Short & sweet

I spent the day putting a clear sealant on the lath house slats and all of the decking. First tho, cleaning & prepping.  Keeping debris off the deck during this whole project was laughable with the Arbutus plopping strawberries downward now & again.

Oops, stepped on one.  

I used Seal Once Marine Clear Sealant, it was a cloudy white.  I saw this tape trick to easily pour paint out of the can.  It worked kinda - but this was far more liquidy than paint.  I imagine it would work like a charm with actual paint.

Tested on the back outside slats first, to make sure the color wasn't odd.  There was a slight purple tinge to it.  Like milk with a touch of lavender. But it did dry completely clear.  The weather was fantastic, I really lucked out.

And on to the inside.  The slats took the most time, obviously.  Both sides, and I tried to get the top & bottom edges best I could. Took a break for a Boca burger and a big handful of ginger snaps.

Then onto the deck floor.  You can really see the purple tinge here right after it was applied.

I started off using a flat pad stain applicator, it was dripping so much.  I switched to a traditional paint roller and that worked better for me. 

Glad that job is done!  We might get some rain later this month, we will see.  

While I was in the slope, I noticed a little Protea bud, I had forgotten about this little guy planted a couple years ago.  I'm excited to plant around this area, and give it more attention than it's gotten in the past. 

Fun neighborhood news - I don't remember if I posted this last year, but just a few houses down from us is Deacon Dave. He lights his house "Casa del Pomba" with over 900,000 Christmas lights. We can see it from our upstairs windows, thankfully we don't hear the music or the people.   Volunteers begin the work early fall, the display changes every year.  

Used to be, we could just walk down the street and go through the display (you get to walk inside the yard).  There are doves and a waterfall.  Now it's so busy there is a line around the corner.  We usually just stand across the street and call it good. It is a jolly scene.  He won the Great Christmas Light Fight on ABC last night.  

Any fun plans for the weekend?