Finishing Touches

Turns out, I slept, but not as soundly as I would’ve liked. In fact, I felt as though I never reached the deep sleep that my body craved. I got out of bed somewhere between 8-830am. Mindy remained in bed, at least for the time being. Exercise went much better than the day before. I actually had some energy. My walk with Ykraps was uplifting. I looked forward to some hot coffee upon returning home.

While sipping coffee I briefly checked the headlines. Mindy was now up and enjoying her own coffee prior to preparing for church. She was ready to go by 10am. She was presenting children’s time today. Soon after she left, I headed upstairs to dress for a run. I used my MP3 player for the first time in a month or so. I was gonna listen to NPR but the battery was low so the reception was poor. I opted instead for downloaded tunes. Two or three songs into my run the battery died completely – no surprise.

My run went quick. I was happy to be home and ready to get back to painting. I stripped out of my sweaty running clothes and slipped into my painting grubbies. I got some coffee and then dug into the painting. To get started, I used the last of the second gallon of Sands of Time. But that went fast. As expected, I had to open the third and final gallon soon after beginning. I started the second coat on the bay window area first. That was by far the most tedious, much like the first coat. It was already closing in on noon. I moved to the opposite wall and then around to the fridge area. That went really fast. I did have to get out the trim pad after spotting a few thin spots along the edges, but for the most part that part was behind me.

Mindy arrived home around 12:45pm - a little later than I expected. I was almost done with the lion’s share of the second coat but knew that I’d have some minor touch-up still to complete. I painted for another 30-40 minutes before declaring myself through. Mindy whipped me up a sandwich to quell my building hunger. I asked, too, that she look for thin spots. She did, but found none. I slowly began the clean-up process. After about an hour I began putting the fridge, stove, and wall plates back in place. Next, I cleaned the bay windows, detailing them for the first time in a long, long while. They were very dirty.

Mindy helped get the kitchen back in order. And it never fails, there are always items that never quite make it back to where you once had them stashed. Several things/items got trashed or moved elsewhere –forced clutter reduction. The kids arrived home around 3:30pm. By then we were all but finished. The kitchen looked especially nice. I am really happy with the “tan”. This puts to bed a project that’s been on the list since late summer/early fall. However, I can’t get beyond the color clash between the paint and counter tops. That’ll now need addressed. Always something. Next on the project list is basement prep!

I showered away the sweat & paint in preparation for Sunday dinner at Gloria’s. We left the house at 4:20pm and arrived at 4:31pm. It’s a fast drive, thankfully. We weren’t sure what to expect for dinner but my guess was lasagna. I was wrong, as pointed out by Jacoby upon our arrival. Instead, we were having baked pork chops, stuffing, and mashed potatoes. We were six members short of a full house – all with excused absences. :)

The food was great, the conversation lively, and the family bonding good. We had cheesecake for dessert. I had two pieces. Yikes!! Mindy declared it time to depart come 7:15pm. Again, she’s big on having the kids home and in bed by 8pm. Me too! I walked Ykraps as soon as we got back home. He was anxiously awaiting our return. I helped get the kids tucked into bed before settling down with a beer and my guitar. We headed up to bed even before 10pm. Once my head hit the pillow I no longer felt as sleepy. Uh-oh!