Yuletide Is Upon Us

   Winter solstice will be this week, and while we've had a unusually dry and clear winter so far, the days are very short. We are in a valley, and even though we are surrounded by hills rather than mountains, it definitely cuts down on hours of sunlight. by the 21st, the sun won't clear the ridge until 9:20 in the morning. It will skirt the edge of the hills, and set by 4:15 in the afternoon. After that, the days just get longer.

   I managed to finish the eagle transom for the front door this week. Hopefully Ed can get it installed this afternoon. I made sketches for the sidelights, but I'll need to order glass before I start those. I don't think I have enough matching glass to do both sidelights to match the transom.  there isn't a supply store within a reasonable distance. Having glass shipped is always a risky proposition. Sometimes it gets here in one piece, other times...not so much.

   Ed has been putting coats of wax on the basement floor. One coat of Butcher's Ironstone and six coats of Butcher's Amplify, and he'll call it good. Then he will use a burnisher (basically a floor buffer) to complete the last step. The wax is a sacrificial surface that protects the stain on the concrete. Since the basement won't get daily use (except to the gym), it should last a long time.  It's been a long process to finish this floor but he's done a great job and it looks gorgeous.

   Last week we had the back area graded. We wanted to get some protection down over the dirt before the rains returned. I took several bales of hay and spread them over the fresh dirt. Hopefully it will slow down the debridement by heavy rain, will compost in, and may just leave enough seed to start some grass. As an added bonus, it keeps a lot of the mud off Abby's feet.
   It may actually rain next week.