Deck Follies #6 and other events

The good news is that the first coat of stain went down on Sunday.  The bad news is that it took hours and hours and hours.  I really need to see if I can figure out how to get the second coat down today.  I only managed to get the first coat down because the 1) kids helped a fair bit, particularly on the spindles, which are a total pain and 2) after the sun went down, I could see which areas were more or less untreated wood and which had been stained.  That won't be the case for the second coat.  On top of everything else, just getting the first coat down took 1.5 cans of stain, and I really ought to get a third can, especially as I'll need it anyway for the bottom part of the deck, which I haven't even started!

I'm going to try to start the kids on the upper railings when I get home, and then rush off for one more can of stain.  We are not going to stain the spindles a second time, which will help quite a bit.  Still, this is going to be another late night project, but it should be done tonight one way or another.

It is hard to get good photos now due to the sun and shadows, but this is basically what it looks like with the first coat on.

It's definitely uneven, and it will probably have to be retreated sooner than I would like (as the remaining paint comes free), but it isn't terrible.  I can live with it at least.  At this point, it is just about what are reasonable expectations...

I have to run, so I may circle around late tonight, but I should mention that the Kindred Spirits Orchestra is in the good, not great category.  I couldn't believe how young the violin section was.  Several of the kids are in high school, and one looked about 12!  The other sections have a mix of young players and adults.  They are not as good as the Chicago Civic Orchestra or the Grant Park Orchestra, but they were entertaining and the ticket prices were fair.  Actually, I think they did do a very solid job with Shostakovich's Symphony 9 (certainly the best piece of the evening), so I think I'll check them out doing Shostakovich's Symphony 10 in Feb. and then perhaps next June when they come back to the Glenn Gould Studio.

I'd never been in there before.  It's pretty cool that they have his practice piano in the lobby, though of course you can't touch it.  (If I do go back, I'll try to get a less blurry photo...)

I have to run, so I won't go into detail about my trip to Tarragon for the Fringe Show, Bright Lights, and then the extremely frustrating trip back.  I will say it is an intriguing play, and it is almost certainly going to sell out during its Fringe run, so try to see it if you are interested in alien abductions or weird group dynamics.