I went up to 555 this morning expecting to see the Monaca Doken crew on this sunny day but nobody was there. As it turned out, they got a call for another job with some urgency and went off in the big blue dump truck to take care of it.
This did not deter me from staying on my own. I cut the dead top off a tree and pulled a bunch of vines from some other trees. It’s a never-ended job to manage this lushness.
Sasaki-san stopped by to look at the damage to the big stone and we found there are two other stones also cracked. He measured and made notes and will talk to Something. Their insurance should handle the replacement. We’ll see.
After Sasaki-san left, I decided to work on two projects: repairing the rocking chair I found in the barn, and cleaning up the shoji doors the Kawasakis gifted me.
Fixing the rocking chair gave me occasion to do two things: set up a workshop space in the back of “TractorPort” which is the carport to the side of the barn where the tractor used to live. I configured Zan’s old ladder into a workbench, cleared off the old tables along the wall and created a wonderful new work area. I also got to buy an 80cm L-shaped clamp to hold the seat while the glue dries. (I know I will get lots of use from this clamp beyond chair repair.) Tomorrow I will reinforce the bottom of the seat and paint the whole thing.
The Kawasakis gave me seven old sliding doors: a set of three slatted doors with glass in them; and set of four that include a pair of solid wood doors and a pair of kumiko openwork doors. They are all old and filthy and have been in the TractorPort for a few months now, collecting dust.
My plan is to use the slatted doors in the kitchen, leading to the pantry, washing machine, & stairs. They need to be about 30 cm taller than they are, but are otherwise exactly what I was hoping for. There are craftsmen who can remake these for me and I am definitely going to hand them over to someone who knows what to do. I left them alone today; they need to have stickers peeled off. Meh.
Three of the other four doors are going to become a screen. I will hinge together the two openwork doors with a solid one between them. That way, I can shade the south-facing windows in the dining room, or move the screen to hide the mess in the kitchen.
I cleaned those four doors with oil. I used plain old canola mixed with lemon oil and may-chang oil for a nice scent. The transformation was remarkable, even in just one application. I washed, but did not oil, the kumiko inserts. They are going to be fussy to clean, but I will do them soon. There is no rush.
