Progress and an idea...

I redeemed my neglectful homeowner status ever so slightly by tending to the front porch.

I got the sealer applied.  First, I worked on the water spot over where the fountain was and then I went to town on the sealer.  My method is to two do boards in one direction, then two boards in the opposite direction, giving the original two boards time to start absorbing the sealer, then re-do the original two boards with a second coat, then finally go over the second two boards with their second coat.  Four boards done.  Repeat eleven times.

Sadly, the forecast changed so I am racing against the rain for this to dry.  I need 48 hours without water on it.  Already a plant blew over in the windy, cloudy weather, so I carefully walked on the porch with bare feet to pick up the broken pot and plant and then sweep away the dirt.  I didn't want the latter sticking to the sealer.  I was disappointed that one section got dirty prematurely, but I was pleased to see that the boards were less tacky than I thought they would be after less than 24 hours.  Maybe things will be fine.

Isn't my front porch beautiful?
Properly tended wood is always beautiful.

Tonight, I thought to try my hand at sanding the airing porch.  I mostly wanted to gauge what kind of job this will entail.

You can see that I did a first pass on half of the porch, minus the final two boards against the house because I was not up for moving the furniture.  I made some progress, but not as much as I had hoped.

Closer up, you can still see the mold or mold stain or whatever the darkness is still on the wood.

I just don't know if I can hand sand it enough.  And I do not know what will happen if I try to seal it as it is now.  I mean, if I ignore the less that perfect prep job and just apply the sealer anyway.  I might be a lover of wood, but I really only have half-knowledge on properly tending it.

I keep looking back at this photo to remind myself that I have made good progress in trying to remedy my homeowner failure on the airing porch.  Noise ordinance means I have to stop working at 8:00 PM, though I worked until 8:30-ish.  The heat means not starting until after 7:00-ish, so this will take a while.  I think.  I also need to figure out about my grit choice.  I picked 80, because that's the lowest I have.  But maybe I should be buying a lower number and seeing what that does?  I am not sure.  But at least I made progress on this mess.

I also ate my first broccoli from my raised bed.  I finally figured out how to use the sweet onion cane sugar that was in amongst the spices my friend Dawn gave me at Christmas.  I used it on roasted broccoli!  Tasty!  Next, I think I will try it whilst sautéing asparagus.

The broccoli was small and ... shrunk a lot.  This was a whole head!  I even cooked it 10 minutes less than normal.  I think it cooked differently because it was fresh.  So, the next head I will try cooking even shorter.  Maybe just 12 minutes.  Still, it was crispy and tasty and just plain divine!