Cleaning day

It is now several years since Margaret Viney gave me her outdoor tables and chairs, with assurances from me that I had just the right paint to do them up.
So it was with relief that I found the paint still viable and even more when I had finished painting the first piece, the round metal table.
As a result of this achievement, I was keen to install it on the Feez patio/conservatory/outdoor area, but this was not ready to take such a smart piece, having not been cleaned by the previous owners, who had it fully furnished with plants, daybed and dogs.
We set out early with our load and the first object was the top of the airconditioning unit, which looked very rusty and in need of refurbishment. I commenced with nylon scourer and sugar soap and found over an hour or so, that this, combined with liberal elbow grease, was sufficient to remove most of the discoloration and make a coat of paint unnecessary. Some furniture polish restored the shine and we are making a cypress pine top for it, to provide a useful surface in the small area that is the above glassed in patio.
Next I took to the scourer, cloth and bucket, over several hours, removing dirt from window frames, glass and tiles. Many trips were made to the kitchen to empty and rinse, but eventually we got to a cleaned area with just the tiled floor to be done. Small areas showed that these were not cleaning up to any brightness, so we purchased some tile cleaner which promised shine and took to them with the scrubbing brush then a mop for a satisfactory conclusion to the day's effort - being seated at the table when the new owner returned from work.
The wine tasting, which had determined this visit, was then enjoyed to the full, followed by Indian takeaway from Yeronga.

Varnishing

Back to the shed and on with the coats of Estapol on the bookshelf in the main room and the CD shelf in the front room. Both tasks had been waiting since early 2008. I also had Dick's new workshop stool made from cypress pine, to finish.

The moon in June

Full moon has come around again and I am quite unprepared. The past few weeks have been busy, with a trip to Mullumbimby to collect Nancy from the airport, then we flew to Canberra for the long weekend with Lee. On Saturday we went out early on a cold morning to the farmer's market then headed out to Namadgi National Park with Liz and Lee, where we climbed a steep hill to the Ororal tracking tower, now defunct, and had lunch on the rocks high above the valley floor. We then drove back to Canberra cross-country via Lost Lake, which we had never visited when the Tavs had it.
Sunday was miserable. We went to the Art Gallery to see the Turner to Monet landscape exhibition but as it was the final weekend there were thousands of people in long queues so we had a look at other parts of the gallery then went home. We started on the chair renovation and had dinner at the Tavs in the evening.

Monday was a better day and we walked across to get something from Liz in the afternoon. Thirty minutes each way was very pleasant. We bought a roast duck for dinner.
Lee headed off for a 4 day workshop on Tuesday morning and Dick also had a workshop, so I finished the chair. On Wednesday I did patchwork with Liz and her friends and had drinks with Rita and Andree in the evening.
I had a good trip home on Thursday, feeling refreshed from the break. It was nice to get back to warmer Toowoomba which is also quite green. This month we have had a bit more rain than the 11 year monthly average for the airport [31mm].

The shed

The rest of Saturday was spent tidying the shed. On Friday we bought another set of shelves for my garden corner. I have reduced by one shelf and Dick has taken my older ones for his workshop end. I have washed all the pots and we have hung the tools.

We also renovated the lounge suite last week, washing the covers and fixing the straps. That might do it for another ten years.
Tennis on Sunday was well fought and I was beaten 4-6 although my partner strained his back trying hard.