New Growth Green

I've been on a remodeling kick which started during the pandemic lockdown. Well, really it's an excuse to paint the rooms in my house happy, bright, cheerful, inspiring colors. Besides being stuck inside all winter or during a pandemic, I wanted to be surrounded by happiness. No dulls or pastels for me. I want vibrant visuals to keep my mood up and my disposition playful. Joy is in the little things.

For the kitchen I needed a bright color that was different from the turquoise living room and purple office. I decided green, the color of lettuce, celery, Granny Smith apples and spinach. FOOD! Oh, wait, I have a lime green staircase that ends in the kitchen so the color needed to be a different shade. 

Most paint samples in hardware stores are dull and gray-toned. I wanted bright. I created a color using acrylic paint. I think I bought no less than seven samples to get just the right tone. Initially I called it "Lettuce Green" before I realized lettuce is more yellow-green. I renamed it New Growth Green, the green that appears in early spring as the new shoots push through the ground giving new life to the world. Beginnings. I love it.

After painting the walls I decided the cupboards were too dark. Originally this room was a "Harbor Blue". Great color, but I was determined to go bright. I did not realize the work involved! These cupboards are as old as the house (1922) and I was stripping up to four layers of paint plus a shelf liner that was used for decoration and painted over! This was a nightmare. I did attempt to strip and paint one of the inside cupboards. That was way too much work! I admit I got tired and lazy. I decided to do white because if one day I sell, no one is going to want crazy colored cabinets and white might be a more neutral option. I also stripped and repainted the knobs white. I used a really smelly, toxic Urethan Alkyd Semi-Gloss Enamel paint for cabinetry by Behr. Glossy is easier to wash. It was all done out in the garage a little at a time and offgassed/cured for a month.

The first set of cupboards completed were really...WHITE. That's what I wanted, but I had no idea what a whole wall of white would look like. I questioned my decision. I kept working as the second set of cupboards would be around the sink and window so the white would break up. I got used to it and it definitely brightened the room.

I decided the kitchen table didn't match. I had painted it years ago and now it needed some green. I decided on a whimsical leaf pattern. I had no idea what I was about to do and just jumped in and went with it. I LOVED IT!

I looked around and decided I needed more of it although worried if I did all the cupboards, it would darken the room. I started with one mini-wall where I hang my towels. (See above photo with sink.) The last set of cupboards were screaming for some pattern and I obliged. I figured it would balance the white, give the room accents. Now I want to redo all the cupboards this pattern! Thankfully I was too exhausted. Maybe next year?

As I was stripping the floor I moved the refrigerator from the alcove. Drats. It was boring white so I patterned the alcove! The refrigerator is slid back into this space so it's hardly noticeable.

 

Then stripped and resealed the floor grout!  So gorgeous!

I started experimenting with pastel drawing and began a series of fruits and vegetables as a theme. I painted the frames bright colors. I admit I'm not that great at pastels, but it sure adds some color. I hope to fill the room with colorful frames and drawings.

Granted, paint is toxic. Even the low-VOC paint is. I've been using Behr Marque which is a high quality paint that supposedly takes only one coat so it's quick. I also wear a mask, gloves, glasses and jumpsuit and have lots of ventilation and fans pointing out the windows.

Summer Projects

I didn't have many summer projects this year, but I think that is really good since most of the summer it either rained or I was exhausted. I think it rained at least once a week which makes it really difficult to get outside painting done!

In the past two years I painted my house which I admit was crazy...and exhausting. However, as I was informed, I saved about $10,000 doing it myself. Hooray!

This year I had to do the house trim on the dormers which I completed early in the summer and paint the garage. I prepped and cleaned it last year but was just too exhausted to get it done then. Once again I armed myself  with gloves, overalls, goggles, and a respirator which can be very hot and uncomfortable in warm weather, but necessary.

