Power Washin' Frenzy

I was up just after 7am. I was hoping to discover sunshine, but what we had were lots of lingering clouds. However, the forecast promised clearing skies later with only a weak chance of widely scattered showers beforehand. Frankie and I soon headed out back. The edges of the rear flower beds were still underwater and the rest of the yard swampy. Over the next hour or so the sun peaked out from behind the ever-thinning clouds giving hope that more stable sunshine was on its way. I had a full to-do list, and many of the chores dependent on dry, if not sunny conditions. But clouds or not, it was the weekend and in the end, I was happy to have a couple days to recharge. For the next hour or so I got my blog all caught up. As 10am neared the house remained quiet. I poured Mindy some coffee and then took her the pug. After a good stretch I headed out for my Saturday run. It must’ve been in the low 60’s and the humidity really high. I was soaked head to toe with sweat by run’s end. It felt good though. Mindy was up by the time I was back. She played with Frankie and worked on her grocery list. It sounded like she’d be heading off to yoga and then grocery shopping. With most of my chores dependent of better weather, I decided it a good day to powerwash the front porch and deck. That I could do as long as it wasn't thundering and lightning. After fooling around inside for another hour or so, I headed out to start power washing. Mindy left for yoga just before I headed out. I put Bella on pug patrol. I had one heck of a time getting the power washer started. I got out the manual to make sure I was using all the controls properly. Finally, after about 20 attempts it started. I power washed the front porch first removing the mossy green build up that forms there annually from lack of direct sunshine. And since the opportunity presented itself, I power washed the Trooper too. The front wheels needed it badly. They were caked in brake dust. It must’ve taken about 30-40 minutes out front. After a short break, I toted it around to the deck. I power washed the horizontal surface of the deck first, and then the four stackable deck chairs. That took some doing. I had to stop and refuel once. I made a couple careless errors carving figure 8s directly into the treated wood decking with the high pressure wand. I’ll try and sand it out after it dries. No biggie. The kids were getting bored playing inside, and despite the clouds, it was getting fairly warm out. Must’ve been about 73. Jacob discovered the steps I built down to the pond a couple years ago for easy watering access – the old pond pump days. He called it his new fort. He played down there getting ridiculously muddy. Mindy got home a short time later. She didn’t bother asking for assistance with the groceries. I didn’t know she was home until Bella came out and advised. Soon Bella headed out with Jacob to play along the pond in the mud. What a muddy mess. After finishing the power washing, I fetched Mindy’s deck fountain from the shed and got it cleaned and running. Unfortunately, the light wasn’t working. Wasn’t sure if it was the bulb again. In any case, I got the pump running. Next, I added a dual hose diverter to my rear water supply so I could have a separate hose caddy on the upper level of the deck which will make watering the deck pots and hanging baskets that much more convenient. That took about an hour. It was mid to late afternoon when I finished. The sun came out and pretty much remained out for the rest of the day. Expecting summer-type weather for at least a week (80s and sun). My last significant task was to head up on the roof to clear the gutters. For the last week or so, with each bout of rainfall, we had a waterfall flowing over the gutters. I knew there had to be a back-up of some sort, especially around back. Sure enough. The gutters were filled to the brim. The downspout screens were clogged with cotton wood fairies, which now looked like slimy green goo. I cleared them all, though the back was by far the worst. Come 430pm. I was done, spent, exhausted. I needed/wanted a shower. The neighbors were having a family get-together and invited us to partake. Mindy and the kids headed down around 515pm. I wasn’t too far behind, joining her there around 530pm. I took along a selection of beers from our garage mini-fridge. Lots of food and lots of people. And amongst the crowd of people there were a lot of unfamiliar faces. We hung out with the neighbors until just before midnight having too much fun. Mindy fell asleep with Frankie on a deck bench. I had to wake her to head home. Before heading for home, Kenny and I firmed up our golf plans for Sunday - 1120am tee time at Royal American.