I apologize. If had had been aware that I held the key to ending this drought that we have been locked in all summer, I would have planned to paint my deck a lot sooner. However, until my third attempt at getting this project finished, this revelation did not occur to me. Therefore, I vow to you that from now until the end of time (or at least until my deck is fully painted) I will plan to paint my deck every weekend so that we may all recover from this dry summer.
Sincerely,
Dawn
Ok, seriously, I know the drought has had a huge impact on our country and especially those who depend upon the rain to further their livelihoods, but really... how many times do I have to plan to paint the deck and it rain? I am SO close to being done. I thought for sure I would get it finished today, and just kept on painting as I could see the clouds rolling in and feel the temperature dropping. I painted clear up until the sprinkles started. I am still not finished. The main parts are complete, it's the small tedious parts that need attention. Also, I'm going to put a second coat of paint on the deck itself.
What's done looks great. Let me back up and share a bit.
Labor Day Weekend:
Friday - rain.
Saturday - rain.
Sunday - woo hoo! No rain, but the deck is still wet.
Monday - PAINTING!
Step one: SUNBLOCK!
I'm a white girl. I don't tan. I turn various shades of pink. Colten likes to tease that if Shamus (from WWE) and I had a kid it would be translucent.
I used to try to tan, but I have come to accept that it doesn't happen for me. Skin cancer runs in my family. I decided it's not worth it. Break out the SPF 70 broad spectrum.
I was able to finish the deck and get the stairs painted before I decided to take a break and get another gallon. Once I came back, I finished up the first gallon on starting the "outside" of the rails. By this time, dinner was ready - I forgot to mention that the whole day I was also baking a ham for dinner. I thought I would go back to painting after I ate, but once I sat down, the aches and pains started creeping in and I knew I was done for the day.
I don't want to give away the big reveal until it is completely finished, but here's a sneak peek.
This is where I finished off:
And an up-close of the color I picked, although this doesn't really show the true color. It is "Harvest Brown" by Behr. Initially I thought I wanted a darker brown color, but I really liked this one, especially the way it looks against our grey house.
I planned to finish it up yesterday, but there was a chance of rain. So I just worked on Mount St. Laundry and did my usual Sunday running (Petsmart, Aldi, KMart, Sun Fresh).
Today, I had to take Colten to a follow up appointment for his jaw surgery (more on that on another blog post) but I had the whole afternoon to finish painting the deck. It was beautiful out. The sun was shining, but far enough over the house that I could work in the shade, I gathered my supplies and got started. I don't think I was 5 minutes in before it started clouding over.
I've been home with Colten while he has been down and out, but he is feeling better so I am back to work tomorrow. My next chance to paint will be next Saturday. I should be able to finish it then.
Count on rain.
