Just One More Second Per Minute

  I wish that my minutes were 61 seconds. What would I do with the extra 24 minutes a day? Watch the moon a little longer as she slips her secret crescent beyond the horizon. Grasp the sun with my pen and tell another story. Catch one more dessertspoon of rain with which to salve […]

Cleaning up a Precious Wooden Surface

When to use wax, oil or other wooden surface protectants for precious wooden surfaces. One of the most common errors people make when restoring wooden objects is to fail to determine precisely what they want to achieve with the restoration. For each level of restoration, whether it is a full restoration, a thorough clean-up, or […]

Stripping Methods for Wooden Furniture and Antiques

Depending on the finish you want to achieve and the original coating of the item Refurbishment or Full Restoration? Refurbishment is the process of removing the original coating, whether lacquer, beeswax, oil, or shellac, and re-applying a new finishing coat to give your furniture luminosity. By comparison, a full restoration is to remove coatings and […]

Creating Natural Swimming Pools

Natural swimming pool near Dargaville, Northland, New Zealand - Photo Theresa Sjoquist

Build an environmentally sustainable swimming pool that uses only nature’s plants as a filtering system and requires no chemicals or cleaning. When Neil Hearn was invited to see the natural swimming pool of one of his customers actually in use, he took the opportunity to investigate since he was building a new home in rural […]

A Giggle for Your Trouble

The bathroom in question - Photo Theresa Sjoquist

  A giggle for your trouble – amusing excerpt from a presentation to Toastmasters@Lunchtime on the value of attention to detail. – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=svw0JDBbzLw