My Latest Project

Our beautiful spring weather is continuing but you can feel, ever so slightly, that temperatures are beginning to rise. This is the time for big outside projects if they are going to be attempted before our brutal summer heat hits. And so, between the weather and my soon-to-begin pool reno, I knew I had to get busy on my latest "ah-ha" moment. It came to me when I was looking at the catalog of liners getting ready to finally make the decision on this:

There were so many swatches from which to choose...but then there was something else as well. There were pictures of finished pools and that was the first time I realized that they no longer use PVC coping. When our pool was built 38 years ago, it actually was "the way of the future". The vinyl liner far exceeded a gunite pool in many ways. But then, as happens, new technology improved on the gunite and vinyl is no longer "the way to go". But, for those of us who already have these pools our only choice is to tear the whole thing out and start over - which literally costs more than a whole new pool build - or maintain what is here.

So, that is when I really noticed that the new pools have an entirely different coping system. I have no idea what it is but it seems to be under the lip of the decking and not visible. I knew I couldn't go that route but then it hit me!! I could do something to make my coping less obvious and blend into the decking by painting it the same way I re-did the decking several months ago.

When I painted and finished the deck, I meticulously taped off the coping. I had very little "bleed under" but there was just enough for me to check and realize that even with a sharp blade, I could not scrape off the color. That PVC was not only old but it had been subject to Florida sun and chlorine for 38 years. It was definitely porous and had more than enough "tooth" to probably hold any paint but the stuff I am using was meant to stay so it was a no-brainer! That meant that I could paint the coping and the color would not wash off! Ah-ha!! Lucky for me, I still have some of the paint/sealer. And so, with no rain in the forecast, another project was begun!

This isn't the best picture but you can see the jarring difference in the white coping versus the painted next to the deck.

This gives you a little better idea. This was quite the project because I was trying to get every speck of PVC covered. I knew this was something I wanted to do but I knew it would be tedious and, not being the neatest painter, I knew I had to do it so any drips or slips were on the old liner not the new one. I am glad no one was watching as I was quite the scene. I literally had to be on my knees - ouch - and lean over so far, I almost tumbled in more than once. My eyes are not so good these days but I needed my glasses so see what I was doing...that is until they fell off my face and into the pool 3 times and then, just when I figured out how to hold them on with one hand and paint with they other the sun got so hot they were constantly fogged up. I took them off and this became a bit of a crap shoot. I know I'm going to have to do another second coat so I am hoping that will catch anything I may have missed.

I am truly so happy with how this turned out. My eye no longer goes straight to that hideous white coping...now, it goes to the roots creeping their way under the floor of the pool. Lol Hopefully that will soon be a thing of the past as well!

I had a wonderful weekend. Daughter #2 came down on Saturday for a visit and then spent the night so we could attend my oldest grandson's confirmation on Sunday.

After the ceremony and reception, we headed to a wonderful brunch at one of our new downtown restaurants. It was so gorgeous out that we ate outside and got to linger and just enjoy both the weather and the family! My kind of day. And to just push it over the top, my daughter shared just a "few" of her gorgeous gardenias with me!

My whole house smells so good! Don't have another big project in the works yet but you never know when inspiration will strike! Stay tuned.

Diagnosis Is Finally In...

...definitely a SEVERE case of spring fever! I never felt it coming on!! I just woke up one day and all of the symptoms were there! And so I did the only thing I knew to do. I lit into it head on!

Yesterday was the attack on outdoors. I had most of my yard up-to-date, but I hadn't addressed pollen and mold since our last big assault.

And so, I started with my windows and screens. I got all of them done - inside and out - with the exception of the sunroom. Those are still on to to-do list. Then, I cut back the hedge around the circular drive that seemed to grow of late with a vengeance!

 And then it was on to the gazebo. Glass topped table and tea cart had to be seen to be explained. Thankfully in this day and age, we have the miracle of Windex. I pretty much went through a whole bottle yesterday! And, it was once again time for the yearly recovering of the chair cushions.

There is something strangely funny about those cushions. I have truly recovered them every year since we purchased the table and chairs - right after the gazebo was built - so, many, many years ago. I have just the vaguest recollection of buying the fabric at a fabric store that has been out of business forever!! I don't remember why I bought the fabric but I literally must have bought 20 yards because it has been used over and over and STILL there are yards left for years to come. Guess it's a good thing I like it so much!

In any case, I really thought I was "cured" when I came in late last night. But, when I got up this morning and saw my beautiful, sparkly windows, I knew I still had some "symptoms" And before I knew what hit me, I was on to the floors!

Since I'm not as strong as I once was - wink, wink - this is how I ended up emptying the rooms. I literally moved things as close as I could to avoid any extra heavy lifting. I probably won't be able to stand tomorrow, but I love it when Townada comes to visit!

Once the rooms were cleaned out, I used the opportunity to wash all of the base boards and truly get under the larger pieces I didn't move. And, once again, thanks to modern supplies, cleaning and waxing wood floors can now all be done at once!

Just look at that shine! I am seriously considering how I can go about life without ever stepping on these beauties again. I know it won't last long but I am reveling in all of that wonderful "sparkleyness" right now...between the windows and the floors, I could use sun glasses to take it all in. Lol

I do have to wonder what is happening to my skin if the sun can do this to hard wood floors!?

I am so still in the spring fever mode. I don't know where tomorrow will take me, but it will be fun to see. Maybe it's time for just a few new pillows or a new plant - haha. I am definitely thinking about repainting my kitchen cabinets and also a bit of an update in the familyroom...not to mention the renovation on the pool. Looks to be a busy spring. Hopefully I will get it all done before the dreaded heat of summer arrives and I hibernate until autumn. Stay tuned.

