Monday, July 23, 2012

100 year old paint.

I thought it sounded so easy. Get a power sprayer and spray all those old layers of paint right off the house. Fast, easy. Two weekends of spraying, endlessly. Handing the wand off to the next person when your hand is too sore to press the trigger anymore. Did I mention that when you aren't spraying, you are mowing endlessly? And that when you are "taking a break" you are cutting brush or burning brush? The other problem (besides the bats nesting in the garage and the mice eating the Cheetos) is that 100 year old wood, is rotton. So...once we get all the paint off, we will be replacing a lot of boards. I need 12 one by somethings?  Eight feet long. That is for all the rotton corners. Did I mention the frames on the garage door and the windows are rotted?
Then there are the satisfying moments. A beautiful mown acre of lawn, a path cleared through the "woods" to a secret shaded area. Sitting around a fire, a late night game of rummy, shrimp jumbalaya, watergate cake, banana smoothies. A cold beer with pizza at the end of a sweaty work filled day. Visits to and from the neighbors. Driving past green acres of corn, yellow fields of mustard, and golden winter wheat ready to harvest. The cows across the street. It certainly could be worse

Tuesday, July 3, 2012

We had quite a storm here in Bemidji! I am sitting at the coffee shop having a nice cold frappe and enjoing their wifi and airconditioning, since we have no electric. We start moving all the big furniture this weekend, getting ready for the final push. I can't wait to get my new woodworking shop set up, (separate from the tool shop) and finish up my art gallery, and work on landscaping my huge yard. Have the opportunity to add more land, but the problem is no cash on hand...trying to figure that one out. Thinking of making custom made voodoo dolls complete with pins for sale. Hmmm. Maybe I will call my company Revenge of the ex wife?