What do teachers do during the summer?
November encroaches upon us. In telling stories recently, I've caught my brain saying things like, "Well, that was way back in September." (Nevermind the fact that it's still October today.) The quick flow of time and the reference of time in terms of school years is typical for many teachers, as is a little thing called summer holiday.
During my time this summer in the USA, I packed in as many visits, coffees, walks, and meals with friends and family as possible. If this had been all, I may have felt a little unbalanced. It is a well-known-fact within my own head that about two days of nothing to do are enough to make me simultaneously relaxed and stir crazy. I have Midwest German Protestant blood coursing through my veins, which makes sitting still torturous.
My gracious sister and brother-in-law helped me remedy this fear by hiring me to restain their deck, a process which I'm sure you have keen interest in, leading me to give a photo documentation of it here.
Before:
My brother had stripped the floor of the deck, it was up to me to strip the stairs, the rails and the vertical bars throughout.
Phase 2
Phase 3
Phase 4
1-Reapply screens.
2-Replace rugs and furniture.
3-Use the deck for your own enjoyment.
After:
During my time this summer in the USA, I packed in as many visits, coffees, walks, and meals with friends and family as possible. If this had been all, I may have felt a little unbalanced. It is a well-known-fact within my own head that about two days of nothing to do are enough to make me simultaneously relaxed and stir crazy. I have Midwest German Protestant blood coursing through my veins, which makes sitting still torturous.
My gracious sister and brother-in-law helped me remedy this fear by hiring me to restain their deck, a process which I'm sure you have keen interest in, leading me to give a photo documentation of it here.
Before:
My brother had stripped the floor of the deck, it was up to me to strip the stairs, the rails and the vertical bars throughout.
Phase 1
1-Remove furniture.
2-Dampen wood.
3-Apply deck stripper with pressurized hand pump.
4-Let stripper sit 10-20 minutes.
5-Rinse off deck stripper with a power washer.
6-Repeat steps 2-5 until all old stain has been removed. (Also remove screens to strip the stain on the reverse side of banisters.)
1-Dampen wood.
2-Apply deck cleaner with pressurized hand pump.
3-Let stripper sit.
4-Rinse off deck stripper with a power washer.
5-Repeat steps 1-4 until wood is bright.
Let a few days elapse before applying stain.
Phase 3
1-Mix stain.
2-Apply stain in overlapping strokes with a lamb's wool pad.
3-Use a brush to touch up details.
4-After applying to all surfaces, allow to dry.
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| Beading from the first rain on this freshly-stained section. |
Phase 4
1-Reapply screens.
2-Replace rugs and furniture.
3-Use the deck for your own enjoyment.
So there's another life experience on this art teacher's resume. I'm thankful for the summer work, but I think I'll stick with teaching.
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