Drug store lunch counter

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I thought that all the old-fashioned drug store lunch counters had closed long ago. But I discovered today that there’s one in Walnut Cove at Hick’s Pharmacy. It’s called the Red Rooster. I asked one of the women who works there why there is no sign out front. She said there is — the red rooster logo. I guess all the locals knew that. And now that I know, I guess that makes me a local too. As far as I know, Hick’s Pharmacy is locally owned and not part of a chain. So that’s where I’ll do business hereafter.

Today’s lunch special was pinto beans, slaw, and corn bread for $4.50. I had it with onions.

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Fugue in Ursa Major: delayed by revisions

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In retrospect, I was way too optimistic in thinking that Fugue in Ursa Major would be ready to go on sale last month. The feedback I got from some of my first readers was very good and very intense. That left me with a good bit of thinking to do. Still, progress is being made, and I’ll have a new estimate on a new publication date as soon as possible.

Rocking chair rehab

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I apologize for going so long without posting. I’ll blame it on the weather — first freezing cold, with some water problems, followed by heavy rain. January has been dreary so far.

But today was fairly nice, and Ken got started on a project that I’m happy to see come up in the queue: the rehabilitation of the rocking chairs. I bought the chairs as a gift for my mother some years ago, and she gave them back to me when I moved back to North Carolina. The chairs are classics, made by the P & P Chair Company, the original maker of the Kennedy Rocking Chair. You can still buy these chairs, and they’re very pricey. Mine have been sitting on the side porch for five years, and the weathering had taken its toll.

I did not like the original finish on these chairs. It was that plastic-skin finish that everything seems to have these days. The finish does not soak into the wood, and over time it peels off in tiny flakes, leaving the wood unprotected.

Ken’s first step was to sand the chairs. That left the chairs with a silvery-gray patina that is quite beautiful. The next step will be to apply a new finish. We’ve chosen a deck stain, because it’s the kind of finish that goes on thin and soaks into the wood. And of course it’s a finish designed for protecting wood that is exposed to the weather. I’m hoping that it will protect the chairs better than the original finish.

And whose knows. After the finish is dry, the chairs may come indoors and sit by the fireplace for the rest of the winter. Life is hard for porch chairs.

In the photos below, the new finish has not yet been applied.

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