Jane and Dana Day

After scraping and brushing.

Yesterday, I decided to start scraping the deck. You can see, above, how dreadful it looked compared to where I have done some initial work. I finished one large area and it looks much, much better! Once I finish scraping, I’ll use paint remover to get more of the paint off the wood and eventually my deck will be raw Cedar.

I scrape the wood with a blade and then scrub it with a harsh metal brush. By eleven-thirty, it was already thirty degrees and I was dripping wet, so I showered and put on a tank top (that I’d never wear in public!) to help me keep cool. 

I hadn’t thought to do this until I saw it yesterday morning. Suddenly, I “saw” it and it was work screaming to be done. It was the same with the Campion garden; I suddenly see opportunities to have something to do that enhances the appearance of Pinecone Park. 

Once I’d done the enough deck to tire me out, I quit to bake a tart to share with Dianne, Jane and Dana, and another for Patsy, Pam and Sue to share. It’s peach season.

Dianne arrived just after four-thirty. I’ve been so keen for her visit; I feel like a kid having a friend stay for a sleep over. We got her settled and then sat on the deck for drinks on a very hot afternoon before dinner—she liked what I’d prepared (we’ll have leftovers tonight). And afterwards, we watched a kind of trashy documentary before going to bed nice and early. 

Jane and Dana arrive late this morning from Courtenay, then I go for a short visit to the dentist; after that, we have our barbeque. I think Croquet is out because J&D want to be at the ferry at 3:30 to go home.