So beautiful. Unfortunately with our wet summer and now that the fall thunderstorms have begun, I didn't get to the back. I'll save it for next year. No one looks at the back anyway, it was done in indestructible oil-based paint, and it has no damage so it can wait. It also needs new fascia boards so that's also on my list for next year.

Self-Reliance Repeat, or "I Am Woman, Hear Me Roar"

The closet with the new vent is now lined and I am so proud. I shouldn't confess this, but I had to cut each board individually and I was so profoundly inept at measuring I was forced to traipse up and down the stairs at least FIVE times for each board. Measure, check, wrong, adjust...measure, check, wrong, adjust, repeat, repeat, repeat. I know there is a trick to measuring wood, a secret, but I have no idea. I just fly by the seat of my pants. It was exhausting. But it's done. And beautiful:

Back wall, side and ceiling view.

Inside wall view.

I don't think I'm going to paint this closet like I did the others. The paint stinks, and more importantly, it took about two years before the other closets stopped stinking. I'm liking the pine wood smell. So glad that toxic stink is gone.

It still gets hot, but not nearly as much, and it cools down much faster.

So proud! So exhausted...already. I still have about ten more projects on my summer list. Not sure how far I'll get.

"How I Spent My Summer [Vacation]"

A more appropriate title would be "How I Spent My Summer" as vacations are few and far between.

I've been working on painting one side of my house all summer. Every couple of years I paint only one side to keep it maintained and to avoid total exhaustion. This is the west side and although not the southern exposure side, it gets afternoon sun and wind from the ocean. It's the weather side, the bad side. It takes a beating in the winter. You can see from the photo above how the heat of the afternoon sun hits my house as all that white primer is where I scraped loose paint right down to the wood.

Besides scrapping loose paint, this project has also involved washing it with soap and a brush, bleaching it (twice) with my new garden sprayer and rinsing, repairing loose shingles, caulking and then going over sections I didn't think were clean enough with a rag only because I'm paranoid of peeling. It's exhausting, but I'm doing it slowly. I can justify all this extra exertion in my life by saying it's saving me a lot of money by doing it myself. This also affords me the luxury of not having to hire a sleazy construction worker who will charge me max and do a lousy, half-ass job. So many of them know less than I do about proper painting procedures I don't see the point in wasting money. And that means I get to do the work. Blah. But I know it'll get done to the best of my ability. Home ownership is not as fun as it sounds.

Of course, all this work is toxic. Primer is incredibly stinky and bleach just nasty. Exterior paint is deadly with all the chemicals that make it weather resistant and strong. There is no way to get around that unless one uses bare wood shingles but even those need to be treated with chemicals far more toxic than paint. I wear goggles, a mask, gloves, and a jumpsuit for protection. It seems to work to stay safe, but uncomfortable in the heat. I only work in the mornings before the sun is shining on this side of the house.

A problem I'm having is the ladder. I bought this ladder a couple years ago at a garage sale with the sole purpose of getting this painting project done. It scares me to death and I don't have a problem with heights. It just feels dangerous. Extended out too much and it is very bouncy and feels unstable especially when trying to balance myself along with a paint can and paint brush (or sprayer or cleaning brush).

Tomorrow I paint. I have considered hiring a teenager to paint the apex at the top just because it's too high, but then what happens if his balance isn't any better than mine and he falls and dies!? I'll decide tomorrow if it's worth it. I may have to leave the top unpainted!

I canceled the teenager. He falls and dies his parents would sue me to satisfy their grief. I decided I can do this. Don't be scared. Then I tried extending my ladder to the top and it just doesn't reach! Oh well. So I extended it to the max and tied bungie cords around the parts to make me feel more secure while it bounced. One of those bungie cords escaped my grip and smacked me in the mouth giving me a big, fat lip...the only injury.

The finished product:

So lovely. It makes all that toxic work worthwhile. Notice how dull and greenish the old color was in the first photos? So bright and cheerful now. This house has always been two-toned but I think the paint dulls greenish OR maybe the former owners ran out of paint and bought more that didn't match? It's a mystery. The old color is more green-blue located in high spots and on the back side and the rest is a blue-green which is what I've been matching. Did you notice where the very top apex is not painted? Yeah, me neither. I don't care. HA!

