More of the Same

This will be short as we did today what we did yesterday: paint.  I talked to one of the other SOWERs who has been on quite a few more projects than us and he has been on projects that involved painting for the entire three weeks.  While painting is not my favorite activity, it is something that needs to be done, so we will paint, for three weeks, if necessary.

Back in the Lake House, we got a coat of primer done in the laundry room but were surprised when the paint appeared to bubble up and pull away, resulting in a very speckled look.  The walls had all been washed before doing this so we let the primer dry and will sand those areas before applying another coat of primer.  Kilz Primer sticks to just about anything so we’re a bit mystified what is happening there.

After a weekend of significant activity here at the horse barn, the last two days have been eerily quiet.  Aside from a couple horses grazing in the pastures to our west, nothing moves.  Nice for sleeping, however.  

In contrast to the horse barn, the tobacco factory just across the street behind us is in full swing.  Cars stream in at 7am and out at 4pm.  One of our companions commented that tobacco can have a pleasant smell up until the point where it is burned.  Then it’s just nasty.

So we’re sandwiched between an equine farm and a tobacco factory.  Can be quite the olfactory experience.

Sometimes the real fun is not happening here, it’s happening at home.  Zhen texted me this morning and I had to fumble with the phone while juggling a wet paint brush, a small paint pail, and I was standing on a bucket to reach the ceiling.

I called him when I was able to put down the paint-coated stuff safely.  He saw the squirrel in the small bathroom and closed the door, hoping to trap it in there.  But it wiggled out through the gap under the door and disappeared.  We were talking about getting animal control in when he spotted it again, in the family room.

I told him to close the door and put a towel under the door.  Zhen asked if he could bring his cat in to help out.  This was the one rare time when we allowed a cat in the house.  The cat would be helpful in getting the squirrel out of small spaces.

The family room has a door to the porch and the porch has a door to the outside.  By opening these doors and chasing the squirrel around, Zhen was able to get the squirrel out of the house.

This is one instance where it’s nice to have someone in the house when you’re gone for extended periods of time.  You never know when a squirrel will find its way into your house.  Think of what damage it could do when trapped in the house for six weeks.  Uggh.

OK, maybe it didn’t turn out so short after all.