Lisa and The Glue Gun

Today we resume our work on the island. You may (or, if you have a LIFE, may NOT) recall that on our last visit we painted the new, post-Ike trash bin. Today, Lisa got out her glue gun - a deadly professional grade Aleene's Model 4376GR top-o'-the-line machine for use only by the fully trained - and created a sign board for the bin, with our address and some local seashells. I then mounted it on the bin, and voila. Not bad at all.

Lisa has a way with glue guns. Unfortunately, she is also a danger to anything in the neighborhood. I generally try to stay far away from her when she uses this machine, lest I find myself glued to some basket or frame. Better safe than sorry.

So, to occupy myself and stay out of range of the glue gun, I managed to finally - after a long 1 1/2 years - oil our kitchen counter tops - nice and shiny now. I'd post a photo of that, but I can't figure out how to make this thing put THAT photo at the bottom of this post instead of the top, so you'll just have to imagine how it looks.

Anyway, Harry is away with some friends, so it's just the two of us on the island. We can't cook since the countertops are . . . all oily. So, maybe the best treat of all: CMB - Cafe Michael Burger for dinner!!

Galveston - Tiling the Kitchen

Well today we managed to get the backsplash up for the kitchen. This was next (and last) on our list of projects on the island when Ike hit. Ike, of course, set us back a half a house, so it took us a year to recover from Ike. Now we have finished most of the pre-Ike projects. The only major project left? New deck. Anyway, photos are on Facebook or somewhere, but a few great examples are shown above.

More painting!

This time, at the bay.

We are on the island for Labor Day weekend. What was supposed to be rainy and dreary has in fact become beautiful, sunny, breezy and almost cool. And because of the weather forecast errors, not too many tourists. Great stuff.

Anyway, there is no rest for the weary so last night - about the time of my second (third?) glass of wine, when my defenses were down - I was somehow persuaded to paint our trash can bin. Lisa says it was entirely my idea, but I think there was some chicanery involved.

In any event, this is the wooden box which holds our trash cans, so the local dogs and whatever don't get into our trash; you get the idea. The one that was here when we bought the house washed out to New Orleans with Hurricane Ike. So, we had to have a new one built. The fellow who built it for us "forgot" to paint it, so it was bare wood. We would not want our neighbors in Louisiana to get our hurricane jetsom unpainted, so this was a task we needed to complete before the next storm came along and carried all of our possessions across the Sabine River.

Again, I normally would not be fooled into an undertaking of this nature, but as I have said, my defenses were down. It was totally unfair.

To get to the point, this morning we went off to the hardware store and loaded up with paint and rollers for this should-be-easy task. Three hours later, we were done. The results? See for yourself.

I think we are through with
projects for the weekend.

So, not too bad - one chore.
Sure, it's not like painting a HOUSE,
but it is a LOT more work than it looks like.
Promise.


More later.

Time to Change the Living Room

Last weekend I decided to paint the living room. I took off from work early on Friday and picked up all the essentials - paint, brushes, drop clothes. And on a whim -- a Wagner automatic paint roller. Perhaps, I thought, I would be able to entice my "I don't do paint" husband to help with the job. After all - what real guy can resist a gizmo (even if it is paint related).

The initial reaction from Brad was as expected -- "I doubt seriously that thing will work" -- "It will probably be a big mess" -- "Undoubtedly a piece of junk" -- and of course - "That thing is going to be hell to clean!" In response to all comments I simply nodded affirmatively and kept my mouth shut... biding my time. The hook had been baited -- just had to reel him in.

By Friday night, he had read the entire instruction manual. By Saturday morning, he had unpacked the gizmo. By Saturday afternoon, he offered to "set it up" for me. A few minutes later -- he was busily rolling paint onto the living room walls -- and refusing to relinquish the gizmo to me.

I never rolled on a single drop of paint... not one. The "I don't paint" husband was painting. And not because of my feminine wiles or an altruistic desire to help -- but because the gizmo was so irresistable.

By Sunday evening all the furniture was moved back into place, the art rehung and we enjoyed a glass of wine in our new and improved living room. Of course, Brad said that he really didn't see why we need to change the color in the first place. But he did like that power roller...