It’s not like I’ve been sick or anything, quite the contrary, I feel like a million bucks. And it’s not like I’m not doing anything during the day, either: I’ve been getting a ton of work done, including fun stuff like refinishing the kitchen table and benches.
But time is flying by so fast that no matter how much I do, it seems like all I do is go to bed. No matter how gorgeous the day is, whether I walk around the lake, go to the arboretum or spend the day painting at home, in no time at all, it’s over and I’m back in my pajamas, getting ready for bed. Again.
This morning I woke the moment the sun rose. I must have been on the verge of waking because I could tell that the light outside had suddenly changed from dawn to daylight. I opened my eyes to see sunshine on the park outside my window. It’s not only easy to get up when its sunny out; it’s fun.
I love that first cup of coffee in the morning. I love the second and third cups, too. I’m not sure I could get out of bed if not for the joy of coffee.
I didn’t spend as much time enjoying it this morning as I usually do. I had stuff to do. Katie and I are ready to start decorating the nursery for the girls. She bought some wallpaper for the wall with no windows or doors. Currently, the room is painted two tones, including a gray that covers the ceiling and comes down about 18” at the top of the wall. We decided that the wall needed to be primed behind the wall paper so the stripe wouldn’t show through. So, this morning I drove up to her house and primed the wall. I also got a nice start on painting that ugly gray ceiling but I ran out of ceiling paint after one corner. A lot of can debris got into that last inch of paint. I had to pick crap off the ceiling before it dried. I know some brands of paint have moved away from the old metal cans. I think that’s a good idea.
Katie texted me that we had used up all the rollers so I stopped at Menard’s, picked up a pack and then headed north. I had one more stop to make before I got to Katie’s but it was right on the way.
Continental Clay is on Stinson blvd, a block off the highway. Their white sable glazing brushes hold a point longer than any other brand I’ve tried and in the forty years I’ve been designing needlepoint, I’ve tried them all. The canvas I paint on eats brushes like they were candy. I bought a handful of brushes in a couple of different sizes and jumped back on the highway.
I was at Katie’s house long before noon. It took about a half an hour to clear the room of baby swag. Then I had to find the drop cloth, which turned out to be so full of big holes as to be almost useless. Almost, but not totally. I may not tape when I paint but I always use a drop cloth.
I decided to start with the ceiling and used up that paint before opening the primer. Painting a ceiling is an enormous pain in the butt. No one would bother if the effect weren’t so striking. I could tell from the little bit I got done that a white ceiling will brighten the nursery up immeasurably. Even the thick, gloppy paint formulated for overhead work drips once in a while. I wore old paint clothes and didn’t worry about flying paint. My hair is full of it.
I got the wall primed then went to work on the wood trim. Since all the walls are going to be painted eventually, I didn’t have to worry about lines so the door and window trim went quickly. The baseboard took some care, however.
Like I said: I don’t tape when I paint. It takes a lot of time, doesn’t prevent the paint from getting where you don’t want it and it just encourages me to be sloppy. There’s a metaphor for life there but I’m not going to expound on it now.
Anyway, no tape. I’m much better off with a good brush and a steady hand.
And a wet paper towel to wipe up any mistakes as soon as they happen. That’s better than depending on tape.
(Whole different ball game when you’re using a sprayer of course, but I’m not using one.)
I was being very careful as I slowly drew my brush across the quarter round near the floor, getting a nice, smooth edge when I accidently sat in the paint tray. I had used up all the paint but it was still wet and my shorts took it in the shorts. I had to be careful to stay on the drop cloth after that. The paint was dry before I got back in my car to go home, so no new butt print on the driver’s seat. Hey, it’s my car. I can diagram the interior if I want.
The room is ready for us to put up the wall paper now. After we get that up, I’ll prime the rest of the trim and Katie can choose a color for the other walls. Something pale and pretty.
Every time I turned around the cat sneaked into the room. The first time I returned from washing out a brush, I found her up on the ladder, her nose in the paint. She managed to avoid getting any paint on her whiskers but not for lack of trying. After that, she climbed onto the dresser and spent the next hour knocking things onto the floor. Nothing shattered so I didn’t worry about it. When I was done painting, I made sure both animals were out of the room before I closed it up.
The day had gotten all cloudy while I painted. It had been sunny when I arrived but I drove home in a pre-storm gloom.
I got home to find that Jay had ribs in the crock pot. The house smelled wonderful. The storm burst around six o’clock. When I first came out onto the porch tonight, the windows were mostly closed against the rain. I was reading my book when the sunset lit the sky on fire. The rain had stopped but the sky was completely overcast and suddenly the whole sky turned pink from horizon to horizon! It was like a switch had been flipped. The entire sky was a warm pink and when I went to check on the front, I saw that the western edge of the sky was as orange as a fire.
God, it was beautiful!
Dinner was delicious and the sunset was spectacular.
And now I’m in my pajamas, getting ready for bed. Again.