Ron’s sweater /Obscure Varnish @&@

            The other weekend I attended a marriage celebration for two good friends, Paul and Jason. I was tickled to see they posted pictures of the party and there was one of me in the Utilikilt. More important though was the sweater I was wearing. Ron gave me that sweater when he was moving uptown to the newly rehabbed “Old Rochesterville” an old warehouse on the Genesee River in downtown Rochester, NY. This transpired back around 1987 or so. (I refuse to fact-check the date. If I get into my paper journals the rest of the day will be shot!) Ron’s mom knitted this sweater for him when he was attending the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, AR back in the early 1970’s. I always feel so close to Ron and his mom whenever I wear this special garment. For being 40+ years old, it has held up pretty well.

After a nice warm weekend, the colder temperatures are back. It is so nice to have a functioning furnace again. Yesterday morning I dropped off a dozen Krispy Kremes to the appliance repair store. I believe in karma.

It has been such a long time since I have been so involved in a house project. Taping off, spreading out drop cloths, and getting paint all over me is just like getting into comfortable old clothes!

Most of the paint and materials I already have here. I went into panic mode when going to put varnish on the shutters. I only had ½ of a quart can left of Pratt and Lambert 38 Varnish left.

When I restored my house in Lockport, NY starting that project in 1978, I stuck with Pratt and Lambert paints and varnishes exclusively. The quality was top notch. It might be more expensive, but well worth the price. Over the years their 38 Varnish has gotten harder and harder to acquire. The local dealer for Pratt and Lambert does not stock this product. I gave up years ago trying to acquire it through them. It was so out their realm to do a special order. The last four cans I purchased on line too many years ago. This ½ can is the remains of that purchase.

Doing a quick Google search I could turn up precious little information on this varnish. Some old discussion board threads even alluded to this product being discontinued. It seems like all natural finishes are either lacquer or polyurethane now. Real varnish is so much work, but the end results in my opinion are so superior.

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I turned up a source for this Varnish. I’m thinking this is the same place I got my last supply from. I could go back through my credit card receipts, but will pass on that. This is just a journal entry, not an investigative piece for publication. See what taking a class on, “Writing for the Media” will do to you!!

A few weeks back I updated my charge card settings to where I now get an E-mail notification whenever a transaction over $50.00 is made to my account. I was happy this morning to see the “varnish transaction” go through. Hopefully that will mean a delivery in the near future.

It is time for me to get back to work and get the 2nd coat of paint on the walls. Here is where the project currently stands.

I can see a future “nightmare project” in the making. A few years back I had a leak from this upstairs toilet tank. The rigid water supply cracked the plastic nut holding it to the tank when the tank shifted. Fortunately I was home and able to shut the water off before there was any real serious damage. There is a flexible water supply to the tank now. The sink in this bathroom is so tiny to compensate for the location. The waste drain is really crammed in. I can see all kinds of stress cracks in the plastic pipe which means it will need replacement in the near future. This will not be just a switch-out repair. I can see where the original installer really had to mess to get this done. I’m not looking forward to this one. I hate plumbing work.