See the drips on the lower photo? Yeah, me neither. I picked a section that had few drips. Damn drips were out of control!

Hooray for self-reliance!

Hmmm...summer is only half over. Maybe I'll paint another side?

Ah ha! So I'm feeling energetic and decide to do another section. I had to remove the mailbox and a downspout and it's clear there was a green-blue paint on top of a beige paint with the blue-green on top of it all. The mystery is solved!

Under the downspout and mailbox.

Back of the house...very greenish.

Backside 

This blue finally matches the blue in my crazy porch.

I do kind of like the greenish-blue, but the bluish-green is really pretty. The color of my van is in between the two -  maybe more blue than green also. Doesn't matter. I love the blue!

I'm definitely getting a good painting fix.

The things I do for fun....

By the time I finished the front (third side), my fingers, wrists, hands, and arms were in so much pain I couldn't go on any longer. The last side will have to wait until next summer.

LOVE IT! SO PROUD!

I Blame Hallucinogenic Drugs!

A friend of mine was over at my house, grasped the handrail for my back porch and broke it. Now, this handrail was garbage. It was made with found wood and hastily nailed in place to comply with insurance company demands. It was just for show, but over the years the rain has pummeled it into oblivion and it hangs precariously. Every now and then I hammer it back into place, but mostly I just ignore it.

I was in the house when it happened and heard him swear loudly. When I came out the door I asked, "What's wrong?" Then I noticed he was holding pieces of my handrail in his hand. I know he has a bad habit, like all construction workers, of grabbing and shaking things just to test their construction worthiness. He knows my construction efforts are questionable. I'm always hollering at him to not touch things. He knows it's a risk, but he ignores me.

"YOU BROKE MY HANDRAIL!!!"

He argued it was a piece of junk, and as he's frantically trying to point out the dry rot, I exclaim repeatedly,

"YOU BROKE MY HANDRAIL!!!" 

"But, but, it didn't work, I hardly touched it, I..."

"YOU BROKE MY HANDRAIL!!!" "OH MY GOD! YOU BROKE MY HANDRAIL."

I had fun harassing him.

The next morning I hear an unexpected knock. My friend is there with tools and supplies in hand and he plans to build me a new handrail! SCORE! It took him about fifteen minutes to finish. It would have taken me a whole day.

New handrail newly primed.

 

New anything is cause for celebration, especially if it's construction-related and free. After he finished, I practiced walking up and down the stairs testing my wonderful new handrail - one that actually worked and didn't wiggle. I think the insurance company would be very happy with it.

And this inspired a new painting project! The porch was pathetic and had not been painted for ten years, but it was low on my list of project priorities. Most of the paint had worn off the stairs, but I had always hoped I could replace it all with a new porch. And the handrail I just ignored. New handrails just inspire creativity.

I didn't want to repaint the brown lattice so I had to use brown in the design...I'm not fond of brown. I also knew I wanted to use dark teal and off white to match the house, and maybe an orange color to match the newly stained cedar fence. Orange is not one of my favorite design colors either, but I went with the idea. Also, this is the porch that gets the most use and is often dirty and muddy due to gardening so I needed a design that might camouflage that. Lots of visual.

Don't asked me what happened. I blame it on the weird colors I adopted. I planned one design, started painting, and hated it so I painted over that design. I was possessed, just free flow painting...it just came out. I admit it is one of my favorite flower motifs based on one of my favorite flowers, calendula, although it hardly looks like calendula. Giant floral motifs. Hmmm...

VOILA!

 

I have found people either love it, or hate it. One friend looked at it and accused me of taking too many hallucinogenic drugs. Every time he walks by it, he says that. I can tell he HATES it. LOL! I like it's weird. No one else in the world has a porch like this, although I admit if I were to do it over, it would definitely be different. Different colors. Live and learn!

