The dogs and I had a great morning yesterday. Scout, who’s unable to get to her feet without my help, just wanted to walk and walk and walk s’more once she was outside. Not a single fall. And Miss Smudge was more compliant than she’s been recently.
Both made their breakfast bowls disappear.
Scout had asked to go out in the wee hours, around 2am. As a result, I accidentally got a look at my solar “stake lights” in the dark.
A total of five are good. Two looked iffy. Four showed no glow at all.
Later, after a few cups of coffee, I pulled the rechargeable AA batteries from the dead ones and put them on a charger. What followed was a series of tests with known-good batteries, which showed that only two of the six questionable or dark lights would even illuminate.
So four went into the trash. The other two will sit in the sun, to be judged over a couple of days to see if their solar chargers work.
At best, I’ll be left with seven. At worst, five.
I’m still going easy on my sore knee — it’s better, but it’s not back. The task of putting up insulation, I’ve decided, requiring a lot of steps and up-and-down cycles, will wait until at least the weekend.
I rolled up the rug I’ve been working on as soon as it was dry and brought it inside. It smells plenty good enough.
C’mon, nobody’s gonna fall down and make love on this thing. It’ll be under my kitchen table.
I threw one more scent grenade at it — carpet-freshening dust. I didn’t have any, so I placed a Walmart curbside-pickup order for it, combining that with a short, fill-in grocery run.
(As an aside, I check the Walmart app a couple of times a week for “rollback” pricing on my staple items. Despite yesterday’s small order, I saved $10.38 off what I’d usually pay.)
When I got back from Flippin, I penned the dogs in the bedroom, moved the table and chairs, and rolled out the rug where I wanted it. Then I sprinkled the entire box of Arm & Hammer “fresh scent” powder.
I waited 20 minutes before vacuuming and re-setting everything.
This small, easy-on-the-knee chore stretched over almost 48 hours. I think the rug looks great.
On my way up to Flippin, I had to brake twice for whitetail does. That was nice to see in what seems to be a down year.
I was running a few minutes early for my pickup window, so I swung into the Crooked Creek access. The water flowed strong and clear.
I’d just topped the crest on the road up The Mountain when I encountered a doe, probably the one I’d seen earlier and in exactly the same spot. I suspect she had a fawn (or two) hidden in the roadside brush.
I didn’t intrude.
A friend who’d read my recent post about caring for wooden cooking utensils recommended I try a product called “Wood Wax” from the folks at Lancaster Cast Iron. I decided to give it a shot.
Wood Wax is a blend of the two substances most often used to treat kitchen wood — mineral oil and beeswax. The theory is that the oil hydrates (which helps prevent chipping, checking and splitting), while the wax seals the pores.
Unscrewing the lid on the two-ounce tin, I noticed immediately that Wood Wax smells like honey. Love that. I used a soft cloth to apply it to a pair of hand-carved spoons, let it sink in for several hours, and then wiped off the excess (and there wasn’t much).
It leaves a nice finish. I’ll let you know how well it holds up.
And now I want to tell you about those two spoons.
They were made by a fellow by the name of Tom Metz, who fashioned them with hand-forged knives and gouges from cherry he harvested in the Ohio woods. I bought them from him in 2015 at my town’s bicentennial festival.
He prided himself on applying authentic 18th Century materials, tools and techniques to his craft. I took that photograph of him as he made a spoon similar to the smaller one he sold to me.
Tom’s spoons are among my treasures. They have a soul.
(Incidentally, he treated all of his wooden utensils with olive oil.)
Take care of yourselves, Patriots. Stay calm. Stay sharp. Stay free.
#WiseUp #LibertyOrDeath #Ungovernable