My New House Will NOT Have Stairs!

It's that time of year when negotiating stairs becomes a challenge for me. WHY? I don't have a clue! In fact, it was exactly a year ago when I misjudged my porch stairs and was unable to walk for months due to a sprained ankle, chipped bones, and torn ligaments.

Last night, in the middle of the night I begrudgingly got out of my nice, warm bed to check on the latest batch of bone broth. Half asleep I didn't even put on my slippers nor did I turn on the lights. I made it to the bottom of the stairs and didn't realize there was one more step to go, missed it, and crashed to the floor.

I was lucky this time...I grabbed the handrail tighter and broke the fall by slamming my shoulder and head into the archway. Ouch! My head still has a large, painful bump and my shoulder is bruised and raw. I did something to my toe which creates a whole lot of pain when I walk. Sprained, broken or just bruised? I have no idea, but I'm thankful it's not as bad as last year's injury. I can move it, but it hurts. I'm hobbling around again just when gardening is starting and not happy about that.  Here is a photo of my mangled, black and blue toe (same foot as last year):

The new house I will someday own will NOT have stairs. Not even one. I think I'll build ramps. I'm done with stairs.

Kaleidoscope Railing

I finally got around to painting the second railing.

I had planned to cover it with rope which is what one does with a ship railing, but it was a whole lot of money for the rope and the green they had didn't quite match. Much cheaper to paint. Because the railing is metal, I was worried the paint wouldn't stick, but I washed, scrubbed, then primed. Once the paint is cured I plan to cover it with a varnish to protect it. These hand rails get a lot of use. We'll see.

I'm not sure if I like the stripes. I wanted it to match the stairs, but more importantly the metal was dinged and chipped so a solid color might accentuate the flaws. Strips or patterns would detract from them. I'm still pondering if a solid color would be better visually? Hmmm...

I had a visitor yesterday. He said he thinks this is a house munchkins would like. LOL! Hey, bright and cheerful equals happy and joyful. Munchkins are welcome.

Winter Painting Project

I'm running out of surfaces in my house to paint. Last year I did the closets and the year before I did the pantry. Prior to that I painted my office walls, bathroom and mudroom. This is how I entertain myself and survive our gray, rain-drenched winters. I thought I had run out of places to add bright, colorful, crazy designs and then I realized one I hadn't considered - the STAIRS!

My staircase is white. It just screams for color!



From boring to:

PIZZAZZ!

I love how it now matches the lime green walls. It looks much easier than it was as I'm not accustomed to painting stripes on a vertical surface. The paint kept wanting to drip. I even painted the hand rail pink which matches the pink and green patternscape canvases hanging above (you can't see them in these photos).

So bright and cheerful.

I haven't yet painted the tops of the steps. I didn't want to do the stripes on the tops because I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to distinguish each step which might be a safety hazard especially at night in the dark. I'm thinking either floral or abstract designs right in the middle each of the step. Hmmm.... I'm not sure how motivated I am nor if I want the inconvenience of no second floor access for as long as the paint cures. I'll think on it. Until then I'll enjoy the new cheerfulness of stair climbing!