 

 

I planned to put coats of polyurethane over it, but decided it might make the surface slippery and I don't want more sprained ankles in my future. Also, with all the layers of colors it might look really cool when it wears. And I can re-paint it if I get too tired of it. With polyurethane, I'd have to strip it.

The friend who made the hand railing approved. We now have an ongoing joke, if you break it, you fix it. He grabbed my nearly-rotted, newly-stained fence the other day and began to do his construction-expert inspection. Instead of hollering at him to not touch it, I told him to lean on it a little, because I need a new fence. LOL! He backed away. I said,

"Oh, no don't stop! Go ahead and grab it. Shake it vigorously!"

He backed away more. He's learning. I keep trying to get him to use my toilet too, so I can accuse him of breaking it. It needs to be fixed. Of course, I was at his house the other day using a tarp and it tore...I owe him a new tarp. Oops.

Here Today...Gone Tomorrow

The joy of gardening is the constant change. In my pre-gardening days, someone told me a garden never stops evolving. Just when you think you have it right, it's time to dig it all up again, find creative ways to present, and adopt new plant friends to add to your personal paradise. I remember thinking, That sounds like a lot of unnecessary work! It is, but I have discovered it's getting my hands in the dirt that motivates me. I suppose some gardeners would rather lounge around and look at the finished product, but I prefer the work.

I find my garden is like a big puzzle with various pieces to be moved around and played like a game: plants, rocks, bricks, cement pieces, pots, chairs, gravel. With Hashimoto's sometimes I don't have the energy or strength to do anything which is how Fern Gully came to be since I was too tired to fight the fern take over. Other times I feel a compulsive need to annihilate whole sections. I have found with this foot-leg pain, gardening helps. Sitting or standing still makes the pain worse. So gardening it is!

I'm in need of more space so I decided to remove Fern Gully. The fern jungle was good and fun, and now it's over. I know, I'm a little perplexed why I was in love with my ferns not too long ago and now I'm digging them up and throwing them in the compost pile which, by the way, is getting much too large. I think I might need to hire someone to take the compost pile away...

Scary...it's taller than me and spreading like the Blob!

Some of this inspiration is coming from my traveling squash vines. My BABIES! The pumpkins are using the pallet trellis and climbing. I even put a ladder behind the pallet and they are heading UP:

The Delicata are on the move, too, but heading down the walkway, and blocking it. They need room to expand to keep them off the walkway.

Hello Fern Gully that was:

View from squash...

Good-bye Fern Gully that isn't:



The squash are at the far end.

Another Fern Gully that was:

The Fern Gully that isn't...

Maybe I just have a desire to show off my newly re-stained fence. It sure would have been easier to stain had those ferns been moved first, but inspiration isn't always conveniently scheduled. It comes when it comes.

View from the opposite end

I have an urge for bright orange calendula so that's what I'll try to plant even though it's already the middle of summer. That should really brighten the place up. I did keep the deer fern because I like it so much (the photo at the very top).

 

 

HAPPY SUMMER!

Summer Project #1: Fence Rejuvenation

The thing I love about summer is I always feel motivated to get things done. During the winter I can't imagine construction, let alone digging up whole garden beds, or re-roofing my shed, but summer arrives and I am motivated. I try to take advantage of the motivation while it's here because normally it's short-lived.

The last couple weeks I've been re-staining my fence. The last time this was done was ten years ago when I first bought the house. I've been dreading it, but the fence is on its last legs, nearly disintegrating in places, falling over in other places, boards are wiggly and there are about ten screws on each board where I have attempted reattach them over and over again. Unfortunately some of the support boards are rotten. I just need it to hang on as long as possible since it'll take a lot of money to replace...money I'd rather spend on something else. Like a new house.

 

I've been dreading this for many reasons.  First, the stain is stinky and toxic. I wear a mask and thankfully, it doesn't seem to make me ill, but I can smell the stain for weeks until it's properly cured. Yuck.

