making progress

The room is blue from top to bottom now. It was no easy task to finish off the last quarter of each wall - the top quarter. I started at the door and worked clockwise around the room. The first snag, literally as it turned out, was the feather boa wrapped around the miniature chandelier, oh about two feet from the door and one foot out from the unpainted top quarter of the wall. Paying more attention to the pan or paint I was balancing on the step ladder I failed to notice the feather boa reaching out for the ladder. A jingle of faux glass beads alerted me to the danger. I detangled the feather boa. It attempted to ensnare me next but a man who has triumphed over plastic painter's tarp is undaunted in the face of frail feathers. The boa was quickly dispatched and the rest of the room painted without incident.
The work part done I reviewed my inspirations and began the artistic portion of the project. I decided to start with the tree, a cherry tree yet to leaf out. Cherry tree branches are more difficult to paint than first appears. When you look at silhouettes of cherry tree branches you at first see nothing but hard angles. If you paint it that way however you will not get the desired result. There are just as many sweeping arcs as hard angles in a cherry tree branch. Opening the espresso brown paint I hung three branches on the walls. It's difficult to evaluate your work from six inches away so I moved to the opposite corner of the room. Nice job but the overall effect was more Halloween hanging tree than little girl's room tree.
I hoped the addition of whimsical pink cherry blossoms would soften the effect. I enjoyed creating differing sized five petaled blossoms. I tried different techniques but never settled on the perfect method but was pleased with the result overall. I stepped back to the door for the review. The blossoms helped but the branches still held a menacing aspect. Then it hit me - I needed to paint blossoms on the tips of the branches to eliminate the "reaching black fingers" feel that was bothering me. A few more strategically placed blossoms later and the scene was Bambi in spring instead of The Nightmare Before Christmas.

Laboring on Labor Day

I promised my daughter I would paint her room so in honor of Labor I am spending the long Labor Day weekend painting. Now, so you don't think I am completely incompetent that it would take three days to paint a child's room, when I paint my children's rooms I do more muralizing than painting. Perhaps not murals to be precise but not the traditional one color walls be any means.
I started today. The longest part of the job was preparing the room. I have a couple goals for the project: paint the room and avoid the largest petroleum based product spill since the Exxon Valdez. Having finished half my project management courses I know that risks that cannot be avoided should be mitigated. So down wwnt the thin plastic tarp material. If the state of Alaska or the executive of Exxon had used half the tarp I did before the accident Valdez would still be the last name of the coffee picker from Columbia. Or was that the donkey's name, as in Juan and Valdez? Either way, I used a lot of tarp. Funny thing about thin plastic tarp, it sticks to skin. It especially sticks to sweaty skin which is what you get if you don't get the tarp off your skin quickly. After a few wrestling episodes with said tarp - I won the last two but must admit to losing the first one. The tarp let me go after a moment of panic when I thought I was going to suffocate in painter's tarp without even opening a can of paint.
A friend mentioned that if you want to avoid getting wall paint on the ceiling you should paint the tape line of the ceiling with the ceiling paint first. It creates a seal so the wall paint cannot seep under the tape. Brilliant idea. As I started this task I wondered if the concept applied when the ceiling paint was the consistency of cream of wheat. Paint must have a shelf life somewhat less than five years. I stood on the ladder wondering what to do. It didn't take long - he who hesitates is lost seemed to fit as the paint was turning into plaster as I dithered. I took my foam paintbrush and smeared the ceiling paint on. Amazingly the rather flimsy foam brush survived the entire perimeter of the room.
At last I managed to get the room taped, tarp laid down and ceiling line sealed (hope it's not permanent as I don't think my daughter will consider a line of blue tape all around her ceiling aesthetically pleasing). Next I turned to the paint to begin the project in earnest. I opened the paint can and poured a little into the pan. Rolling it onto the wall in my best painter's "W" I stood back to admire my work. That's when I began to wonder.... that paint looked a little more green than the robin's egg blue I was expecting. I called in Janelle for a second opinion. Sure enough, wrong paint.

where does the time go?

Another month and not too many posts to show for it. I can't believe how fast time flies. Still, we're in my favorite time of year - the end of the summer and beginning of autumn. The temperature is a pleasant 80 degrees, and drops gently as the sun sets so sitting in the backyard after dinner reading is a great pleasure. The crickets still hum and the birds chirp as they settle in for the night.
I was reading in the yard just last night and when twilight settled in and there was not enough light to red by I sat and watch the garden. The sky turned from a beautiful blue to pale violet and then deeper purple as the sunlight faded. The colors seemed to glow from within: the red roses like burning coals, the yellow day lilies like little magic lanterns, and the black eyed susans like shooting stars frozen in mid flight.
The crickets and cicadas were discussing who knows what in the trees and grass - a pleasant hum and rhythmic buzz. A few birds winged through the yard rushing home but they didn't offer as much as a single note in passing. The frogs and fish in the pond splashed occasionally but were silent otherwise. A dog barked somewhere in the neighborhood. A squirrel scolded me from the fence but gave up when I didn't argue back.
The light faded completely and I picked up my book and said goodnight to the wide world of my garden.

floating the river

One of the favorite summertime activities for Boise-ites is floating down the Boise River. You park your car at a park on the outskirts of town and inflate your raft, inner tube, kayak, or whatever you can find that floats. Drag the makeshift craft down to the sandy launch ramp and you're off.
The water's cold but the sun is hot, the perfect combination. Dangle your feet over the edge as you go with the current. There are a few bumps on the way, just enough to keep the kids excited. We hit one just right today and Claire bounced three feet into the air. I was just getting ready to catch her when Janelle pulled her back down by the strap on Claire's life vest. You can always rely on Mom to have your back, or in this case, the strap on your life vest.
The whole experience is very relaxing. You don't have to paddle other than to keep away from the occasional low hanging branch. You just sit back and enjoy the river. Birds fly between the banks catching insects. An occasional fish splashes just out of the corner of your eye. We even saw two weasels, or minks, not sure which, today along the river's edge. The purpose is to relax, enjoy the sunshine, the water, and let the kids splash a bit without getting everyone too wet.

tail of the dog days of summer

Summer is winding down. The days are shortening just enough to notice and the temperature is not so hot every day. The garden is exhausted: the hydrangeas cannot hold their heads up, the day lilies do not explode by the dozen daily, and the roses are resting for their last hurrah before they retire for the fall. The farmer's market is full of vegetables. They seem to run riot at summer's end in contrast to their beautifully attired cousins.
Strange how the season's slow and graceful exit from the stage is so opposite from our emotions at this time of year. School is starting at month's end and the kids are a mixture of excitement and fear. We are gearing up for the change too: the sudden imposition of regiment, the struggle of early morning rising, the tears of late night homework, the exhaustion of young minds working out the mysteries of the universe. There's still time yet to sit for a moment on the porch for morning coffee or a glass of wine as the sun goes down. Time to walk the dogs after dinner in the warmth and stillness of the evening. Time to pause just for a moment and enjoy the shimmering heat of the dog days of summer.