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Yesterday was supposed to be our day of rest, and visiting with dear Sandy. Instead, we pruned the poor maple tree out front, with help from Sandy's loppers (helpfully stowed in her van) and neighbor Dave's cool toys (little battery-powered Ryobi chainsaw--rrrr! rrr!) The tree looks much better now. It has been butchered in the past, probably after Hurrican Izzy. Today I was up early to empty and de-buggify the garage, so we could clean and paint the walls. The Samurai got up early, too, and we discovered just HOW big mole crickets get when they have our garage to live in, and that damp plaster attracts HUGE black widow spiders. Kinda like Spider Condos or something. I annoyed the lady spideys by sucking them up with the shop vac, imprisoning them with a bunch of huge, pissed-off mole crickers. When I got done sucking up bugs, I cracked the vac's top open and gassed 'em all with a nice dose of organic bug spray. The bad news: lots of rotten wall to patch. I can do it, but it sorta sucks. Worse news: lots and lots of caulking to do. This will delay the painting a bit. The WORST news:idiot previous owners used that nasty old thick, flat paint all over the well-established mildew colonies, and now the paint peels right off the walls in big sheets. We both wanted to cry. Getting this house in shape has been like eating an elephant (one bite at a time) and I really thought we were nibbling the tail, when it turns out that there's a whole hippo left to go. I don't want to scrape ALL the walls AND the ceiling of my garage. Just as I despaired of ever getting done, reinforcements arrived in the form of Tall Paul and Blond Emily. Wielding scrapers, working for pizza, they made a sizable dent in our wall mess. The menfolks also figured out that only the exterior walls are really bad--the ones that stay warmer had less mildew, and their paint adhered well. We might get it all done by Wednesday. Our sweet friends are coming back tomorrow, to help more. I am beyond grateful! Now I need a shower, a cuppa tea, and some old magazines to sort. My work is never done! On the Headbone Radio: Weapon of Choice, Fatboy Slim. "If you walk without rhythm, you won't attract the worm...." |
 
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Mildew, Mildon't