Rambling Thoughts About Having The House Painted, Again

July 29, 2014February 3, 2015 / Ally Bean / 20 Comments

Decades ago we painted the exterior of our first home together. That is something that a married couple does once, if they want to stay married. So late last summer, knowing that it was time to re-paint this house, I began the task of trying to find a painter who would:

take my call;
be available this spring/summer/fall to paint our house;
have decent references [or no outstanding warrants];
show up; &
actually know how to paint.

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This is not the first time we’ve hired professional painters to paint the outside of a house that we owned. Happily, our first experience was good, albeit noisy and chaotic. The crew of 12 men swarmed the house like ants to a picnic, but after a hectic 2 days the house looked nice.

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About 70% of our house is brick. The brick has some bluish-greenish gray in it which softens the bricky color and allows the house to blend into nature year round. The mortar between the bricks is a soft tan/gray color which provides a small contrast with the brick. Nothing too dramatic.

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Our second experience with a professional painting company was difficult and frustrating. I don’t think that the painters used the correct color on the house and the whole mess ended with Z-D, Esq, applying a bit of legal pressure to make certain that the ~~yokels~~ painters fulfilled the conditions of the contract. When this bunch finished painting the house, it did not look so wonderful.

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For the 30% of the house that is painted we chose Sherwin-Williams 7029 Agreeable Gray. I would describe it as a more warm than cool light gray shade that is about as neutral as our mortar, but doesn’t look dreary at all. In fact, we painted a test of it on two side of the house last fall, then watched to see how it looked during the winter & spring. It’s pretty.

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This, our third experience with professional house painters, has been the best to date– that is, if this man and his on-again off-again crew ever finish. We’re into week 5 now, so this has been slow project. Fortunately this bunch is tidy, polite and show up when they say they will + they are doing a wonderful precise job, so however long it takes is fine by me.

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The shutters will be re-painted Sherwin-Williams 6216 Jasper. It’s the same dark green color that they’ve been since we had the house built. I like this color because there is a definite contrast with the brick and when there is only grayness outside during the winter, this subtle green shade cheers my soul.

Doesn’t Everyone Have A Sofa In The Middle Of Their Kitchen?

June 27, 2014June 27, 2014 / Ally Bean / 27 Comments

I’ve gotten away from talking about our home redecoration projects here on The Spectacled Bean. I don’t know why, because they continue on behind the scenes and influence my life every day.

Often because the project is in the middle of everything.

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That being said, now that I’m in the final days of NaBloPoMo June 2014 and I need something to write about, I’ll revert to my blogging roots and tell you what we’re up to around Chez Bean.

In July or August when furniture goes on sale, we are going to buy a new sofa and chair for the TV room. This is why the current sofa got itself moved into the kitchen. I needed to get an idea of what the TV room would look like without a large blue object influencing me.

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Now having seen the TV room, sans blue, with my makeshift ottoman-esque example of what a khaki-gold sofa might look like against the wall, I think that a neutral-colored, nubby-textured sofa and chair will look great in this room. With lots of colorful pillows, of course.

So that, my gentle readers, is what’s going on here… right now… in the middle of our kitchen.

Project Hummer Is Not Going Well

June 17, 2014November 19, 2015 / Ally Bean / 46 Comments

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I’m sad to report that my grand plan for turning one corner of our deck into a small hummingbird garden/feeding station is not going well. It’s not for lack of cuteness, I tell you.

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Here’s what I’ve done.

√ 3 pots of annuals: 1 dark red geranium, 1 hot pink calibrachoa, 1 fuchsia portulaca

√ 1 sturdy wrought iron shepherd’s hook attached to side of deck

√ 1 hand-painted hummingbird feeder with red plastic pretend flowers that allow the hummers to drink, but thwart the bees

√ 1 32 oz. hummingbird nectar concentrate, chilled in our fridge, then mixed with fresh water using an old Pyrex glass measuring cup to insure proper proportions

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No, it’s not me that’s causing trouble with the hummers. It is, I’m sad to report, Fuzzy the Squirrel and his partner in crime, Khaki, who are causing Project Hummer to fail.

Apparently the sweet nectar in the pretty feeder is too much for them to pass up, so they’ve found a way to tilt the feeder on its side allowing the sweet nectar to dribble onto the ground below where they can enjoy it at their squirrel-y leisure.

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This means that until I figure out a way to keep Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid of squirrels away from the hummingbird feeder, my grand plan is on hold. And all those amazing little hummers who live behind our house in the woods will have to feed themselves on the 22 pink or red or peach rose bushes that surround our house.

The little birds will survive, but I won’t get the fun of seeing them drink up each day… all because two sneaky, uncooperative squirrels have found the best nectar bar in town. Humph.

As Summer Begins, A Snake In The Mulch

June 3, 2014June 3, 2014 / Ally Bean / 14 Comments

Neither one of us asked why it was there. Or how it got there. No, we went straight to the WHAT IS IT DOING? question.

I was standing outside on the front sidewalk talking with the UPS delivery woman. She had dropped off a package, knocked on the front door and was walking back to her truck when she saw it.

When I opened the front door to retrieve the package she turned to me and pointed to [what I believe is, but could be wrong about] a milk snake in the planting bed nearest the house. I walked out to where she was standing and saw Milky.

He was doing his snake-y thing. Slithering. Sticking his head into various heretofore unnoticed holes in the ground around the roses.

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After watching Milky together, the UPS delivery woman told me that this was her first snake on the job. She’d been warned that things like this could happen, especially out in wooded suburban developments.

For her, Milky was a milestone. And she left our property with a smile on her face, pleased with her find.

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But as for me, Milky’s existence has brought a new level anxiety to my life. I realize that if he can get into the planting beds this close to the house, he can slither his way up onto our front door stoop and greet me when I step out of the house using the front door.

So, I’ve done the only thing that I know to do. I’ve put a note on the inside of the front door where I will see it before I open the door. The note is short and to the point. It says: REMEMBER THE SNAKE.

And with that thought in mind, my summer begins.