We spent the fourth with our daughter and future son-in-law and then celebrated Lee's birthday on Sunday. So other than cooking, dishes, visiting and sightseeing, I got nothing done this lastweekend. Very pleasurable, but not productive. Today, I got a bunch done.
When we bought this house there was a plastic laundry tub by the back door. I think this was for the dogs. The previous owners kept the dogs in the basement, with a doggie door, and I guess they left them water from that sink. We removed the doggie door and the laundry tub when we started finishing the basement, but left the plumbing.
Even though there is a sink in the kitchenette and one in the powder room and one in the bathroom, for some strange reason, I felt the need to keep the plumbing and put a sink there. At this point, my idea is to put in a wooden, antique sideboard or buffet and mount a vessel sink on it. It will then be used as a coffee bar.
We have driven all over southwest Virginia looking at antique shops for the right sideboard. It also had to be inexpensive as we were going to cut a honking hole in it and I didn't want to spend hundreds of dollars for a pricey antique, and then ruin it! Imagine then finding it on craigslist!
I don't know what sort of finish is on the sideboard, so I decided to put on two coats of a sealer. Then I will put on two coats of a polyurethane and hope that protects the finish. I am only putting it on the top, so it should go pretty quickly.
First I sanded the whole thing and then cleaned off all the dust from sanding. I used a disposable natural bristle brush, because I did not want to clean it up with mineral spirits. That is a way bigger job than cleaning up with water. I had to do two coats, however and didn't want have to buy two brushes and then throw them each away.
So I used some aluminum foil. If you are going to use the same brush in a little bit with the same color or type of coating, you can place it in aluminum foil and seal it tightly so no air can get to it. Open it up in a few hours and keep going. The brush will not dry out and will be fine for another coat.
That is me going green.
While I was waiting for the first coat to dry, I decided to make a batch of peach jam. This last weekend we had all gone to the farmer's market in Daleville. It was so small. I hope it gets bigger and better as the apartments they are building there become occupied and they get more foot traffic.
While in town we hit the Willow Pod gift shop, the new coffee house and the Bryant Orchards shop for fresh peaches. I bought two boxes because I wanted to make jam.
I had to send Lee out to buy the Sure Jell and more sugar. I had forgotten how much sugar jam uses!
I started the jam at noon and by 3:00 I had three batches done. It sure goes faster than making blackberries where you have to put all the fruit through a food mill to remove the seeds. And we won't even talk about picking them in the hot sun with all the ticks and other creepy crawlies. So peach jam is a joy!
It is not without labor, however. Three hours on your feet, toiling away over a cutting board and a hot stove is a lot!
Then I had a bite to eat and back to the basement to sand and apply the second coat.
I will put on the first coat of polyurethane in the morning. I ordered a vessel sink and a faucet from Amazon and it should be here by the end of the week. By then it will be ready to install. Check back!
