Painting the Porch and Encore Azalea's

It was close to 80º all weekend ... which is what I've long thought fall weather should be ... so I decided I'd better get the porch painted before it gets cold (cold, by the way, is below 70º). 

Right after I bought the paint (in 2010), we had a heat wave with temps over 100º, and the heat stayed for the rest of the summer. Even after the heat wave abated somewhat, the humidity was too high to paint, so the porch never got painted that year. Or the next. Or the next. Or the next. Or the next.

This year, with new decking on the porch, I needed to get it painted before the weather turned cold. Not only are you not supposed to paint when it's cold, I avoid outside altogether when it's cold!

When I opened the paint, as pictured above, the color had loooooong settled to the bottom. I began stirring, but regardless of how long or hard I stirred, it stayed a bright, almost florescent fushia. Had I waited too long to use the paint? I hoped not, since it was expensive four years ago and there's little chance it's still the same price ... or cost less now! The thin paint stir stick they give you when you buy paint wasn't strong enough to gouge the sediment at the bottom and get it stirred up, so I found a long, steel spoon and started stirring. It took about 30 minutes, but I finally broke through the layer at the bottom and got the color incorporated throughout.

It took a couple of hours to get the porch and steps painted ... and I still have to put another coat on ... but look how pretty my encore azalea's look against it!!! These pink beauties have been blooming for over a month now! Gosh, I love these flowers ... encore azalea's are worth every penny :)

I've been a little neglectful of my blog :(

In my defense, I have been very busy, just not online.  I had new flooring laid in most of my house, and have been busy painting, cleaning, and decluttering.  I'm contemplating putting the house on the market and downsizing.  I really don't need this big, old house any longer.  It was a great place to raise my children, and they have wonderful memories of growing up here, but it's just too big now.

I'm doing all of the projects I always wanted to do.  It seems quite sad that I'm doing all these things and won't get to enjoy them.  I have completed a long, long, LONG list of things, but my list of things still to do is just as long, and I'm running out of steam.

I come home from work, change into my work clothes, and get to work on my list.  I work as quickly as I can until it's time to sleep, and fall into bed exhausted ... only to wake up, go to to work, come home and put on my work clothes and start all over again.  As I'm working I remember things I need to add to my list or discover another "project" that will make the house more attractive to buyers.  Hence, my roster of things to do seems to be an ever-growing list.  Fortunately, my list of things I've done is growing, too, which bolsters my spirits and gives me energy to continue.

When I bought this house in 1999, the kids and I moved from a tiny two bedroom bungalow to this rambling, giant house with more room than we dared dream of.  Even though we had long since outgrown that small bungalow, we'd been there a number of years and leaving was emotional.  We've been in this house three times as long and have many more memories here.  I know I need to sell this place and get something smaller, but leaving will be very difficult.

I'm trying not to think about how hard it will be to leave, and concentrate on the next young family that will move in and make their own wonderful memories here in this grand home.  As I clean, paint, and mark off task after task, I'm working on my next book in my head ... and dreaming of what my office will look like in my next home :)