I finally finished burning all the timbers for the Bunkbeds, well, the first phase, once they are all cut to size, and holes drilled for the bolts, they will have to be burnt again on the parts cut, this I have already started, but again it will take time, much of which will be done during the construction. This is my pile of timber as it stands at the moment:
I decided that it was time to start making my beeswax polish, I had bought 4kg of solid beeswax and two litres of Mineral Oil, this in addition to a bit of both I still had from my days in Copacabana, I used up the old first. and started by grating and cutting it up with a chisel.
I then dug out our emergency cooker and started heating it up, two cups of wax to four cups of oil
I did it in the workshop rather than the Kitchen, in case there was a fire, heating up mineral oil is asking for trouble, but I decided to take a shortcut and put the lot on direct heat, I was stood over it the entire time, stirring it with a wooden spoon, and the fire extinguisher was nearby!
Then it was just left to cool down
I thought I had added more than enough mineral oil, but although this polish is ideal for normal use, it is too hard for my needs, because of the size of the project, I need it soft enough to apply with a brush, so in time this will be going back on the heat, and more oil added.
In the mean time, I used up my old polish and applied it to all the bed slats
which gives you an idea of the final colour for the bed, once applied, I polished them up, and they are in the house, out of my way.
I had a slight delay in my work, because Marcela, found a local Artist who was prepared to do portraits of my three dogs, yes three, Luis from Spain, and Pepe and Tito, I had been looking for years for an Artist good enough to match the Portraits I had of my first two dogs back in the UK, Pascha and Bracken (left)
Like in Spain they have spent all their time hanging in my Office, in Copacabana, and then here, it was time to elevate their status.
The Artist Diana (Luna del Gato), turns out to be a neighbour, who doesn\’t live more than 500m away, so after talking to her for a while we gave the go ahead, and she excelled herself.
but first, I had to make some more frames, to match those above.
If you\’re observant, you will have noticed the deliberate mistake…I only made two not three, duhhhh! So I had to set up my tools again and make a third, but in the end they were a good match.
Marcela made the decision that they would take pride of place on the lounge wall.
Other than working, my other preoccupation this month has been medical appointments, I had my second set of tests for Vertigo, and they were inconclusive, so my Doc is now sending me to another Specialist, who I see next month, I had hoped that the episode was a one off, but last week I suffered on and off for two days, so it is something I need to get to the bottom of.
With regard to my knees and hips, I saw the number one Specialist in this area, and subject to the results of an MRI scan ( which is on 29th May) he believes I need surgery on both knees, and a replacement hip, he gave me the choice of which to deal with first, and I have gone with the knees, because although when I have been sitting a long time, or in bed at night, my hip gives me a lot of pain, I am still getting four of five hours sleep, I would rather be able to get around, and for that I need my knees sorting. I go back to see him on July 1st, and even if he decides to operate, I will then have to wait until it can be done.
Hopefully I have a temporary solution, I saw a Doc yesterday, who is a pain Specialist, and she gave me three options, one, medication, two a nerve block injection in both knees, or three just wait until it is decided if I have surgery, because the latter could be months away, I have gone with the nerve block, and just hope it works.
As for Covid, numbers of positive cases here are going through the roof, we are in a partial lockdown again, the President wont go for the full lockdown, because Colombia can\’t afford it, unlike other Countries like the UK, there just isn\’t the money to dole out to people and Companies, the Politicians have seen to that, by filling their own pockets. I have heard no more about my appointment for the vaccine, it appears the program has all but come to a halt, because they can\’t get the vaccine, or afford to pay for it, one or the other. Yesterday, we heard that our Department has run out of Oxygen in the hospitals, so the death rate is climbing…it certainly doesn\’t sound good, that\’s for sure. We can only sit back and watch and wait.
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An Englishman in Colombia 
