May 2, 1996
Dear Everyone:
Hello, there.
Human drop cloth here.
My week-long
project, to paint the inside of my condo, was officially completed at
11:44 on Sunday when I applied the last of a second coat of enamel to
the inside of the front door.
I’m sure that some people, reading in my last letter about this
plan, probably thought, “She must be crazy to try and do all that
single-handed.”
And they were right.
But, like I told “Jeannie”, “What’s the point of being an
obsessive-compulsive if you can’t make it work
for you once in a while?”
And besides, I wasn’t single-handed; I used both hands.
And both feet. And
“Jeannie” helped a lot.
We started on
Sunday. We couldn’t start on
Saturday because there were too many sales going on at the mall and one
must keep one’s priorities in place.
I put “Jeannie” to work on the door frames.
These were done in enamel, the better to wipe off fingerprints.
I figured that doing them first, if any enamel got on the walls,
it would be covered up later when we painted the walls.
“Jeannie”’s interpretation of this theory:
“Neatness doesn’t count.”
I’d be working in
the large bathroom, discovering just how much a roller spatters on your
face when you’re painting the ceiling, and I’d hear “OOPS” from the
other room.
“Everything OK in
there?” I’d ask.
“Fine, fine.
Everything’s fine. By
the way, where do you keep the paper towels?”
We discovered that
we have very different views on the subject of a drop cloth.
I see a drop cloth as something to keep the “spreckels” that come
from the roller from attaching themselves to the furniture, and to catch
the occasional, accidental small drip of paint.
“Jeannie”, on the
other hand, seems to think that the purpose of a drop cloth is to drop
as much paint on it as possible.
First, you drop a large dollop of paint on the cloth (which, in
this case was a plastic sheet).
Then you step in the paint.
Then you yell, “I need a paper towel!”
I will spare
everyone a blow-by-blow description of the entire week and just pass on
a few tips, garnered from a long, hard week.
After all, you don’t need to read about me spending hours inching
the mahogany tallboy back across the dining room floor, its delicate
Queen Anne’s feet disintegrating as we went.
(Queen Anne’s feet tend to be delicate because, let’s face it,
Queen Anne’s been dead a long time and her feet are...well, never mind.)
By the way, mahogany furniture is
heavy.
Anyway, painting
tips:
If it can be picked
up or dragged easily enough, get it out of the room.
The less furniture in your way, the better.
Particularly when your drop cloth has been turned into a mobile
paint chip factory.
Actually, there’s more work in moving stuff around than there is in
applying paint to the walls.
Vacuum the ceiling
of each room before you start painting.
Those textured ceilings make my place a Mecca for cobwebs.
After removing the drapes, try to vacuum the curtain rods, too.
You’d be amazed how much dust accumulates in just nine years.
Also, plan on vacuuming all the books before putting them back up
on the shelves.
And get some of
those cute little mini-rollers for working around curtain rods and above
the shower walls.
If “Jeannie” is
helping, lay in a good supply of drop cloths and paper towels.
The weather was most
cooperative. It was cool
during the days and warm enough at night that I could leave the windows
open for ventilation. It
only started to get really warm on Friday, when I was working on the
library/guest room. This was
the last of seven rooms, plus the hallway, but it took more time because
of the braces that hold up the shelves for books.
“Jeannie” came back
again on Saturday to help with this last room, then we went to
Macy’s for the last
day of a shoe sale. Saving
$20 on a pair of sandals is nothing to sneeze at.
Having officially
finished Sunday morning, we went to the movies to celebrate.
The Truth About
Cats and Dogs is cute, but most of the best lines are used up in
the previews and ads. A guy
with a big dog is attracted to a women he’s never seen.
(She’s a veterinarian who gives advice on the radio.)
She’s afraid he won’t like her if he sees her (short and frumpy),
so she shoves a tall blond at him and things quickly get out of hand.
The dog is very good.
Wait for the video.
Love, as always,
Pete
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