I wrote this to my three sons in 2001 and it still makes me laugh.

 

I am alone at home. My family is in New Jersey and I’m here. My goal was to build some shelving (2- 4foot shelves in my bathroom and a 12 foot one in my bedroom) and paint them, and paint the bedroom and the bathroom and our closet before they all come back on Friday evening. I figured I’d be through by Sunday evening.

The building mostly took place before they left. These are decorative units, not standard shelving. So, they took some more time. Plus, I wanted to paint them in enamel paint, so I had to do enamel primer and two coats of enamel paint, which stops me from painting around them with wall paint as all this stuff needs to dry. I am also dying from the smell of the varsol etc. I also needed to shellac the knots first, so they wouldn’t bleed.

Then, I had to paint the walls a beautiful green we picked out over 3 weeks. We also have a beautiful blue (ticking) for the bathroom and closet. I forgot I had to move furniture by myself, and I needed a place to put everything. This is not easy. Also, the old paint is flat, and probably cheap, so it’s soaking in the new satin finish stuff quickly. I hope I can do this in two coats.

So far, after two whole days when I didn’t work, I’ve done the shelves (don’t forget I’ve got to do the moldings too) and 2 ½ walls with one coat. This is only the bedroom. I’m not going to be done when they arrive. I hope I’ll finish the bedroom. That’s my new goal.

The shelving, that’s for my decoy collection. Our bedroom is going to look like a hunter’s paradise. I’ve also added the game boards, and we’re going for a folk kind of thing.

I believe that at another point in my life I would have been finished by now but I don’t fold up too well any more. And working on my knees should be reserved for more hedonist pursuits.

Dad