What I did this weekend

The gutter was full of debris, and DH did NOT want to climb on the ladder. It was so full of crud that now we had dampness in the basement. OMGosh, what next! I promised DH that when I came home from work I would climb the ladder if he held it. But the rest of the morning I was praying REALLY HARD that some miracle would occur and I wouldn't have to climb.

My prayers were answered! That morning, DH called the Retired Senior Services and they found us a helper named John, who came immediately, and scampered up that ladder and cleaned out the gutter. He asked for $20.00. I would have happily paid him MUCH MORE if he had asked! We lined him up for the next job, painting the DECK!

I have never shown anyone our deck because for the past 2 years it looks so bad, we don't even sit outside any more. The fix required 1) power wash; 2) primer, 3) paint. (It really needs to be totally replaced, but ... remember the stock market thing!) And even when 'fixed' it's nothing to write home about!

The first power washer didn't touch the old paint, so we dragged it back to the hardware store, and ordered a heavier power washer which was more successful. Here's what part of the deck looks like after the power washing - lovely, huh?? -- flakes/chunks of paint everywhere, and we can't possibly get off all the loose paint due to that ridiculous deck/rail design, and years of old paint. And look how one has to paint that awful rail!!! I can barely squeeze a paintbrush in there! More scraping - Ugh! I did my part with the scraping, but John did most of the work.

OK, Elaine, buy 3 gallons of primer, 3 gallons of paint, various rollers and pans (I'm thinking how many yards of fabric would this be), and we're set to GO! John and I painted 3 hours Saturday afternoon and managed to prime about half the project. No painting Sunday (thank goodness as I will not be able to MOVE in the morning!). Yes, that's me, now needing to sit down and paint!, under my treasured Dad's paint hat and wearing dark after-cataract-surgery sunglasses I found somewhere. The primer is so bright it really CAN hurt eyes. (Lesson - Last time we did this job, I went to hospital thinking I had paint IN my eye, but no, just too much glare from the paint.)
John was a great worker and I'm definitely appreciating his assistance. After 3 hours, I was drained and couldn't work any longer. Monday, we'll start again.