Wednesday's Progress

On Wednesday night, Jamie and two of the girls came over to help me scrape/prime. While Jamie primed, Tori and Isabelle drew on my driveway in chalk, and played around on the large tree in my backyard. Dan S. came over as well, and was immediately put to work scrapping! After a quick spin on his new motorcycle, Dan H. joined us too! And, last but not least, E joined us in the madness! We managed to get about 1/2 of the back of the house scrapped and/or primed. Ben N. came over on Thursday to work on the windows, and hopefully can come back next week to finish up. Things are slowly starting to take shape!






“Painting is poetry that is seen rather than felt, and poetry is painting that is felt rather than seen.”
- Leonardo da Vinci

Sunday

After enjoying some tasty donuts this morning (thanks to Jamie), Dan, Jamie, and I got to work scrapping and priming the opposite side of the house as we were working on yesterday. Dan actually finished one area from yesterday's work, while Jamie began priming and I finished some scrapping. After Jamie left, Dan and I finished the priming, just as we were getting doused by a brief rain shower. Here are a few more pictures from today's work. All in all, it was a pretty productive and enjoyable weekend, with amazing weather. I'll be scrapping and priming the back of the house this week each night after work, so if you have some spare time and feel like scrapping or priming, just give me a shout!

Saturday

After a quick breakfast of coffee and bagels, Dan and I got back to work on the house. Jamie joined us for awhile, and then Eric came over to help too! We managed to get just about all of the driveway side scrapped and primed, with a few spots to finish up tomorrow. While Dan was finishing the top of the wall, I went on the other side of the house to begin scrapping it. We ended up working on the house all day, from about 8:30 until 6:00, with a quick stop for lunch. Dan, Eric, Jamie, and I will be back at it tomorrow morning, getting as far as we can. I think it will look really good, once the paint is on!

I was able to join Dan and Heidi for dinner tonight; an amazing feast of salad, garlic bread, and lasagna - thanks, Heidi! Now it's time to take my sore, old body and try to get some sleep, before we begin again on the house tomorrow.

Friday Night

Dan and I were able to scrape for a few hours on Friday night, and we got a pretty good start on the project! Here are a few pictures of our work, on the driveway side.

Big Project

Well, tonight begins a large undertaking at my homestead - scrapping and priming! I've waited long enough to paint my house, and this last late-Winter and wet Spring has done it's damage to the peeling paint.

Tonight Dan and I are getting a start on scrapping the driveway side of the house, in the shade of the evening, before it gets too hot tomorrow to be standing in the sun all day. I've purchased the scrapping and priming tools, and am finally eager to begin!

Once we get the body of the house scrapped and primed, then I've asked Ben N. to assist with the details of the windows, while Dan and I paint the house. I am changing the color scheme from blue with white trim to cream/tan with dark red trim - it should look great! I'll post pictures as I'm able.

An Enjoyable Saturday

I got up early this morning to get my homework done for class, about 7:30 a.m. I made a pot of coffee and got to work. I cranked out my portion of a PowerPoint presentation on the role of School Counselors in the middle school environment. Afterwards, I went outside to enjoy the sunny morning by doing some much-needed yard work. With all the rain we have been having lately, my grass was getting a little too tall! I was on such a roll, that after mowing the lawn, I even cleaned out my gutters!

At this point I was getting rather hungry, so after a quick shower I was on my way for breakfast/brunch/lunch. I decided to go to the Malt Shop in Edina. I was quite pleased with my choices of a turkey BLT and a strawberry shake - a great reward for a busy morning! I then got the grand idea for a trip to St. Paul, so I sped off to Stogies on Grand. I sat outside on their patio enjoying the warm sun and the nice breeze, while smoking a La Flor Dominicana chisel...what an amazing smoke it was! I sat outside for almost two hours, unwinding and enjoying the day! After a quick stop to get some necessary groceries, I went home to read and nap in my recliner for the rest of the afternoon.

Thank you Lord for an enjoyable Saturday!

Writer's (Blogger's) Block

I am definitely suffering from a case of writer's block, as I haven't been able to come up with anything to blog about lately. Sorry for the lack of posts, but hang in there my faithful readers (all two of you), and hopefully I'll be blogging away soon!

Welcome June!

Routines and habits, we all have them.
Some can be pretty annoying, while others can be rather comforting.
Sunday mornings.
Sleeping in (sort of, thanks E!).
Grabbing a paper and heading to the Cafe Z.
Iced coffee, eggs, and the Sports section.
A walk around Lake Harriet.
The sun is very warm today, and I am thankful for it.
Leaves and twigs everywhere, from last night's storm, making the path slippery.
The lake was calm and clear, rather glass-like.
There were a handful of white-sailed boats, slowly drifting across the water.
Many, many people out, walking, running, biking, and sweating.
The trip home, thinking about this blog post.
Time to start the laundry.
Cleaning up leaves and twigs in my yard.
Sitting in my Adirondack chair, with a cold pop and a tasty cigar (Rocky Patel, Vintage 1990).
Watching the sun and the breeze, listening to God's creation.
Spending the night with my friends of the GC, praising our Maker.
Playing with the kids.
Routines and habits.
Welcome June!