the kitchen. Ironically, it is (if I remember correctly) the first piece I tackled with the heat gun, remover, and sander five years ago. It behaved so obstreperously then that I decided to take it down to work on it. It needs the belt sander and no, I don't require a warning label with big screaming lettering to tell me I shouldn't use heavy power tools over my head.

But considering what happened to the head casing when I pried the kitchen side lintel trim away this evening, maybe I'll just replace those three pieces. They're a mess, anyway.

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†Actually, there are a couple-three other pieces I have to strip for this campaign, not originally included in the tally. But in mercy, allow me my hollow sense of pending accomplishment. Otherwise I'm liable to go back into that garden and just sit.