The Front Porch Swing

[Cearbhael]

Just got off Facetime with Jenny.  Kendra looks better but they are still going to do another round of IV antibiotics at 6 tonight.  On oxygen her O2 level stays between 90 and 94.  Without it she drops back to 84 - 86.  They taught her to do a nebulizer - only part of the whole hospitalization thing she thinks is fun, thank goodness!  And last night they were going to send up to Powell Hospital and have an oxygen thingy sent down because she couldn't do the mask or nasal cannula.  But some intrepid nurse after I left got her to use the mask so that was cancelled and she's using it just fine.  Her temp is hovering at just around 100, sometimes spikes but always comes back down to 99, so that's great news.

I'm heading up there after a shower and finishing my coffee.  Jenny has my nebulizer at her house from when she had her pneumonia two weeks ago, plus she has home oxygen. We'll see if we can persuade them to give us the liter amount for Kendra, meds for the nebulizer, and a clean mask and tubing for the oxygen.  

Thanks for the prayers and good wishes.

Blooie if you weren't so far away (I am in Central MN) I would give you the unused mask and tubing left over from my mom. She never used it after she left the hospital. She headed back to Raleigh NC without it and I always kept it packed with our emergency stuff. We were just cleaning the other day and my son spotted it. He is an EMT and a paramedic so knew exactly what it is. Actually the hospital should be able to provide you with all that stuff, but it won't be free (but the insurance should cover that since she obviously is a COPD patient if she is struggling with pneumonia and asthma LOL!!

 

[Cearbhael]

Physician's assistant, I think.
Not a dumb question. We now have physician's assistants, nurse practitioners, and numerous other kinds of doctors. Some I don't realize exist until their specialty is needed.

That is what my son is going to be when he finishes school. He is already an EMT and a Paramedic. He is just going to keep going to Physicians Assistant. I am trying to keep him from having to struggle through life like I have (I am very very poor, on a fixed income and old and disabled...) I want him to be comfortable and be able to retire comfortably! Only thing that I need is my home and my animals, fortunately, so I am content. I tend to like viewing my cup as half full not half empty LOL

 

[LBejaran]

Everyone's been so busy! I've been working (actual work and not my garage "work") lately and have nearly completed a chair for a client of mine. It needs some touch ups but it should be done by Wednesday morning for her to pick up before she moves back to Mexico!

I also need to finish up an egg for someone and a couple mugs, but I'm swamped. I desperately need my drafting table for these heavy chairs but it is out if commission until I can clear it of all the boxes that are on top of it.

The good news is that we are nearly done in the garage. I'm picking up the insulation tomorrow, some floor flanges and a couple other goodies to finish up the garage so I can move in. My brother wants his room back (but he can wait another day. If he really wanted it back, he would pick up a paintbrush and help me with the garage).

 

[bruceha2000]

Everyone's been so busy! I've been working (actual work and not my garage "work") lately and have nearly completed a chair for a client of mine. It needs some touch ups but it should be done by Wednesday morning for her to pick up before she moves back to Mexico!

I also need to finish up an egg for someone and a couple mugs, but I'm swamped. I desperately need my drafting table for these heavy chairs but it is out if commission until I can clear it of all the boxes that are on top of it.

The good news is that we are nearly done in the garage. I'm picking up the insulation tomorrow, some floor flanges and a couple other goodies to finish up the garage so I can move in. My brother wants his room back (but he can wait another day. If he really wanted it back, he would pick up a paintbrush and help me with the garage).

Beautifully done ... but kinda SCARY!

 

[LBejaran]

Beautifully done ... but kinda SCARY!

That smile is kinda cheeky, haha! Thank you! It's a super popular design style, though and the client asked for it and flowers and a dragonfly. Still working on the flowers and dragonfly, though. I do mostly freehand, too, so the flowers can be easy if I don't think about them too much. The dragonfly is going to get a couple more colors on it's wings before I settle down and seal it.

Has anyone ever waxed a piece of furniture before? I thought about doing it for this chair but I didn't want to experiment on a client's chair. I hear the finish is lovely but needs to be redone every six months.

