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Goodbye old paint

Whenever I embark upon a project, I envision how it's going to go long before I begin. When I actually start, it never goes exactly how I imagined. It's alway way more challenging and time consuming than I expected. Still, projects can be satisfying, especially if each little milestone toward completion is appreciated and savored.
So it is with my long overdue plan to spiff up my kitchen. It began Sunday with painting the ceiling. That has to be done before anything else. So up the ladder I climbed. The cottage here is plantation style, with horizontal slats spanning large, vertical wood beams. The wood beams are dark brown; the slats are white. A long handled roller won't do. The work must be done up close, by hand. I started with the white. The iPod was acting up a little, so my inspiration was the local classic rock radio station. Each section between beams took about two hours. I managed to finish three. Only seven sections to go....
I think I got nearly as much paint on me as I did the ceiling. That's always the case. I'm kind of a messy painter. Whenever I see video of abstract artists throwing buckets of color onto a canvas, I think I'd like to try that sometime. Given the chance, I would be a total slatherer. (You know: slatherer. As in, 'one who slathers.') I do have a pretty steady hand for edging, however, so I can be precise when I need to be. Not precise enough on this venture, however, as I actually found paint splotches on my chest and my stomach, despite wearing a long-sleeved shirt. At one point, I knocked the brush off the top of the ladder. It fell eight feet to spat on the floor below. I'm pretty sure I said, "Shit!" Yep. That's what I said. A few white specs found their way to my hair, my hat notwithstanding. They don't really matter much, since there's already a little salt going on with my pepper I've got up top these days anyway. I think of it as cheap, but slightly stiff highlighting. I must say, the kitchen is looking nicer already. Once the ceiling's finished, I'll move on to the walls. They will be tinted a light, pale yellow. The cabinets come next. After that, I'll shoot for new counter tops, tile flooring, a stove and maybe even a fridge that doesn't rust within 90 days. I expect this project to span the next year...
So last night, my right shoulder was screaming and my back felt like I had done about 150,000 reps on the seated row machine. I tried to switch off to my left hand regularly while painting, but it wasn't enough. I'm here to tell you, though, that Naproxen Sodium (Aleve) really does work.

Back up the ladder I go.

A hui hou. Aloha!

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