Some pretty pictures

Hi everyone,

This post will be more photos than text, but I thought it might liven up the blog and save people having to go to flickr to retrieve pictures.

Firstly, here is Mr Woodchuck:
Look at that expression. Both satiated and guilty.
I tried to take a picture of Mr Mouse aswell, but he escaped before I could get his close-up.

Secondly I am very pleased with myself, having made huge efforts with tung oil and elbow grease to prepare our largest piece of maple butcher block. Here it is unfinished:
As you can see in this picture, Einar has made a great job of cutting out the sink hole and we've tested it out so we know it fits. Dad had visions of cutting the hole, putting the sink in and watching it fall straight through. So I'm very pleased to say that didn't happen! To finish it I sanded it down until smooth, then added tung oil sealer in 2 layers. After that I progressively added 3 layers of polymerized tung oil. After each layer I sanded the counter until smooth with steel wool, before wiping it down and putting on the next layer. Each layer takes 8-24hrs to dry. So this was a long job! I also had to seal and put a few oil layers on the underside and the edges, even if they weren't going to show eventually. The last layer is drying as I'm writing this and this is what it looks like.


Hopefully, because I wiped, but didn't sand the last layer I should be able to keep the gloss you can see.
If the surface stays tacky I'll have to add another layer and sand it. Of course, this sealer/oil application is an ongoing process, but I think that's quite a nice thing.

It'll need recoating a couple of times once it's in I suspect, (to make sure it's really protected against food and moisture) and then a couple of maintenance coats each year. But that's not a big hassle. It's certainly easier than repairing ceramic tile or laminate. Anyway, wish us luck!

In other (and suprisingly non-diy) news. Einar got a present in the post a few days ago.


It turned out to be a picture of St James's Park that I'd bought Einar, but that I couldn't find in time to ship when we moved. Mum and Dad found it when they were clearing the flat out. The frame had broken because it had fallen down behind a bookcase. So they re-framed it and sent it over. As you can see, this made Einar's day..


Of course this photo was put up on the wall immediately and Einar took a moment to give thanks.


It's actually quite a good job we've had lots of diy stuff to occupy us, because the weather recently has been pretty terrible. We caught the tail end of hurricane Ernesto, which is far less dramatic than it sounds. Basically it meant that it rained a lot. But there were no strong winds. So everything's been getting very soggy and waterlogged. Mind you we had it better than some places further south where they got 8 inches of rain in 24hours. Of course we are also lining up a whole series of tasks for Knut to complete when he comes to stay so that's been fun and has kept us out of the rain. He should be kept very well occupied after all our efforts :) I also hope that Knut will respect the fact that, while obviously not averse to having fun, Professor Vollset remains continously alert to the responsible, serious nature of his role as husband and wage-earner (see photo):



(N.B: Knut, if you want we can get you a headband too.)

Well, I think that's all my news for now. Hopefully we shall soon be able to post some pictures of cabinets and countertop all together and in place. Bye for now!