Actually, blame has a negative connotation, however, in this instance, the better word would be not blame, but inspiration. In spite of having Discovery+ which allows us to watch HGTV shows without commercials, rarely do I watch it, mostly because there's only so much time in a day! That said, recently I did some binge watching of my favorite HGTV show, Home Town. While some television makeover designers have no affinity for color, Erin Napier is one of the few who embraces not just color, but whimsy along with sentimentality. In other words, her style is right up my alley.
So it was that while watching the show, I thought to myself, "self, it's time to do some decorating" now that both of us are in better spirits and shape. As has been documented before, when we bought this place we were in a hurry to get things done before the big move to Vancouver. Three years later, the room that we call the sunroom looked the same as when we bought the place. Over these years we've discussed many ideas about how to make it more like a room and less like a porch, but none of them took root. In the end, we turned to the easiest solution to any decorating dilemma, new paint that is happening as I type. As a refresher, here's what it looked like yesterday morning.
Following some discussion about accent wall versus whole room paint, Bruce began preparing the room.
During my binge session I decided rather than introduce something entirely new, why not use the accent wall color from the dining room? Bruce got the paint can down and did a little sample for me to hold up in the room.
Because most of the room is actually sliding glass doors and other glass, Bruce figured we had enough to get this project going. While we may have had enough paint, a trip to Ace Hardware was needed to purchase tape because, unfortunately for Bruce, there is a lot of taping required.
Making matters more difficult is the texture of the wall and joints, along with the quality of the previous painting job which left paint on the window frames and extremely uneven painting lines. Here's where the famous Bruce Peck patience comes into play. Then again, there's the added difficulty of 10" ceilings. Another trip, this time to Lowes for caulk to prep the areas that were so uneven. That part is hard to describe, but it turned out to be the best solution.
Note the corner is unpainted as yet because it waiting for the caulk treatment. Pretty bold, right? The above was taken in the late afternoon when the sun is in the West. This morning, on the other hand, the sunrise highlighted the warm nature of this color which is Sherwin Williams Sun Bleached Ochre. The effect I am going for is some warmth and coziness. Here's hoping that can be achieved.
Out of the blue last evening, a massive rainstorm dumped a little more than two inches of rain in about twenty minutes, soaking everything and leaving much humidity in its wake, thus the sliding doors covered in condensation until the morning sun burns it off. Speaking of the weather, on September 1, while not cool in the morning, it was maybe less hot? Having spent a lot more time indoors than is typical, maybe I'm mistaken but to date it seems as if the summer has been less horrible than normal? That said, sometimes September is the worst month of all in part because we are just so sick of being hot!
As you look at the photo above, when I say the owls are very close I really mean it. Only once this week did I find the two of them in the trees, just to the right of what is pictured.
More rare than seeing owls is seeing Ospreys on our lake, leaving me surprised to find this one in the shadows.
Just as I was moving around trying to get better lighting, this happened. Not a great shot, but still pretty fun watching it snag a fish out of the water.
One morning I went for another walk at the small park I told you about before.
While small it is quite pretty with pretty much wide open sidewalks for walking.
It won't be long before the annual bird migration begins, the most exciting time of the year for birders. Aside from the Coopers Hawk I saw, mostly the usual subjects can be found--ibises, herons, Muscovy ducks, and in this park, Peking ducks.
In addition to what I could see, it was what I couldn't that was really amazing.
Cicadas, or so I think, were both invisible and incredibly loud! While walking along this bridge the sound was overwhelming coming from all sides.
Hasn't this post been refreshing with no talk of our health issues? Bruce is feeling fine and back to playing pickleball three times already this week. I am steadily improving, maybe not as fast as I would prefer but I am finally accepting that it takes much longer than I ever imagined. One persistent problem is some nerve issue in my hand whereby there is a funny tingling sensation all of the time. It may just be a coincidence but while on a longer drive with Bruce behind the wheel, I squeezed this spongy ball over and over and this morning it seems like my hand feels a little more normal.
Wouldn't that be something if it works long term?
Here I go again, can't keep my thoughts to myself!
Not my best effort but here it is anyway. During my walk in Demetree Park I received a text from a friend who told me that a couple we know are in hospital, one in ICU and one in PCU. You guessed it, not vaccinated. While we are hearing about break-through infections in vaccinated people, we are not reading about them being in intensive care. Have you read about the oxygen shortage? Imagine our surprise when we received a mailer from Orlando Utilities asking us to conserve water. Not because there is a water shortage but because there is a shortage of liquid oxygen which they use in the water treatment process! Can you think of anything that has not been impacted due to the pandemic? This is just maddening!
Because Bruce is still painting, the room remains underway. Turn to Camera Crazy again soon where you never know what you will find. Oh wait, yes you do.
your friend,
Gail
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