Looong weekend for me --

Took today off (lovely!) and did some shopping for house "stuff" -- trim paint for the shutter "Z" boards, the outside boards on the hay storage building, and for repainting the front door (again!)   Dark, dark, dark this time.  And I got a quart of NON-flat paint for the bathroom wall where the sink is.  I like the look of flat paint, but it isn't happy with water splashes hitting it.  I also picked up a storm door for outside my bathroom going onto the sleeping porch.   Dogs PRE-Joey had messed up that door and the trim around it.  So putting in a storm door will protect it at least a BIT better.

 

It's been raining since last night, but David got the new hay storage shed AND the front of the barn painted while it was still nice and clear out there.  I was a BIT concerned at first because the "blue" paint almost looked white. 

Here's the hay shed right after it was painted.

We've had that 5-gallon bucket of blue paint for about two years and David said it was possible that the color could have faded over time, even though that one had actually never been opened, so I was afraid we would have to repaint everything.  But fortunately I never got around to buying more paint.  I say "fortunately" because in a day or two when it finally dried it was the pale blue color exactly like I wanted it to be! 

David didn't get the entire barn painted - Bryan will probably do that eventually - but at least he did the front and side that are most visible. 

 

Next week David will be painting the front door of the house, those "Z" boards on the front porch shutters, the  trim around the front door of the barn, and those edge boards on the hay shed doors with that dark, dark trim paint I bought today so everything will look like it belongs together.  

 

I think I also want those porch posts painted that dark color instead of the light cream they are now, but I'm not entirely sure.  Cass, you're the artist -- what do YOU think???

 

Then David is going to be building a triangular raised bed at the end of the porch in front of that ramp on the right side of the porch so it won't be so visible from the front. 

 

 

It 's there because we used to drive the golf cart up there and park it on that end of the porch, but I find it really handy for running out to the barn, too.  

 

David's also going to put a raised bed around the front and the side of the barn nearest the house.  We'll be putting sterilized dirt in those raised beds, so it should be easier to keep them weed free - particularly since the grass that grows underground down here won't be able to grow in there with it up in the air a foot or more.

 

We're going to need to get that gate that's attached to the right corner of the barn at the moment moved so that the hay guy will be able to back his giant truck in directly in front of the shed and unload hay directly into it instead of having to carry it across the paddock like he did this week. 

 

That round corner is where the gate is going to go.

I'm so grateful that he not only delivers but also unloads for us that I was more than willing to agree to move that gate for him!  Look at how much hay he stored in there for us!

 

 

 

 And look how good it is!  I'll tell you what, I got out the first of those bales this afternoon and before I could get it into their hay containers every one of them tried eating it while I was carrying it in -- something they never do.  So it must be particularly special this year, just as Joey told us it is.

 

 

Well, I think I'll head for bed soon - got more stuff to do tomorrow.  Got to feed and groom the horses first of all.  Then, because the thyroid medicine Craig prescribed for Joey isn't available at a regular drug store, I need to drive clear across town to Greco's and pick it up there.  Then it's down to Perkins Road to pick up my hemmed pants and all those sleeping porch curtain panels.  Then to the grocery or Walmart or somewhere to get some frozen dinners for lunch at work next week.  I won't be able to head out until Bryan gets here, though.  No telling when that might be.  Sometimes it 7:30 - sometimes it 11. 

 

I need to be home by 3, though.  David is coming by bringing his girlfriend/wife for me to meet.  I say "girlfriend/wife" because they both refer to each other as wife/husband - even though they aren't married yet - since they've been living together for five years.  They do plan to get married, but she wants a wedding that's going to cost $15,000+ so it's been put off for a while until they have that much to spend.  But anyway, they'll be stopping by tomorrow afternoon.  I'm looking forward to meeting her.

 

So right now? . . . bedtime.