Waxing, But Not Waning

This afternoon I tackled one of those once-a-year household tasks - you know the ones, they don't really take much time, but you put them off because . . . well, because you can.

The task in question was waxing - and the objects to be waxed were antique casegoods (that's designer lingo for wooden furniture!). Many new furniture pieces have finishes that do not require wax, and may even be damaged by wax, but most antiques can benefit from a nice, light coat of wax once a year - especially if they are used often (like the table in the photo which we use for most meals).


The wax I use is called 'Town Talk' and it's available at Restoration Hardware; it's nice because it has a subtle orange scent - like real oranges, not a fake air freshener-type scent. I've finished all the waxing jobs except one - a large chest we bought on eBay from England (yes, it was worth the cost of crating and shipping, but that's a story for another day!). The chest has not benefited from living with us - the English damp was what it was accustomed to and despite our best efforts at humidity regulation, some of the joints separate a bit in the winter which makes me really sad . . . so the least I can do is to give it a bit of spa treatment with an orange wax! So, I'm off to do just that.

And in case you thought this post was going to be about moon phases - here's a note for you - today the moon is a waning crescent and only 5% of it is visible. Check out this site for full details.