underway

The porch floor work was mysteriously delayed for two days.

I don't know why. That's the mysterious part.

  

But today, the gentlemen arrived on time and got busy right away. They left at 5PM, after sanding the floor thoroughly and putting down the first finish coat of a probable three.
Fingers crossed it will be done by the weekend.

I didn't take a wide shot of the entire floor before they began sanding, but here's a fairly representative section of floor - this is the area in front of the slider, looking south - taken on the day when I insulated the kneewalls:

And here is a detail of the floor in front of the slider

after the sanding was done today:

It was fun seeing the original colors reappear.

(It was especially fun since I was not the one

on my hands and knees, sanding.)
The wood has been darkening naturally since 1997.

I remembered finding the mahogany at two lumberyards,

laying out every single stick,

and choosing the ones I wanted.

This is not behavior that typically endears a person

to the lumberyard staff, by the way.

(This doesn't worry me. I mention it as general information.)

There is a lot of variation in this mahogany,

and I remember deciding how to arrange the colors.

Now those colors are more than coming back;
the wood is taking on new depth

as the clear finish goes on.

In this picture, the upper section has one coat of finish:

I suddenly remembered having a load of this lumber

tied to the roof racks of Brownie, my old wagon,

when I stopped at a dog show in NH

where a good friend was showing her Irish Wolfhounds.

She is gone now.
As are her Wolfhounds.

As are my Wolfhounds.

It was another lifetime.

But it's all there somehow, in the wood.

~~~~~