Weekend Fun
Probably it’s the weather. As soon as the humidity and temperatures dropped back into humane levels, I got a burst of energy and felt like doing something besides sleeping and eating. I had begun to wonder if old age had finally caught up to me.
Anyway, heat or no heat, yesterday was busy. We started by packing lunches at trinity Memorial Church, then shadowed a birthday party at the zoo. This was a delightful group of four or five year olds that were excited to see the fox, interested in the snake, curious about the bird and happy with the rabbit. If you notice a steady decline in the level of excitement, good, I was accurate. Seems no matter what is going on, four and five year olds have about 13: 45 minutes of attention in them. Beyond that, we could have had a working dragon and it wasn’t going to work.
We got back home, hung out in the air-conditioned room upstairs until 5, then headed back to the zoo for Ice Cream Safari. Great fun. A really large crowd, enough help to not be run frantic, support showing up with ice cream at the right time and just a generally well run event.
Today, after Mass we started painting the Hall.
For those unaware, we have been redoing our entry hall for , well a really long time. Several years ago, I started redoing the door trim. I built a really fancy head piece for each of the three doors and redid the upright pieces with a neat inlay of carved wood. That used up all my skill for two years. Then we designated this summer as the summer we would finally finish the hall and rebuild the outside back stairs.
We started by installing a ceiling. The old one was determined to become part of the floor at any moment. By working really carefully, we kept the old ceiling up, and secured it with the new one. Then all the trim under the stairway, including the closet door was removed and some put back. (The closet door and the side trim is waiting for wallpaper to be applied) I rebuilt the upper Newell post and wrapped it in oak. Finally, phase one required 11 oak treads, 12 risers, four side pieces to be cut and finished and ready for installation and the walls prepared for painting,.
Then the fatal, hated, although absolutely correct words ---
“ While we’re at it, we should paint the ceiling over the stairs.”
I painted this ceiling twenty years ago, and I am certain the plan was for it to last at least 60 years., because I clearly remember saying, “I am not painting that again until I am 105!!”
I do not mind painting walls, the paint can only splatter on the floor in front of me, which it will do. Ceilings open up whole new dimensions of splatter. It can go behind me, on me, over me and somehow transmute itself into blob like spectacles in the middle of the room. You scoff, but I have witnessed each and every possibility, while holding a wet paintbrush and sporting a stupid expression.
Anyway, we covered, stapled, masked everything in sight, and this morning primed the walls and painted the ceiling. We’ll be done cleaning up the splatters Tuesday.