Second, it's a lot of work. More work than nearly anything else I might want to do, so I put it off. It involves cleaning the fence first with a broom and then with water sprayed from a hose on "jet". Some spots are mossy or mildew and that involves washing it down with 30 Seconds which is a bleach compound that cleans things in 30 seconds! It's a miracle cleaner, but highly toxic, and smelly.

Third, it's just messy. The stain gets all over the plants. I have to wear gloves, work clothes, and a mask.

Fourth, it can only be done in dry weather so standing out in the heat of the sun is anything but comfortable.

Fifth, this stain is expensive and it will take at least 7 cans to do most of the fence.

I was going to put it off one more year then for some reason I felt this impulsive urge to jump right in. This stain is gorgeous. It goes on a light orange color and then ten minutes later it's a dark copper. It really rejuvenates the wood, too. Four cans later the front and side parts are done. I may need to wait to do the backyard fence.

Before Photo...sun bleached nearly white.

See the difference?

 

Old fence made to look kind of new! Love it!

Done...Done...and...Done

I am the summer project maniac! I love getting things done and it's so much easier when people respond to your desperate pleas for help.

I visited the heating company yesterday and asked if they could come out dismantle and drain my furnace and heat pump. OK, I begged really nicely. When I told my construction adviser I was going to remove it myself he cautioned about the Freon or refrigerator coolant. I was worried about the electrical stuff as it is way more complex than anything I've ever encountered. Pipes and tubes and attachments. I had no idea what I was looking at nor what to do with it.

The young woman at the heating company began taking my name and information. I whispered to her, "Do you think they'll show up this time?" I continued to explain this was my fifth visit to their office not including the desperate call I made last December when my house froze along with my water pipes. She GUARANTEED she would personally email me and try to get someone to my house next week. When I left I was hopeful, but not confident.

This morning after I took a drive to get groceries I came home to an email message, "Our technician went to your house this morning, but said no one was home."

OH! NO!!! NO! NO! I went to the store because I didn't think they would come until next week! Oh, god, come back!!

He did come back and proceeded to pump the Freon out of my heat pump. He also explained people who remove refrigerator coolant and inadvertently or purposefully dump it on the ground or in the environment or don't do it properly and use safety precautions are fined $10,000. Refrigerator coolant (Freon) is one of those things clearly recognized as seriously toxic to the environment as it depletes the ozone layer. Besides the fact it'll poison you. He also told me the coolant if not handled properly is 40 degrees below freezing so if I had messed up and got it on my skin, it might have burned parts of my body off. Great. People keep encouraging to do things myself. Oh, it's so easy. You don't have to be smart to work on a house. I appreciate the votes of confidence, but it's not very realistic especially since most of my advisers must understand I know very little about houses. I'm so glad I didn't do it myself.

The heater guy said something was wrong with the heat pump as it was missing half of the coolant. That could be why my electric bills were so high the last time I used it and now I'm really glad it's on its way off my property.

Furnace and heat pump waiting patiently to be taken away.

The junk man removed the appliances for free. He will recycle and sell the metal and copper parts.

I shouldn't post this next photo because it's so gross, but I will for some sadistic entertainment:

 

Furry dead rat bodies stuck to the top of the furnace. I'm sure they had a nest and sleeping there in the winter must have been very warm. So gross. So glad the furnace is now gone.

When I went back to the heating office to thank the young woman she told me about hearing the rats under her house. Her furnace is also not being used and the duct work is still there. She hears them running along it and it creeps her out. I told her I totally understand. It's gross and scary, but so common here. Good riddance heating ducts and furnace system!!

