Monday, October 3, 2011

Little Pink Porches

Happy Monday readers.  I have to admit, I am more than a bit sore today. 

"Why?" you may ask.  "Have you been working out more?  Maybe riding your bike to work again?".  Well, no on both accounts, but thanks for asking (you're so good about that).  Actually, I am sore today because I spent the weekend busily engaged in an activity I had absolutely no business doing the first weekend in October.

That's right, I was painting.

The temperature here in Seattle barely cracked 60F over the weekend, with the constant threat of rain.  But hey, my deck and porch REALLY need to be painted before the Fall rains come in earnest leaving everything around the Pacific Northwest waterlogged until next July.  So I carefully followed the local weather forecast and decided I had a Sunday window with which I could squeeze in most of the job.

Now the reason I needed to squeeze the job in because, of course, when August and September came and the weather was actually prime around here for outdoor painting, I was much too busy enjoying the sunshine and moderate temperatures with Mrs. LIAYF and Lukas to bother myself with such annoyances.

But, unfortunately, when Fall comes here in Seattle, it can come on fast.  And before you know it, it's October, temperatures are barely reaching 60 degrees, and raindrops dominate the 7 Day Forecast.

So, I prepped the areas all day Saturday, doing quite a bit of scrapping, sanding, and cleaning.  Then, on Sunday the weather was cloudy but dry with a few sun breaks.  The rain was due later that night, but I figured I had enough time to get at least a primer coat on everything and maybe a coat of paint on the porch. 

Our house is dark orange in color, so when I had the primer tinted it turned out to be a lovely shade of pink.  I tried to tell myself it was 'Salmon', but honestly it was pink.  I spent all the late morning and early afternoon putting that coat down.  Then after a late lunch I made the call that I had enough time to get a coat of orange on the porch.  Maybe.

I really should have stopped there, but my painting inertia had kicked in.  It was about 4PM when I was finishing the last of the coat of paint.  And when I felt the first drip of rain drop onto the top of my nose.

I frantically finished the last of the surfaces and held out hope that the skies would clear for a couple more hours at least while the paint mostly dried.   And, thankfully that one drip was a fluke.  A temporary fluke, but a fluke nonetheless.   I cleaned up and Mrs. LIAYF, Lukas, and I walked up to a local food fair that was going on.  About an hour later the skies opened up, and an onslaught of rain poured forth.  I had thrown caution to the wind, and the wind had thrown it right back at me (along with a river of water.)

After the rain let up a bit and we had finished eating we walked back to our house.  All the way I was grimacing at the thought of what I might find there. I knew the paint wasn't dry, but how bad was it going to be?

It turned out to be about as bad as I imagined it would be.  There were a LOT of pink streaks from the primer coat showing through.  In fact, I'm pretty sure there hasn't been streaking that ugly since they filmed 'Old School'.  But on the bright side, the higher up the steps I looked (where I began) the better it was.  Plus, the rain actually washed away all the orange puddles and it looks like I might get another dryish day this coming weekend so I can finish up.

Until then though, my pink streaked porch is on display for all the neighbors to see. 

Yes, I should have done this job a month ago while I was enjoying my summer with my family instead.  But life is short, and so is childhood, so I guess I'm okay with painting in the rain every so often.

**So many of you are calling for a picture that I decided to relent.  It was darkish when I left home this morning, and I caught this blurry image with my cheap phone camera.  Your welcome.


12 comments:

Unknown said...

Maybe had we had a little more normal summer you wouldn't have had to cherish the few sunny days we had! I am very jealous of people that can just plan a BBQ, outdoor work, or whatever without even thinking twice! BUT I do love our beautiful state! Good luck this weekend!

Mrs. M said...

You gotta do what you gotta do. I think the neighbors can handle it. But I am totally curious and wish you would show us a picture!

James (SeattleDad) said...

@Motherhood Truth -Yes, the nice stretch was so short lived, it was too tempting to spend it having fun. I love it too! Thanks for stopping by.

@Teri - Just think of it as a pink and orange tye dye pattern. It is really kind of interesting. I actually told Mrs. LIAYF that maybe we should leave it that way. She vetoed that right away though.

Phatty Daddy said...

Pictures or it didn't happen!

momnextdoor said...

Pictures! I need pictures!

Kevin said...

I was really looking forward to a picture. Oh well.

I completely understand putting off chores like that and wanting to spend time with your family as a family. We do the same thing here sometimes. Then we have to scramble to get things done before the next wave in life comes along.

Bruce Sallan (@BruceSallan) said...

Got some work over here for ya!

Gary@Leather Baby Shoes said...

I have the same job that needs doing myself. I've been putting it off all summer!

Slamdunk said...

Good that you are rolling with the punches on this one. I would be whining and grumpy for all the world to see.

Diplo_Daddy said...

Hey, that looks pretty darn good to me. Heck, you need only do a few touch-ups and it’ll look like a professional did it.

My wife’s been hounding me for a least a month now, to paint the scrapped edges of our bedroom door. Are you busy next weekend? I can almost guarantee you the weather will be splendid.

DGB said...

That'll teach you to prioritize your family over chores!

porches said...

Sometimes when you put off those jobs you've been meaning to do is a good thing.
And you've done a good job there.
Old School streaking eh! Do you think KFC will still be open? lol