Yesterday, 555 received two coats of kakishibu in 2 hours!
When Jo and I painted the east, west, and north sides in May, it took a while. We were methodical and figuring it out as we went along.
With 7 people helping yesterday, it was a lot faster to do the south side. It was also way more chaotic. I know we covered it all at least once. I think most of it got a second coat. Perhaps one or two bits got an extra going-over.
Kakishibu goes on really light, barely changing the color of the wood. In the heat, it soaked in and dried almost immediately. I guess we’ll see how it looks in a couple of days as it starts to oxidise. I’ll try to adjust for and light or dark parts when I put on the third coat later this week.
The kakishibu party was a nice surprise. I was actually there for the tile giveaway. I had three or four people tell me they’d come, but only one showed up. Daiki Goto and Haruka took a lot of tiles back to Sumida-ku where they will use them for their renovation projects. I am excited that they made the trip out and that some of the tile has a new home. And after they loaded up their van, they helped with the kakishibu.
While we waited for people who didn’t arrive, I cut the grass in the best shady spot and made plans for a bench. We test-listened to the septic blower and definitely don’t want it under the bedroom window. Tod recalculated the air conditioner requirements and we made some changes to that plan. And we measured the odd shaped pantry to help me figure out where we will keep all our food and kitchen things.
A good Sunday spent outside and with friends. Just the way 555 is meant to be.
