Projects, projects, projects.
Okay, it's just two projects. One, smooth (and paint) the dining room ceiling; and two, stain the deck. I set an arbitrary deadline of end of October, but the more involved I get in these projects, the less likely it seems that I will finish them in ... the next four days.
Several months ago, when I was full of ambition and infallibility, I removed the texture from the dining room ceiling. As my kids were extra fond of telling me---and anyone else they talked to---, "Mom, it looks WORSE now than it did before."
Harsh.
Several months ago, when I was full of ambition and infallibility, I removed the texture from the dining room ceiling. As my kids were extra fond of telling me---and anyone else they talked to---, "Mom, it looks WORSE now than it did before."
Harsh.
Also, true.
And, it was a ginormous pain in the ass. I wet the ceiling with a pump sprayer thingy and scraped off the texture with a putty knife. It took *forever*. YouTube made it look so much easier.
Hubris, thy name is Icie.
I started to patch the ceiling with mud. Mudding also made the project look decidedly worse, and I left it again for several weeks while I thought on it.
Eventually, I went back and finished the first coat of mud; let it dry, then sanded the ceiling. It wasn't perfect, but it was significantly better. So, I put on another coat of mud---just for the spots that needed it; let it dry; sanded it again. Third time was the charm and I've finished smoothing out the ceiling with mud, letting it dry, and sanding.
Sanding was the worst! I was covered in dust and it took hours for the dust to fully settle around the house so I could then clean every surface in the house. If I ever get a wild hare to do this again, I will seal off the room and restrict the sanding dust to ONE PLACE.
Eventually, I went back and finished the first coat of mud; let it dry, then sanded the ceiling. It wasn't perfect, but it was significantly better. So, I put on another coat of mud---just for the spots that needed it; let it dry; sanded it again. Third time was the charm and I've finished smoothing out the ceiling with mud, letting it dry, and sanding.
Sanding was the worst! I was covered in dust and it took hours for the dust to fully settle around the house so I could then clean every surface in the house. If I ever get a wild hare to do this again, I will seal off the room and restrict the sanding dust to ONE PLACE.
I think the hard part of projects is all the ugly not-yet-finished stages where you can't quite visualize how this horrible mess you are making is going to actually turn out okay.
But, I've needed to put a pin in the ceiling project (again), while I hurry to get the deck stained before it gets too cold. You see, there are carpenter bees and they are inactive in the fall, so I have to get it done now, as my previous strategy involves murder.
The best way to protect against carpenter bees eating your deck is to stain it...or, the second best way is to kill the bees with a tennis racket. We may have bought a tennis racket for the express purpose of killing carpenter bees (which I may keep in my kitchen). I may have killed 87 bees two summers ago; 50-something the previous summer; and a few dozen this summer. I may have kept a hash mark tally next to the sliding door to the deck. May have, hypothetically. But, the guilt catches up to you, you know? So carpenter bee abatement strategies needed something more refined than vigilantism.
Before I can stain the deck, I need to clean it. Today was my third day of pressure washing the deck, and it is mostly done. You know, ...*twelve hours* of pressure washing later, it is only mostly done. I had no idea it would take that long. Also, there is a learning curve for using a pressure washer. [Use a wide spray, go along the wood grain, and get close-ish to the surface---you're welcome.] Also, I did not chop off my fingers when I accidentally shot a line across my hand. Go me.
I am well on my way with both projects, but there is still so much more to do. It's weird to write a post where I am still in-process. No cool before-and-after pictures.
But, I've needed to put a pin in the ceiling project (again), while I hurry to get the deck stained before it gets too cold. You see, there are carpenter bees and they are inactive in the fall, so I have to get it done now, as my previous strategy involves murder.
The best way to protect against carpenter bees eating your deck is to stain it...or, the second best way is to kill the bees with a tennis racket. We may have bought a tennis racket for the express purpose of killing carpenter bees (which I may keep in my kitchen). I may have killed 87 bees two summers ago; 50-something the previous summer; and a few dozen this summer. I may have kept a hash mark tally next to the sliding door to the deck. May have, hypothetically. But, the guilt catches up to you, you know? So carpenter bee abatement strategies needed something more refined than vigilantism.
Before I can stain the deck, I need to clean it. Today was my third day of pressure washing the deck, and it is mostly done. You know, ...*twelve hours* of pressure washing later, it is only mostly done. I had no idea it would take that long. Also, there is a learning curve for using a pressure washer. [Use a wide spray, go along the wood grain, and get close-ish to the surface---you're welcome.] Also, I did not chop off my fingers when I accidentally shot a line across my hand. Go me.
I am well on my way with both projects, but there is still so much more to do. It's weird to write a post where I am still in-process. No cool before-and-after pictures.
Weird, but fitting.
Meanwhile, a cute picture of Joe and me snuggling in my hammock chair yesterday:
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