$67 Saturday

A little over 4 years ago, I met and married (or shall I say mortgaged) my beautiful home. From the first pictures I saw on the internet, to the subsequent and numerous drive by's until closing.... I've been hooked.  You would think after appliances trying to die, and the puppy ripping up landscaping I'd be over it by now. But no... I think my home just might be the love of my life. So in my never-ending quest to make it beautiful, I tackle one area, one space, one task at a time. This, was one of those times, my $67 dollar Saturday.  

 As always, my project days begin around 7 am with a "quick" trip to Home Depot.  I buy more than will easily fit in my Subie, and almost always end up driving the mile home with something either on top of my head or out the windows. 

So this weekend challenge was mostly about curb appeal, but also about not wanting to spend the money on new pvc fencing (which is ridiculously expensive!) Besides, even though it was rusty and ugly, the fence itself was still sturdy, and working.... which meets all of my pre-requisites for repurposing.

 

So armed with one little can of white rustoleum, a few brushes and a roller; I had at it. The fence was my primary project for the day, but as usual.... I tackled just a little more than I had planned. I should mention I did this in early March, and it was maybe.... 35 degrees out. I know there are rules about painting when it's too hot or too cold... but as long as it's not raining, I paint. So while I waited for this paint to dry, I still had alot of paint left in the little can. At this point, my otherwise normal vision becomes a super power capable of spotting rust, rot, mold, or any imperfection that I might think needs bright whitening and weather proofing.

The bonus projects: In the side yard, I bought a few more years for an exterior door that had seen better days not only with a fresh coat of paint, but also with some new exterior caulking. Again, the weather rules! These weather rules about painting and caulking exterior surfaces during very hot or very cold weather are absolutely in place for very good reasons; it flaws your product and your project, or atleast it has the propensity to do so. Here's a good reference link! With that being said, if you know the product you're using, and the material you're painting take other things into consideration like are you in direct sunlight, are you under cover, or even is this an emergency situation and you don't have the option of waiting?  So pretend that I didn't have the option of waiting to re-caulk that day, it can be difficult, but easy once you have atleast one trick up your sleeve.  My preferred method is to use the smaller tubes of caulk as opposed to a gun, and I keep the tubes inside the house until I absolutely need them. My ultimate caulking took (my right index finger) is always with me, and I just bring out a WARM rag to wipe my hand off with and a cup of WARM water to dip my finger into to smooth my bead of caulk. WARM being the operative word. 

So on this beautiful Saturday morning, I repainted and re-caulked an exterior door and window in my side yard, the storm door on my front porch, and the 3 windows that makeup the bow window in the very front of my house, the the downspout at the corner right by that bow window. Which also happened to be.... right next to the rusty old gate!

   I still had plenty of paint left, and it wasn't even noon, which meant I still had plenty of hours of daylight!!  One of the things that comes along with the love of repurposing, is treasuring hunting. Or, what some people refer to as trash picking! Driving down some random street, I  found a beautiful solid stone table, with gorgeous celtic knot work and a floral pattern that I hadn't touched yet, WHITE! At the flea market at Columbus I found a tiny vintage wicker chair just my grandsons' size, WHITE! And the old green metal trellis in the front garden... looks brand new now, WHITE!

  
Rustoleum really is one of the best products ever. I should probably buy stock or get commission just on how many of their products I use, but just a quick FYI, here's a link to their website, check out
the different types of products that they make, you might be surprised. 

Nearing the end of the morning, I had one last project to tackle, which pretty much brought me full circle.  The gate section on the other side of the house. Just as rusted and ugly; and turned out just as nice, just as easily. 

 

So, after white washing just about every paintable surface in my front and side yards, I still had paint left.... 

All in all I spent about 6 hours and $67, and then another 20 minutes standing in front of my house looking at everything, smiling.
It was a day, and $67 well spent.


UPDATE: 10/29/2015 -- Since that Saturday morning in 2011, I've had to touch-up the gate's only once, and that was just in the spring of 2015, again I used Rustoleum. Everything else is still bright and beautiful! But you should see what I've done since then....

Idle hands? Not so much...

These are my hands, as they look on a typical....any day I feel like painting? Larger projects are usually saved for around 7am on the weekend; but after an especially hard day at work, sometimes you just have to come home and get dirty.

Awhile back, a friend said something about my hands looking old, which I really took to heart.  The next day I spent, probably entirely too much money, on some great hand repair cream, and got a manicure.  Aaaaahahahahahahahaha. That lasted a red hot minute, because stain and rustoleum and sanding and digging and planting really do a number on a manicure.  I did buy a few pair of gloves, which look really cute in my kitchen drawer.

But then one day, as I was scrubbing the top 12 layers of the most beautiful mission oak stain off of my hands, I thought... no, my hands don't look old.  They're hard-working, capable hands.

They have diapered and soothes crying babies (children and grandchildren!) They've held a lover, and comforted loved ones. These two hands of mine have done more than their fair share of work over the years. And while I might have a little arthritis in my right hand... they still have alot of work and life left in them.

So I put them to good use. Daily.  I haven't always put them to great use. There were too many years when I spent more than enough time wiping away my own tears, and feeling miserable.  One day, that seems like a lifetime ago, I was left alone to raise three children. Hindsight has shown me that day, was the hardest and best blessing I could have ever received.  Not only did I have the privilege of raising my, now adult, children. I was being given the opportunity to learn things, and grow a sense of inner strength and "sticktuitiveness" that I might not have otherwise found. The mommy became the man of the house.... and so began a chapter of learning in  my life that has still not found an ending.

Two of the best pieces of advice I ever received..... " learn to use what you have got, and you won't need what you have not;" and, "Katie Marie, there is always more than one way to skin a cat."

While I've neither actually skinned a cat, nor even remotely felt the need to do so.... I have become obsessively adept at achieving my desired end results, on my budget; with only these two hands of mine, and a boatload of determination.