Installment 14: Long hot Summer and long hot Fall

This has been quite a gap in postings. When I last reported in, I talked about how fun painting can be. After painting five days in a row, it wasn’t so much fun anymore.

I’m a really slow painter and freely admit to driving myself a little bonkers. But I’m usually pleased with the result. The front of the home (porch, columns, foundation, entire façade) is done. If all goes well it will be 10 to 12 years before it needs painting again. The exception is the concrete porch floor – which will probably get a touch up every couple years.

At the end of a long hot summer I can reflect about significant events and plan for the future. Roof and box gutters are done. The verdict is still out on their ability to repel water since it only rains once every five weeks now. It’s going to take some hard rain for me to gain confidence.

Roughly one third of the house remains untouched – in the original condition it was in when the vinyl came off two years ago. The entire south side of the home needs some final prep work and then the finish coat of paint. Just about all the windows require some TLC. So there’s still plenty of work to do.

I’ll also admit to feeling a just a tiny bit of listlessness and even occasional annoyance as the summer has ended. The listlessness is the result of being tired. The annoyance is the result of my poor organizational skills. For example – over the span of two years I’ve purchased four tape measurers. Every time I need one it seems the tape measurer black hole has swallowed it up.

The need for one usually results in the search, which can range from five minutes to thirty minutes if I’m feeling really stubborn. It usually starts in the garage, where any sensible person would store their tools. I check in boxes, on shelves, under the lawnmower, etc.

Can’t find it in the garage? Did I take it inside the house for some reason? The search turns to kitchen drawers, the basement, the attic, etc.

Sometimes the search is successful. On four occurrences the search has failed and I’ve made the short trip to ACE and/or Home Depot and just bought another one.

There’s a reason for this painful routine. It’s all in how my work day normally ends. I get tired and all I want to do is take a shower and drink a beer. Whatever I’m doing at that particular moment ends. All the stuff I’ve taken out of the garage during the day gets taken back in as few trips as possible. It gets dumped in the first empty spot I can find.

It’s a problem and I am working on it.