More painting

Stephen and I spent another morning painting the garage. Yesterday was spent prepping, which included the part-removal of a tree, water blasting and treatment for pink mould. This particular side, although receiving afternoon sun, was particularly discoloured and just out of reach when we had water blasted previously. This time, I made sure to extend the hose and power cable so that we could do the job properly.

I didn’t want the tree cut down but Stephen felt it was too close to the garage. It definitely prevented a large part of the wall from getting sun. We compromised by leaving one limb, which is growing in the opposite direction. The actual painting was quite quick. We are leaving a higher bit, on top of the add on, until after the supporting boards are fixed – a job we are hoping Jason will do when he returns from Gold Coast in a couple of weeks. He wanted something to do, so we suggested that. Fixing something is never as satisfying as creating something new, but this is a necessity. Hopefully he will be able to do it for us.

We popped the second coat of paint on after lunch, to complete the lower part of that wall.

My body is achy and sore and it reminds me so much of my younger days when I would work hard on the farm or in the woolshed, tend to the children after school, cook the meal, then collapse into bed, only to repeat it all the next day. There is definitely something satisfying about doing physical work and I am so thankful that my body is allowing me to do so, after all this time. One generally sleeps better too.

It would be nice to think that when the painting is done, that will be it, but with the extra rain we have had this season, the hedge has shot away and already over due for a prune. I remember talking to the lawn mowing contractor once and he told me that he generally enjoyed a several-week break from mid-January because the grass had stopped growing. I suspect there hasn’t been any such luxury for him this year. But as I have mentioned before, I like the rain because it feeds the plants, which have definitely benefited. They are looking the best they have ever looked at this time of year.

But before we can worry about the hedge, there is still another wall of the garage to paint, the highest and most difficult of them all. It was suggested that we use a roller on a pole and that is exactly what we might do. It would certainly be safer than trying to stabilize the scaffolding on the sloping driveway. We water blasted that wall some weeks ago so all that is necessary is a light sand and paint. We will have to figure out if we can also sand using a pole to do those high, difficult bits but if we can’t then I don’t really care. It will only be a small part of the garage that would be unsanded.

I can see rain clouds looming now. The paint has had two hours of drying. They say four hours and it should be right. It would be a shame to have to repaint today’s effort but in saying that, the rain I can see might still take a while to eventuate. Here’s hoping so.