Deja Vu...Almost

I spent our beautiful sunny morning out in the gardens continuing my fight against weeds! I have figured out that once I do a REALLY complete pull-out of every weed I can find, it is so much smarter to just patrol the gardens every now and then and get the new little culprits as they are just popping up! It really doesn't take very long at all to patrol the entire yard and keep the weeds at bay.

In any case, rain is predicted this afternoon and since it does look like the clouds have begun to roll in, I decided I needed a project - along with trying to get caught up on 7 "When Calls the Heart" episodes. I sort of enjoy this show but I am not as addicted to it as I am to all of the food shows so I find myself getting behind. That is fine with me and I can save them for a rainy day - like today - but, everyone seems to be commenting about it on FB without issuing spoiler alerts so I figured I will catch up today since it will be rainy and I will need to let lots of paint dry on this project.

Does this look a little familiar? Deja Vu? Almost.

It is very similar to the burlap leprechaun hat but tapers a bit more and has a more rounded brim. Since I enjoyed doing that hat for St. Pat's Day, I decided to go the same direction with the 4th of July and do Uncle Sam's hat.

Since there will be so many large blocks of color, there will be lots of drying time on this one.

It's starting to come together. I can't wait to add the blue!

I love how it "pops" now!

Once all of the paint is dry, it is on to touch-up and detailing.

I really tired to limit the detailing on this one. I knew I wanted the whimsy of the dots - and those are easy with the dabber brushes - and I knew I wanted the different areas of the hat to be outlined but I skipped highlighting and any other details that would involve a thin, straight line. It is very difficult to pull that off on highly textured, uneven weave such as this burlap. The brush keeps catching on the fibers and going where it wants to go!

I hung it on the door for just a second to get this picture for you. My neighbors are used to me rushing a holiday but, being ready for the 4th of July on April 23 is a bit crazy...even for me! That being said, now that I see this beauty, I can't wait to start decorating!!

I got my first introduction to lacrosse yesterday and judging by the excited comments I heard from my grandson, it won't be my last. He is enjoying this new ( to him ) sport and thinks the conditioning will help him when football season starts again - probably the day after lacrosse season ends. Lol

I definitely got the gist of the game but the rules, penalties, boundaries, etc. totally escaped me. Most of the time it looked like a tumble of kids whacking each other with those sticks. And, you should see the big bruise across Har's upper arm...boys?! He loved every minute of it. Might be time to look up some of the rules. Stay tuned.

Spring...and My War on White

This has been a super busy week! I have spent lots of time with family and friends!

As last posted, I had daughter #3 and her family over for dinner on Tuesday. I had so much fun setting the table and cooking. Everything was so good...except for that cake I was so looking forward to. You will see in the picture - which I forgot to take until we had already cut it - that it looked so delicious. The icing ( which was 3 cups heavy cream, 8 oz. cream cheese, a bit of sugar and 2 c. of diced, fresh strawberries ) was delicious but the cake, in spite of being full of half and half, sour cream and lots of butter as well as MANY steps of sifting and re-sifting - which I followed to the letter and I usually don't - was DRY!!! Very disappointing. Oh, we all managed to eat a slice but afterward, I not only threw away the recipe, I threw away the rest of the cake! Epic fail!!
But, the table was pretty and it was fun to get my chef "chops" working once again!

Wednesday I spent out and about with a very special friend. She is one of those people who has a special "listening" ear and who, even after hours and hours together, never runs out of things to say!

Thursday was this year's Spaghetti Dinner and Spring Sing at the "little" kids' school. They also do a small art exhibit and it is always so much fun seeing how proud these kids are of their accomplishments and hearing about what a good job they are doing from their teachers! And, the spaghetti isn't bad either. Lol

Can you see her sequined watermelon purse with pizza change purse? She never took them off the entire evening...even while singing .Lol

We always wonder at how perfect the weather always seems to be for this activity. The stage is set up outdoors for the sing and it is always breezy and lovely. A truly perfect Florida evening!

I'm hoping to get out into the yard the rest of the day - if my lawn man would just hurry up and get here so I could do my thing uninterrupted! This is what I'm "dealing" with right now. So many things are back and blooming!!

Lots of Gerberas in many colors!

I love my mock oranges. I just wished they smelled as good as the "real" ones!

These are my first day lily blooms but I have many, many plants that are loaded with buds and ready to burst any day!

I wish these fabulous smelling roses could stay this beautiful all summer long. Unfortunately, they are one of the things that are loving our unseasonably cooler temperatures. Once we get back on normal weather patterns, they begin to suffer.

My pansies and many of my "still hanging on" mums are also very happy with the cooler temps. I am still doing lots of "deadheading" and harvesting bouquets so they will hang on as long as possible.

And last, things as referenced in the blog title. I don't know why but all of a sudden, I am against all things stark white. This is the season of newness and I would think it would be fine with me but, for whatever reason, it is not and it hits my eye harshly! You remember I already addressed the two finials. The other day when I walked into my kitchen, I was hit with this. I know it is hard to tell why that utensil holder bothered me with all of the cabinets and counter tops being white as well, but it did.

But it now looks like this. I don't know what "white" ever did to deserve this treatment from me. Maybe if it plays nice next time, I will allow it. Lol

Off to get some things accomplished before I head to a lacrosse game this weekend. This is now my oldest grandson's newest sport...not in place of, but in addition to, football. I don't know a thing about this sport but I bet I'm about to learn. Stay tuned.