Staircase Progress

Progress has been veeeeeerrryy slooooow on the staircase. At this rate I will be happy to be done with this project by Christmas - which is actually happening pretty soon...

Since stain takes a WHILE to dry (like a couple of days?) I decided to experiment and do the left half of the staircase first, so we could walk on the right side:

I was a little nervous that the middle area would look funny, but it's actually fine:

The only thing I'm a little worried about are the areas where the old polyurethane didn't lift off in the sanding stage. You can see the stripey lines in this photo:

It's ok, but not perfect. I might put another coat of stain over some of these lighter areas. By the way, the flash on this camera is more lighting than this staircase ever sees under normal conditions. So this is really the worst view possible.

I am kind of at a standstill with this project since we haven't had a chance to run to the store to get a fresh can of poly, and MY BACK IS KILLING ME! For realsies. The past few weeks of bending over the staircase might or might not be the culprit. Either way, I'm taking a break from the stairs for a bit!