Day 81, Year 7: Painting Day
Date: Saturday, January 28, 2012
Weather: Back to Sunshine with High in the 40’s
Location: Brewer Fiddler’s Cove Marina, N Falmouth, MA

It was a good day. Everything took longer than anticipated, but that’s
always the case. By the time we got to Heather and Jed’s, they had moved
all the furniture in their bedroom to the middle of the floor and were ready
for us to get the walls prepped for painting. They had to leave to go to a
birthday party for one of Sam’s classmates and by the time they got back, I
had cleaned the woodwork in the room, Mark had taped the down plastic drop
cloths to protect the floor, and I was halfway finished washing the walls
down. We all took a lunch break and then I finished washing the walls while
everyone took a nap. I’m just not a daytime nap person, so I worked folding
laundry and making sure everything was ready to go when Sam and Jonah got
up. Sam made us promise not to start painting without him and he was
actually very good at using the paint roller. Jonah liked sliding his
roller sideways through the wet paint, so we were all relieved when he
decided he’d rather go play. I ended up playing with Sam and Jonah while
Heather, Jed, and Mark did the actual painting. The no VOC (volatile
organic compounds), no odor paints are amazing. There really is no odor at
all. How things have changed since the last time I did a home painting job.
The no VOC paints are safe for pregnant women and safe for babies, so
Heather was able to paint. She is the best edger in the group, so we were
glad she was on the painting team. We’ll return tomorrow morning, do the
second coat of paint, and then start moving furniture. Sam, Jonah, and the
new baby will occupy the newly painted room while Heather and Jed will move
into the room that has been Sam and Jonah’s. The newly painted room is
larger and can accommodate all three boys, so that is the reason for this
project.

Other than the paint project, the other notable thing about today was that
the daffodil shoots in Heather’s front gardens are suddenly three inches
tall. We could still end up with a cold February, but to date we have only
had one period of really freezing weather and one good snow storm.
Otherwise, the weather has been extremely mild. Last winter here was very
cold and snowy, so both Mark and I are glad that we chose this winter to
return home.

120128 Day 81, Cape Cod, USA–Painting Day