The antique doors in the bedroom needed some attention to smooth out the rough edges and even out their complexion. I took on the task yesterday.
The day was very hot and Maru-chan’s yumbo preparing the ground for the concrete pour made it impossible to work outside, so I decided to test out the doma as a workspace.
It was good. Plenty of room! I laid down some protective sheets and did my cleaning, sanding and staining on all four doors.
The results are pleasing. I kept the character of the doors, but muted the scratches and imperfections with walnut stain, which also blended the new bottom strips with the rest of the wood.
However, several abu – Japanese horseflies – were cruising through the house. Abu bite hard and leave scars. I do not like them.
When one tried to interact with me while I was staining door number 3, I swatted at it – with a rag full of stain. An arc of dark brown drops sprayed onto the freshly wallpapered wall, the tiles, and the wood trim.
“Oh, no! No, no, no, no, no!” poured out of my mouth, along with many bluer words, as I ran in shock to the slop sink outside for a wet cloth. The wallpaper is supposed to be impervious to lots of things, but stain? I was already trying to figure out how to apologise to Sasaki-san.
But the wet cloth worked! The stain wiped off, except for a faint mark or two. And the tiles were easy enough to clean. The wood is permanently freckled, though. A reminder of the day and the miracle of the wallpaper.
