Amazon over-achieved on Sunday — it delivered my wooden spatula a day sooner than expected. A pair, actually, one solid and one slotted, made of acacia wood of undisclosed origin. They arrived dry, which meant I’d have to treat them before they entered service.
That’s what I occupied myself with early Monday morning.
There are a couple of common ways to minister to wooden utensils, cutting boards and the like. The first is beeswax, which I prefer, and the second is mineral oil. I seemed to remember running across both while cleaning out the camper, so I dug through a tote until I found them.
The small bottle of mineral oil was labeled “food grade.” The jar of beeswax, however, was not — it included instructions only for using it on furniture, and it smelled of carnauba. Though carnauba generally is considered food-safe, I decided to use the mineral oil.
I worked the oil into the spatulas with a microfiber cloth and my hands. After letting it soak in for ten minutes or so, I wiped off the excess and then applied a second coat.
It’s a good idea to wait at least 24 hours before using utensils treated with oil or wax, and I will.
As long as I had those supplies out, I oiled the small hardwood cutting board I use in the kitchen. Scarred from decades of use and starting to split in a couple of places, it’s still serviceable. Applying a few squirts of oil breathed life into it.
Doing simple maintenance like that scratches one of my tidiness itches, as you might imagine.
I’m gonna keep posting pictures of that Hutch-Creek cranberry-walnut sourdough bread ’til I finish it. Just so you know.
Yesterday morning, I made two slices in the toaster, slathered them with real butter, and drizzled them with local (Flippin) honey.
Monday would be another hot one, with enough sun to challenge comfort in the cabin. My bum knee still hadn’t come all the way back, though, so putting up the insulation I bought would have to wait for another day.
Allow me to pause here to express my gratitude to the friends and readers who messaged me with suggestions about how to heal my achy knee. From proposing joint replacement to advocating CBD, to braces and exercises and various pharmaceuticals, I sensed genuine interest and concern.
My practice is to keep moving, one way or another. Inflammation is integral to healing, and so is pain. All the same, this joint needs more downtime than I’ve been giving it.
I looked yesterday for something productive I could do that would put little (if any) stress on it. My solution was to take the last of the Reflectix out of the camper and apply it to the windows on the east wall of the cabin.
This stuff traces back to the motorhome days. I remember where it all came from, too — the True Value Hardware in Bandera, Texas, four years ago this week, to help keep a 40-foot bus tolerable while the Hill Country heat index was 117°F.
I’d already covered the cabin’s west-facing windows weeks ago, along with the glass in the front door. The reason I hadn’t done the east windows was that I didn’t want to feel like I was living in a cave.
That, however, would be the price of keeping the cabin a little more comfortable, a little longer each day. I cut two pieces — one to cover the entire northeast window, and another for the glass above the air conditioner in the bedroom.
For now, the panes in the north door are the only remaining source of natural light during the heat of the day.
Reflectix over the windows is no substitute for insulating the walls, obviously. But until I get that done, it’ll help.
While I was in the camper, I spied another easy task I could complete before Monday’s heat got cranking. Although I won’t be setting up the Berkey in the cabin, there may come a time when a gravity-feed water-filtration system would be useful. (Think SHTF.) But this one would need to be cleaned thoroughly before being stored, and I figured it wouldn’t take much time or effort.
I brought it out to the tailgate of my truck and emptied it completely. I removed the four filter elements and discarded them, then flushed the tanks with the garden hose.
Next, I employed two of my favorite things — white vinegar and a Scotch-Brite™ pad — to scrub deposited rust and limescale from the interior. There was a lot of buildup, and getting it clean took a few minutes longer than anticipated.
After another rinse with the garden hose and toweling it off, I left it in the sun all day to dry.
Finally, I stowed the now-squeaky-clean Berkey with a new-and-unopened (not installed) set of filters. The system will be easy to assemble and prime should I ever need it.
Whether you noticed it or not in the last photo, I want to call your attention to something. Here’s a closer look:
I pitched the filter elements when I disassembled the Berkey, but I kept two plastic wingnuts and two thick rubber washers, even though they’re supplied with the new filters. If you read yesterday’s post, you know why.
I save (almost) everything.
Those pieces went into the “water organizer” I built on Sunday. Waste not.
Imagine coming up my driveway yesterday afternoon to find a skinny old man with long white hair and beard, shirtless, standing in the bed of his pickup truck, running an upright household vacuum.
I can explain.
There’s this five-by-seven rug that’s been on the carpeted floor of the camper’s living space a long time. It’s dirty. It smells funky.
I really want to salvage it to use under the dining-room table in the cabin, and I don’t believe it’s beyond hope. A carpet-cleaning service could do the job, but I’m not gonna spend that kind of money.
Feeling froggy yesterday afternoon, I pulled the rug out of the camper, laid it out in the bed of the truck, and vacuumed the hell out of it — first one side, then the other. That was step one.
Step two was to bomb it with two bottles of Febreze, again both sides. Step three will be 24 hours of sunshine and fresh Mountain air.
Step four, this afternoon, will be to bring out the heavy artillery — a concentrated solution of OdoBan disinfectant. That’ll be followed by another 24 hours of airing-out.
If that doesn’t do it, the rug goes back into the camper. That’s as far as I’m willing to go.
I love the rug — it’s perfect for the cabin — but I’ll keep it only if it doesn’t stink. Stay tuned.
Take care of yourselves, Patriots. Stay calm. Stay sharp. Stay free.
#WiseUp #LibertyOrDeath #Ungovernable