A job not yet well-done

I have spent hours working at sanding, scraping and getting ready to paint the cottage. You can see it (right) in the 1960s.

Entirely made of 4" thick cedar, from a prefab, it has withstood the weather. Eventually, by the mid-60s, we managed to have a deck put on, but only on the front, facing the lake! The side door step was a doozy! Actually, it was a ladder for many years.

By the 70s everything was to be painted. As I scrape the paint this past two weeks, I find an green layer in the front bottom panels, under the current chocolate brown, and then an orange. I am going to keep it brown with white trim.


Water damage is a serious problem. You really have to put on good paint to protect the wood. The cottage has had many, many coats of paint! It has outlasted the trees around it. Eventually, my parents saved up enough for a deck. Mom worked part-time from the time I was five. She was a great role model! She took summers off and took off 'up north' for July & August.

Fluffy, the cat always was there with us. Cats are so supportive when any work needs to be done. Mine, not so much. Too many chipmunks to kill.

I remember one summer mom repainted the deck. She sent me in for a quart of paint, on my bike. Then, after she used it up, another quart. It was so funny. Then, of course, two more. Thankfully, it was only 2 km into town, and people in those days didn't see the highway as their own Nascar track. I was quite safe buying the paint and returning home. I think I was about 10 years old!

Like any work you seem to need to add a 30% factor. Add that much to the cost, materials, time or effort. Once I scraped the paint off the trim this past week, I realized that the paint needed to be removed. Too many chips.

Then, as I scraped it, I realized the caulking was really bad and needed to go. Yikes. Then, I tried to power wash it, as they recommended, but I couldn't coax an erection from my old power washer. I gave up on that idea. I just slapped in on over the sanded green growth, and a couple of spiders, too. I know I'll pay for that!

Then, I found areas where I needed to fill it is where it had settled: cracks in the wall that needed to be filled. Aren't all jobs like this? They are never simple. Rather like life, methinks.

Fortunately, I had put on my iPod. I was listening to a wonderful satire on Canadian politics, The Best Laid Plans, I reviewed it on My Reflections for Wednesday. It passed the time. I managed to listen to the entire book - that is how many hours I worked!

I wasn't alone. Up in the oak tree, the squirrels were still sending acorn bombs down below. They really make a racket! My Mom's favourite creature, the loon, parked herself out in the bay as I was working. She was quiet, but she was moral support. I felt mom approved!

Now, hubby was great. He made me coffee at lunch time when he returned from town chores. Bought me wine to ease my aching muscles. The cats popped in from time-to-time. They sniffed, made their inspections and left --bored. None stepped in my paint. Good thing! It was glorious being outside and accomplishing something. Back to work. Next is window trim and then weather stripping. Amazing after 45 years how things just fall apart! But we must be prepared for the weather to come!