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Even though it was a bit hazy outside last Sunday morning, Zen-Den & I decided to go for a walk in a nature preserve. During the first part of our walk, which took us through a native grassland enhancement area, we went…
over a sturdy bridge…
by a pond reflecting colorful autumn leaves still on the trees…
down a quiet path…
to fields of wild black-eyed Susans…
with milkweed and dandelions interspersed among them…
to an unexpected spot to take a rest.
[Part 2 will be tomorrow.]
Dear Diary,
Yesterday morning I awakened with the Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious song from Mary Poppins floating through my head. In fact, as I walked downstairs from the bedroom to the kitchen I was singing it out loud.
I am such a dork!!!
Because I was feeling English suddenly I decided to have a proper pot of tea with milk and sugar. I got out my little blue 2-cup tea-pot, added some Taylors of Harrogate Irish Breakfast Tea [which I admit is not English at all, but is the only kind of strong black tea that we have in the house] and brewed myself a lovely beverage.
Jolly good, I tell you.
Did I mention to you, Dear Diary, that Z-D took a day off from work yesterday? Well, he did. And because the weather was so mild and the skies were so clear, we decided to skip yard work and drive over the river to the next state to have lunch on the patio of an English Pub.
Yes, my morning theme continued. Isn’t that cool?
At the Pub, I had my favorite unhealthy appetizer, curry and chips. I washed it down with a Belhaven Scottish Lager [which I admit is not from England either, but I like it– probably my ancestry coming through]. I also had healthy fish tacos with a side salad to balance out my first course.
Then, fortified with alcohol and calories, we decided to go exploring.
We drove back over the river into our state and went to a crowded, fussy, older part of the city where we found the bestest place yet. Yes, we went to Penzeys Spices, a place I’ve longed to go to for years, but only just discovered has a retail store in our city. You’d be proud of us, Dear Diary, we showed admirable restraint and only bought 6 small jars of spice, 2 small bottles of extract and 1 bag of herbs.
My inner foodie was in heaven.
Then we drove back home to the ‘burbs where we collapsed on our screened-in porch. One of us played Candy Crush [Level 205, be impressed] while the other one, exhausted by the day’s excitement, napped while pretending to read a book set in London [because once you have a theme day, you have to go with it].
This is middle age fun. Such as it is.
The rest of the day was the usual hum-drum of laundry, dishes, bills, planning, what have you. But that was okay, Dear Diary, because we had such a good time goofing off earlier in the day.
We need to play hooky again, real soon!!!
• • • • •
I am at heart a project manager. I like to accomplish things. I’m practical. I’m determined. I have vision. I work well with people. I like to research, plan and then bring to fruition that which I set out to do.
But the Summer of 2014 has thwarted me on every front.
As some of you who live around here know, this has been one of the wettest summers on record. While California is drying up like an unloved, unwatered Philodendron in a terra-cotta pot sitting on the window sill, Ohio has been deluged with so much rain that outdoor pots of waterlogged geraniums and zinnias are holding up white flags of surrender.
All this rain is not right, I tell you.
We have done almost no gardening, no flea markets or antique shows, no cookouts or drinks on the deck with friends, no outdoor concerts, no long walks in the nature preserve or parks, no outside dinners at funky restaurants in cool parts of town, no redecorating projects that need bright clear natural light.
Pretty much one word sums up this past summer: NO!
Zen-Den, ever the optimist, reminds me that around here a wet summer leads to a glorious fall. And that if I can hold onto my sanity for just a few more weeks, I’ll be okay. So it is with that autumnal hope in mind that I continue on trying to ignore the lousy summer weather [like the current pouring rain + thunder] and find something else to do.
Besides complaining, that is.
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:
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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.
THE SPECTACLED BEAN 