Winding Down

Even though we have owned Gladys for three years this coming June, she still is revealing secrets about her past.  When Rick removed shovel-deep dirt from in front of the east wall of the Florida room, he unearthed hundreds of small, woody roots.  The roots undoubtedly are the remnants of a row of hedges or shrubs that used to border the windows.  Although the area was bare when we bought the house, at one time the owners had spent both time and money to landscape at least that part of the back yard.

The tinted sealer coat is Step 1 on finishing the back walls.

We had to remove the dirt, of course, so we could seal the plaster in preparation for new paint.  We finished the sealer coat yesterday, so today's initial task was to get the first finish coat of paint on the walls.  We both had reasoned that the walls would be easy to paint and would cover quickly because they were filled with windows and doors.  Silly us!  All of those windows and doors meant a lot of cutting in with paint before rolling the major areas, so painting these walls was both putzy and slow-going.  We started fairly early this morning and did not finish until 11:30.  Thankfully, the day is overcast and cool, so we had perfect painting weather.  The forecast calls for no rain all week long, so we hope to make real progress on the walls and the soffits.  Maybe by Friday we can have the whole house painted.

Rick fills the paint roller as he finishes the corner where
yesterday we removed the conduit with the electrical wire.

The finished first coat of paint gives the back of the house
a uniform, clean look.

Rick continues to investigate installing a reclaimed water system.  We learned today that even though our county has the cleanest reclaimed water in the state, the county officials still have listed on their website a warning that residents with compromised immune systems like me should not be outdoors when reclaimed water systems are running due to possible bacteria or viruses that may be present in the water. Oh, good.  Now if we use water to keep our trees, plants, and grass alive, it may make me sick.  Some days I cannot win for trying...

Rick actually went to the city today and asked the water department about the warning.  They told him, in effect, that the county probably was trying to cover themselves against a possible lawsuit, and that they had never heard of anyone getting sick from using reclaimed water for irrigation purposes.  The man Rick talked to said he certainly would not use the water to drink, to bathe in, or to swim in, but that once the water was on the ground, it should be safe.  His advice: ask your doctor.  Since I have to see my rheumatologist in a couple of weeks, I certainly will get his opinion on the matter; however, I would not be a bit surprised if he told me to ask the water department if the water is safe.

Rick is out right now buying yet another gallon of paint.  The house has taken more than we had anticipated (Gladys is thirsty), but hopefully this will be the last gallon of Honeysuckle that we have to buy.

Our repairs and purchases this year have pushed the budget to its limit, so I am glad that we are nearly finished for this winter season.  We still have money reserved for putting in pavers and for the fence next year, but the budget will totally be depleted after that.  Anything after that point will just have to wait until we can save enough to move forward.  Are we sorry that we have spent so much to make Gladys a clean, secure, livable home?  No.  However,  I think that we are both glad that we are getting near the end of the major projects to make her complete. At our ages, our energy is dwindling nearly as quickly as the budget!