It's a small house, but I wouldn't want to paint it*

This house is a senior citizen. Not ready to be featured by Willard Scott or anything, but old enough to have been here the last time banks were failing on a daily basis.

In almost 80 years, a WHOLE LOTTA PAINT has been slathered on its walls. And windows. And doors. Paint that Rocket Man is now stripping off, inch by inch. And it is taking for-freaking-ever. Not that he's going slow. Or maybe he is. Hell, I don't know. I stay away from that paint-stripper thingie. It scares me. But it's a huge job, despite the fact that this is a tiny house! Who knew such a little house could have so much surface?

Our windows look like this.


I love them. I once read that windows are the eyes of a house. And you know eyes are the windows of the soul. So, even though there is 80 years of peeling paint on these windows, I can't rip them out and replace them with vinyl. (Ah... vinyl... no paint necessary.)

Not to pass any judgement on anyone who HAS done this. You know, people who don't like to wear their winter coats INSIDE the house in the winter. People don't have to fork over an ENTIRE PAYCHECK to pay for a tank of oil. (Yes, you heard it here. Oil. My Party of 6 = Enemies to the Environment. We wanted to convert our 80-year old heating system to gas, but there was one too many zeros on the estimate. So we replaced the heating system and kept the oil. Now it burns much more efficiently when we heat up the great outdoors just beyond our drafty, but soulful windows.)

Anyway, ever since it was built, this house has been painted white. It's cute. Black shutters, red door. But the house next door is also white and I hate to be wearing the same dress as another girl at the party. AND white looks dirty... like 20 minutes after it's painted. And I already discussed how long it takes to paint this tiny house. So we are changing to gray. See the s. l. o. w. transition.



It's a lovely shade (that took me 3 months to pick out) called Silver Spring, which is definitely a good omen, as that's also where I grew up. Even though it's a good omen, it apparently doesn't mean it isn't going to take 15 years to paint it all. (Does that sentence even make sense? I think you know what I mean!)

I give tons of credit to Rocket Man. He's working extra hours so he can take Fridays off while the weather is still good. He's standing on a ladder, rungs making permanent indentations in the soles of his feet, paint stripper in hand, prepping everything for painting.

Meanwhile, Camp Mom lives on. I have to spend the weekend keeping the kids away from the ladder and the flying chips of probably lead paint for the next... oh... 15 years. (We went to this indoor splash park yesterday. BIG FUN, although it apparently has a rough bottom, because my kids are moaning today about the sores on their toes and are mad at me for not letting them stay home from school due to SORE TOES. I'm awful, I know.)

Anyway, I'm T.I.R.E.D. I shouldn't complain. (But I am.) I can only imagine what it's like for moms who are solo all the time. Hopefully they are more organized about planning dinners than I am. Because I think what we are saving on paying a professional painter, we are spending on take-out food.

I need to find some new crock-pot recipes so I can have dinner simmering when I walk back in the door after entertaining the kids. Have you seen the Crockpot Lady? She made a New Year's resolution to use her crock-pot every day in 2008. God bless her. I like my crock-pot. But I don't like it THAT much. But until it gets too cold to paint outside (and with global warming, really, who KNOWS when that will be?), I think it's time to start a love affair with my Rival ceramic pot of pre-planned dinner! Please post any great crock-pot links you have! And if anyone wants us to come over next weekend, dude... we are SO there!

*bonus points for anyone who knows from whom I adapted this quote!