A Day Off For Gardening

Painting just the trim has been a bigger project than I thought it would be. I overestimated the amount of paint we would need, so we are painting the back and sides as well. Why the front was in worse shape than the rest of the house, I have no idea.

I’ve been spending the evenings working out the final details for this quilt and stitching down pieces.

I started this morning pruning a bush back to make room for the ladder. Which lead to pruning back the neighbors apple tree which was hanging over the fence and brushing the house where I would need to paint. Which lead to pruning back an aeonium succulent that was taking over. I thought it was choking out my kangaroo paw plant that was nearly hidden by the succulent. But after I took out the aeonium, I found it thriving and looking as good as it ever has.

We ended up going to the store for potting soil and perennials. I repotted an aloe vera, some Christmas cactus cuttings from my mom, and some broken stems I rescued from a sidewalk. Camilla arranged a small succulent plant with some small snippets in a larger pot. The perennials got put into two large pots that needed attention.

Why I Haven’t Got Any Sewing Done in the Last Week or Two

I’ve been climbing up and down ladders, scraping away peeling paint, priming where bare wood was showing through, and finally putting on the first coat of trim on the eaves. Doug’s been helping on the weekends doing the really high stuff, but Camilla and I have been getting a lot done during the week. The paint on the stucco part of the house still looks good, and most of the trim only needs repainting in the front.

I talked Doug into choosing new colors. A teal for the trim that almost matches the trim on the back and sides of the house so it doesn’t look to peculiar when seen from the side, and a lighter green for the bit of wood siding on the front of the house. We picked the colors inspired by the virtual paint job I did on my Illustrator assignment I did last February.

Hopefully things will move along quicker as we move downward, and don’t have to move ladders around as much.