 

[perchie.girl]

Quote:
I havent waxed.... But I have used Tongue oil... It smells like Oil based paint.. You have to have the wood grain sanded down to a very very fine grit. Then Clean clean clean.... Tongue oil can go over a stain but not paint. I was working with hickory... it came out a honey color The oil I used was not tinted so the honey color was the actual wood color. Hickory has very very interesting wood grain colors.

It was a kit I assembled and finished myself and the manufacturer recommended only Tongue oil because it would be used outside. yep in the rain or mud.... If it got rough use the tongue oil was supposed to be reapplied.... But I never had to... The finish lasted ten years. Till I had to leave it outside.



deb

 

[perchie.girl]

Also if you want to do colors with say a chair you can mask off areas and Stain the wood work your magic with stains over stains.... then Tongue oil the whole thing.

I think one can treated my whole buggy.


Oh and its applied just like stain with a rag. DO NOT wear a ring while applying it... Mine will never be the same...

deb

 

[bruceha2000]

Has anyone ever waxed a piece of furniture before? I thought about doing it for this chair but I didn't want to experiment on a client's chair. I hear the finish is lovely but needs to be redone every six months.

I think Deb's spell checker went into overdrive - Tongue oil indeed!

I found this: http://www.woodworkersjournal.com/understanding-oil-wax-finishes/

Not sure it will help you decide though. It does say wax and oil are not as durable a finish, better suited to jewelry boxes, picture frames, bookcases, etc.
It sounds like you could wax over the paint you are putting on. Might be one of those "try it in an inconspicuous location first" sort of things. Maybe you have a small project you can test on?

Do you typically urethane the piece when you are done with it? I assume the chair will be more decorative than a "daily sitter" but if they DO plan to use it daily, I think I'd go with a harder finish than wax.

 

[LBejaran]

@perchie.girl. I've seen the tung oil around but I figured it was meant more for unfinished/unpainted wood. It's a gorgeous finish, though, and I was going to try it out on a desk I have to finish (eventually...). I wanted to do stripes and I'm sure I could. I would just need to find a nice plain piece of wood to test it on. It's an old Ethan Allen desk that just needs a few repairs. Got it for $6 at the goodwill!

@bruceha2000 I'm not going to test the furniture wax this time around (if it doesn't work, I'd have to try and fix the chair in only a couple days!) but it is a thought for the future. Normally, I poly the chairs with a couple coats and send them on their way. I have a couple chairs with peacocks that I'm doing, though, and I think I would prefer a different finish.

The chairs were painted with a flat white paint (I got it as a miss-tint! $5 for a $30 gallon of paint) and I just figured a nice satin wax would bring out the color in the peacocks feathers without making the flat paint look super shiny. I might just buy a small pint if it and try it, though. It's good to experiment and test the waters, even if it isn't immediately seen as useful. I love to learn!

 

[LBejaran]

Just wanted to give you all an update!

First off, my sister had her surgery yesterday and is doing as well as can be expected. She's a skinny girl, so post-surgery was hard. Her stomach and shoulder really hurt (whereas after mine, I was ready to go back to school but they wouldn't let me). But that pesky gallbladder is out now and we'll see how she does this summer. Her vacation starts early!

Secondly, I finished insulating the garage! After a hooplah at the hardware store (because even when I tell them exactly what I want (brand, type, facing, item number), they have me the wrong stuff. But it got sorted and I cut/installed the insulation. It took me a couple hours but I got it done!

And I am nearly finished with my chair. I procrastinated on sealing it because I couldn't find my good brush. I had to buy a new one as a temporary replacement. But the design is done and it has it's first coat of polyurethane. Here is the before and after (after is without the seal)

I enjoy working on these chairs but I have bruises on my shins from holding it up to paint. I tried putting it on a table or leaning over it but it was awful. I'd probably stick to smaller chairs, given the choice. :/

I think that's all that's happening now. I'm tired but I'm too wired to sleep. I've been awake since yesterday morning. And Nivia is sleeping on my bed, so I don't really have a place to sleep. The dog was on her bed yesterday and I know she didn't change or wash the sheets. So I'm also washing sheets.

I need juice. Gotta stay awake!