The past week was a mixed bag of painting, yard work, bad weather, cold weather, and a visit to friends in Winona, Minnesota. Here are the specifics.
Starting with the weather — the last week featured some very cold rain, forcing us inside where we worked on smaller projects. We received word that our plumbing remodel is on schedule for the week of the 25th, so we began moving some boxes around and other prep work in anticipation.
Pam continued to sort through the linens and other items I brought home from The Lot. Several loads of laundry were involved, but everything is now worked through. Items that will be going back to The Lot next spring are packed in plastic bins and labeled. That will make the first trip packing much easier and quicker.
Fall temperatures have led to overnight lows in the upper 30 degree range, causing us to fire up the furnace for the first time this fall. Cooler temps have affected our painting and scraping routine. I did manage to get a large chunk of the west and north-west walls scraped and painted red, a big improvement. The blue trim board and white vertical trim still need to be painted, but we are waiting for slightly warmer weather early next week, probably Tuesday. That will (probably) end our painting for this year.
I did not get red paint over the west window as had been done with the other first floor windows; I did get up as far as possible while working from the ground. (Going up and down the ladder just did not appeal to me.) It was unfortunate that our scraping on the west wall revealed quite a bit of wood repair needed, which slowed the process considerably. As mentioned, given the weather and other work to be done, we may not get any more red paint up this year. It’s satisfying, though, that almost all the first floor painting is completed.
In an odd twist, one of our lilacs has been blooming for the past couple weeks.
We can’t figure out why this would be happening but we can enjoy the the fragrance the flowers are putting forth.
I have a photo left over from last week’s art and craft fair excursion to New Hampton. It seems “spinners” are all the rage. Quite a few vendors had numerous variations for sale; here its a photo of a few of them.
On Friday we drove to Winona, Minnesota, to visit John and Margaret Flesner. Pam and Margaret had both been co-workers in Glenwood Springs. Margaret, who still owns the family home in Winona, recently retired in Colorado. She and John extended their fall MN visit while awaiting a painter, who is due to show up next week. This timing worked out perfectly for us to arrange a visit. The family home dates from the 1880s and features an amazing amount of original woodwork inside. The stairwell and double door entry is a feature of real beauty. We had a lively (if short) visit — a couple hours of chatting after a tour of the historic home.
I had met both John and Margaret in Colorado as they both rode motorcycles. (Margaret had a trike.) A “Campus to Campus” ride was organized by a mutual friend, where all of us rode from Glenwood Springs to Steamboat Springs, visiting the local community college campuses in those towns. That “ride” was a good many years ago; John and Margaret have traded in their motorcycles for 3-wheel “tadpole” style recumbent bicycles. Many trails in the Winona area give them ample opportunity to ride. Here is a photo of Margaret on her recumbent trike:
Generally speaking it was a good week over-all, though the rain and cold weather did put a damper on the paint schedule for a few days. The upcoming week promises to be a bit warmer, and we are expecting a Heart House visit from one of Pam’s childhood/Midwest friends. That event will be covered in my next post.
Photo Archive
These photos are from September of 2009 during a trip to Estes Park, Colorado
That’s it for now. Thanks for looking in!
Pam’s Penny
It didn’t make the photo cut last week, but — for those of you following along out there — I did manage to paint the floor of the east/side porch while Himself was in Colorado. Not an insignificant task, since one must keep the outside cats from utilizing that porch while the paint is drying (two coats). This time of year, leaves from the oak trees also have the discouraging tendency to blow down into the wet paint. All in all, something of an exercise in frustration, but done for this year.
All three porches + steps will likely need “paint refreshed” every couple of years (due to shoveling snow off the surfaces, sweeping, floor traffic, deliveries). Yippee. Himself and I are pretty burned out on painting at the moment; it’s excellent to cross paint jobs off the list, for this season anyway.
With the arrival of colder air, it was obviously imperative I tackle winterizing the catio. Time to clean cat boxes, vac, pull out winter bedding and bed heaters, stage a space heater for those evenings below 20 degrees. Cleaning indoor cat boxes will be next, to be done outside before the hoses are pulled for the season.
My bulb order arrived, on time this year (not stuck in pandemic Holland, like last time). I doubled up on daffodils, since the daffy display was so successful in the Mary Lynn Memorial Garden this past spring. After the first freeze, bulb planting will join the yard cleanup tasks.
It’s that time of year. Happy Trails.