NoJoMo 1 -- A project in The Common Room

A project - I have a project again – Hurrah

I’m playing catch-up with my back yard, otherwise known as “The French Drain I’m Trying to Disguise.” There is a tiny wooden stoop and a long, slightly raised wooden walkway from the side door of the sunroom and along the side of the house all the way to the front door of the garage.

I bought the stain to stain and waterproof this stoop and walkway in Spring of 2012 and found myself unable to use it - just too itred and too little breath. I used it four or so days ago to stain and waterproof the ramp to the shed. It was tiring, but I got it done. The stain was supposed to be redwood. It was “Little Orphan Annie” ORANGE – just horrible. To be fair, it could have been damaged by being in the non-temp-controlled garage for so long.

Went out to Home Despot and looked for other stain. Found a color called “Sable” which was a medium brown with a litttle black tint, thinking it would match, or at least be compatible with, some of the brick of which our house is made (mixed colours). (It was.)

I got out my paint clothes from 2008-09 when I remodeled our old house before selling it and my knee pads and my garden stool that turns upside down to kneel on and parked myself on the walk, beginning at the garage end and working back. The first day got me half-way down the walk to the gate between front yard and back yard, and used most of the gallon of stain. I was sore the next day, but not badly – EXCEPT for my … um-m-m, glutimus maximus? … sort of. Progressing down the walk, I had to move the kneeler about every three feet, that being the distance I could reach out without tipping over. Paint a little, move the kneeler, painf a little, move the kneeler. Each move meant pushing up from knees to feet, by pressing on the curved “arms” of the kneeler, shifting the thing and kneeling again. My… glutimus whatzits felt like they’d been pummeled.

Nothing that a little more flexing won’t fix.... (See me wearing my “Shut up soldier, and soldier” face?

Friday, it was needful to buy many groceries and Husband wanted to eat out and we had to get stuff from the drugstore and get more stain and the day wore away with no painting.

Today (Saturday) I wrapped the sunroom air conditioner. which sticks out of the wall near the little stoop. I do it a little differently each year, searching for the max protection with the min effort. This year I had purchased a commercial covering, but could not get one the corrrect size and had to fold over the excess and secure it. I used the kind of straps that are used to hold things to the roof racks of cars. Not bad. The laundry room sticks out a little further than the sunroom, making a funny little corner where the wind swirls around. If the covering has a space the wind can get into, things shift and/or rip and I’m out in the cold trying to make repairs. This looks pretty yar.

Any who, that didn’t take more than three times the amount of time that it should have taken, leaving time to paint. It was quite chilly for this place and time of year – less than 70. I opened the seldom-used sliding door from the sunroom so I could lock the more commonlhy used door to the stoop, because it was a cinch Husband would forget and open the door on me and the paint can. (Sure enough, he forgot and tried it a couple of times. I started with the stoop and went from there down the walk toward the gate. The boards of the walk are nothing, but the side skirts and trim make one rather stand on ones’ head to do – and make less-than-coordinated me put a hand down in the painted places all too many times.

The sun was showing signs of setting as I finished, leaving just time to water the pottted flowers against a chill night.

I’m itred. I’m sore. I have Sable cuticles. I’m feeling very good.

I lack stamina and I’m slower than … well, I can’t think of anything that slow… but I found a project and I DID IT.

Hum-m-m I haven’t used my pole saw since we moved in 2010 and there’s a limb of the juniper that’s way too low .....

I’m feeling a little like me again.

Blessed Be.

Last updated November 01, 2014