I worry about what kind of infectious bacterial germs I've exposed myself to whether I touched them or breathed them in. For instance, I took yesterday's photos before I took off my gloves and mask. Did germs get on my camera? I wiped it down with hydrogen peroxide, but is that good enough? I walked with my boots on the porch and when I switched to my sandals did germs get on my bare feet and have I tracked them into the house? What about all my tools? I wiped them down also, but did I miss a spot? Will I unknowingly touch something with bacterial germs from dead rats and then eat an apple? This is so gross. Who would have known I'd ever find myself rolling around in dead rat bodies, opossum and rat shit? This is not the life I planned for myself....

When we were little to get us to work my dad used to always say how there are always rewards for people who work, namely, finding treasures. If we cleaned the basement, we might find a penny or dime and my dad would say, "See! What did I tell you?"  If we helped clean the garage, we might find a marble or lost toy. Many years later I now find garden treasures and I still think, "Dad was so right!" Today a baby spoon fell out of a furnace part.

 

 

Of course, I imagine some rat liked the smell of old baby food on it, grabbed it, and drug into the furnace under the house for fun. Then licked it clean. After picking it up with gloves on, I washed it repeatedly in soap and hot water then sterilized it again by soaking it in hydrogen peroxide. (Did I get all the germs washed out of the sink or did some splash out onto my newly washed dishes nearby? UGH! I think I'll have nightmares tonight!) I'll sell it in my next yard sale...

Anyway...another project DONE!

On to the next or maybe a part of the whole project. I removed the metal hardware for the heat registers and using plywood sealed off the holes. This involved laying on my back [on top of the rat shit and mold, etc.] with my head against the insulation and spider webs [imagining spiders crawling down my back] trying to drill screws into the plywood above me using my non-existent stomach muscles for leverage and for support. Not a pretty sight. I got three done before I collapsed in agony. I really should do more sit-ups. Four more registers to go which I'll tackle in a couple days once I recover. I also need to figure out what to do with the open spaces that are above where the furnace was, but I think I'll need to find someone who knows how do the construction to close it off and add insulation. (Wishful thinking. I'll probably end up trying to do it myself....)

Almost DONE.

Next project: laundry room shelf.  I had two small, short shelves for years so I decided to combine those into a top shelf and add one below. I've wanted a second shelf for a long, long time. I had to buy a $15 board, prime and paint it. I love being organized. Such a small job that waited for so long but so satisfying to finally get it done.

 

 

DONE!

 

 

Next project: fix fence. This has been a small, but ongoing project, but I have postponed upkeep for a couple years. The fence is about 25 years old and in human years it's probably about 125. I am hoping it lasts another five years, but that is wishful thinking. Now that Peter isn't here to be a flight risk, the fence is not that important, but I love my privacy. Until its total replacement which is something I DO NOT want to do, I keep it in working order by adding screws to loose pieces, wood sealer treatment, replace damaged wood and try to keep it upright. I replaced five rungs and then found a loose post that needed replacing. Hopefully that will hold it through the winter storms.

 

 

 

DONE.

 

Then I contacted the local electrician and made an appointment to install the heaters in two weeks! I decided the electrical work is too intricate for me as I think a qualified electrician will know how to use the furnace/heat pump wiring. I don't want my house to burn down because of my electrical ignorance. My plan is to get cadet heaters. No toxic refrigerator coolant, nitrogen gas, ozone issues, mold issues, no fiberglass, and less expense. Little cadet heaters in each room to control individual room heat seem like such a better, safer and sensible solution. The young woman at the heating company pointed to the $5,000 ductless heat pump and said, "Have you considered one of those?" I said, "Oh yeah! Last year I was considering one of those and if someone from this heating company would have responded to my begging for help, I would have bought one. Too late. I'm going another route." One doesn't need a heating company for cadet heaters as I can just hire the local electrician who responded to my request for a quote immediately. When I saw him today he gave me a big smile and said, "Are you ready for your heaters?" I was really surprised and impressed he remembered me!

 

Almost DONE. (I'm not doing it so it's good as done!)

 



I feel so productive! Getting rid of the furnace is a HUGE load off my shoulders. You can't imagine how happy it makes me.