September 24, 2012 – 15yearsandcountingdream

Up and ready to go by 8:00. Had a bowl of cereal and out the door. On a mission to get lots done on the shop (aka Lynn’s dog house). At least it will be if we ever get moved into the house. Luxury dog house at that.

First thing I did was sand and get the post ready for bondo. Put Bondo on one side so it could be drying while I was painting on the shop. Put another coat of Premium Kilz Primer on all the weathered wood on the shop. I can’t sing the praises of this primer enough. I had put it on the side of the shop last year. That was as high as I would go on the ladder. Then 2 coats of Behr Semi Gloss Exterior Paint. The color is Cream. Which is a creamy yellow. It held up real good through the winter. The siding doesn’t seem to have a problem holding paint. The bare wood is another thing. So two coats of primer on it.

After I put the second coat of primer on the bare wood, I had to caulk all the cracks and joints. It is very important to put caulking on. It is better to put it on before the finish coat of paint because, even if you use clear, it gets dirty. I put on the primer first then the caulking, then two finish coats of paint. Then it look like a job done by a pro, not a sixty-plus (my son’s name for me) grandma.

While I was up there painting, I decided to get some pictures of the view. God I love this place. It is wonderful working for the American Dream, my Dream. Not afraid to work, just wish I could work faster. I am a picky painter, as I am with most things. Not a perfectionist, just picky.

Put the Cream on a big part of the Shop before I had to stop for the evening. It was 5:30 and I was pooped. Went out on the back porch and worked on the post, sanded then put more Bondo on. Oh, the photo I have included in this blog, is what “not to do” to a post. At some point, in the past, when trying to squeeze the posts together, I hit it with a hammer that looked like a meat tenderizer. It was a hammer Steven, my son, sent to Lynn from Japan. What possessed me to do that I don’t know. Now I gotta fix it. No problem, I got Bondo.

For the next 4 days, I will be skipping work, unless it gets to be bad weather. Only have another 3 weeks to get oodles of work done. Lynn may be giving me lessons to fix the front of the house. I have been his apprentice for 24 years now. I have learned a lot and still learning. I am amazed at all the things he can do. The amazing thing is he taught himself as he was raised by a single mom. All you have to do is not be afraid to work. That is truly the key.

One of the pictures is of the garage and the kitchen side of the house. It really looks bad there, but that will be done this year too. The weeds are really high around the house, that darn gardener has been playing in the lift. I guess I am going to have to talk to her.

When I am not working on the house/shop then I am proofing my favorite author’s (Shanna Hatefield’s) books, working on a quilt, hand quilting, or playing on my Facebook page. I have neglected all my flower beds so that is something I am going to need to prepare for winter too. Well for now, I am just going to end this post and see y’all tomorrow.
Annie, the novice shop and post painter.