Yesterday was very productive from a painting point of view. Saturday as well, actually. After I did my blogging DH did come & help finish clearing the countertop, and we tag-teamed to remove cabinet doors and drawers, then sand and prime the cabinet frames, countertop, & walls. DH, by brute force and sheer willpower, moved the colossal fridge out of an opening that was surely a 1/4" too small for it, so that I could get to the top and back of the wall there to paint with an extending handle attachment for the roller. Yesterday we both started painting the cabinet frames, but of course the kids woke up and DH manfully stepped up to keep them entertained while I cracked on with painting.
Did I mention that this half of our kitchen is the more inaccessible half? I had the joy of crawling on my hands and knees under our breakfast bar, which is not used as such. No, we have a desk shoved up against that normally, for DH to work at on days he works from home, and an end table for the couch. So, after DH maneuvered those things out slightly, I was left with about 24" of space, of which 16" or so was covered by the countertop. So I got to wedge my still large-ish self (give me 9 months to get rid of the baby weight, if you please...I've got 6 months to go, and the pounds are slowly dropping). Needless to say, I was hot (did I mention we have no air conditioning, and the only available lighting was a halogen lamp?), and cranky, when I crawled back out after the first coat. I grimly perservered, however, and finished all of the cabinet frame.
Then, you know what happened, don't you? We looked at it, and it needed a second coat. S#$%! A few expletives said mentally later, I was once again crawling into my hidey-hole to apply a second coat of paint. See, a silver lining to the halogen lamp--the first coat had already dried down there.
"Here I am sweetie...No, stay out of here. DON'T TOUCH!!...Oh bugger."
Yep, paint. On her shirt. *sigh* I had DH strip it off lightening fast and soak it in water, and lo, the paint was gone. Phew. DD was perfectly happy to run around shirtless, and after peeling off the latex paint, she looked passably cute. Having finished the hidden part of the cabinetry (so glad I spent almost two hours on that with 2 coats, yes sir...), I sent DH off to the Olive Garden for some take-out for dinner with both kiddos, and vowed to finish the cabinetry THAT DAY. Yes, I got a little sloppy as I finished, but I FINISHED the cabinetry frames that day, by golly.
Today has been a bit more low-key, although I was limited to the precious naptime only. It sucked giving up my "me" time in the day. However, I took DD next door to play with the neighbor's kiddos and some other kiddos, so she was really tired and ready for a nap. Not one peep of protest when I said it was time to go home. I also wisely fed her BEFORE we went, thus precluding "I am too interested in the other kids to eat my lunch". She went down for her nap with no problem, and DS was equally tuckered out from all the other interesting babies at this little playdate. Both were miraculously asleep at the same time, so I got almost three uninterrupted hours of painting time. I wrestled with the extender pole again and got what looks like good coverage to me on all the walls...even the tiny strip of wall between the cabinet frames and soffits. I plead guilty to stealing one of DD's Crayola paintbrushes to do so. (As an aside, who ever thought soffits were a good idea? "I know what we do here Earl--let's put in some drywall boxes and mount cabinets to that, and waste that whole space!" "Sounds good to me!" Yes, yes, I know in older houses standard cabinets were smaller, yada yada yada, but tell that to all my good china that's still packed away because I have zilch in the way of cabinet space...but I digress...)
It was clearly meant to be. DS slept until I was literally 30 seconds away from finishing in the corner. I zipped in with the Crayola brush, got it done, and rescued him from the incarceration of the swing ("How dare you put me in this THING and not hold me during my nap??") before he woke up his sister. Of course he was gassy and smiley in alternate episodes, so my only hope for painting the countertops is for DH to take both kids again. He has offered to do so, but now he's home and on a work call. I said, "Take them to Lowes for the ceiling painting thingy with the wheels so I can get the last bit above the fridge." We'll see if that happens before dinnertime strikes.
Hey, at least I had Olive Garden for dinner for my anniversary, and a yummy cocktail and nice wine...even if I was attired in my painting togs (an oh-so-unattractive nursing top purposed for painting when I realized I looked singularly unattractive in it even when I was eight months' pregnant with DD). Hey, some anniversaries you take whatever life hands you. The meal was good, and I got a hand-drawn card (with crayons, of course) from DH, and he got one from me. Awwwwwwwwwww. Now THOSE are the kinds of traditions I could go for starting. Next year I'm thinking we move up to DD's watercolours. ;)
1 comment:
Oh gads. We did about half of our house a couple years ago, and I swear: It was the first time my husband and I ever got really, really close to fighting.
"Honey, you need to blah blah brush technique."
"I. Know." {slight pause} "You know, I'm not COMPLETELY stupid!"
Oh, carp. Here we go, buckle up, Gator fans, it's going to be a snap-fest...*rolls eyes*
I promise, you will be so happy when it's all done! I certainly was, and still am. "Well," I say confidently whenever I become irked by broken appliances or too-small fridge. "But just look at that paint! Is it not fabulous?!" (No, really, I do. The paint job comforts me in times of want-i-ness...) :)
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