Painted Man

I have it on very good authority (my favorite Panamanian, no less) that my work at the old house is approaching its concluding phase. We were back at the old homestead last night without Buddy this time having decided we could avoid his customary lawn decorating efforts. The task involved painting over the walls where we made repairs after the pictures came down. Did I mention there was a lot of pictures; oh, and that every single room is a different color? What my wife’s decorating acumen produced was a serial painting job where I shuttled up from the basement with the appropriate color (Lion’s Mane versus Allspice - an enduring dilemma) for the room in question, spend thirty to forty seconds painting over a couple holes and then returning to the basement to wash out the brushes before repeating eight different times. I was more than a little impressed that ten year old paint had survived long enough to still be effective.

Television Site - Before Painting

The only room that needed extensive painting was the family room where the massive wall mounted television and attendant wires left their mark. While I was doing the mad painting dance trying to preserve the now pristine floors from my inevitable spill capacity my wife rescued yet more of her beloved flowers because we can never have enough flowers, right? In a final act of lunacy she decreed we had to load up a large cement lawn statue we inherited from my mother.

And After

I was a little touched because she said it helped her feel connected to my mother and they always had a fairly testy relationship (there he goes – master of the understatement). That didn’t make it any easier to lift however. Seeing the finish line of the house clearing did that. We’ll be back to the house one last time on Saturday because some neighbors want to throw us a going away party.

A Next to Last Look at the House on the Hill

On our way to the house I first had to pass one of the hardest tests of my limited patience - a shopping experience with my wife. We learned early in our marriage that we were not meant to shop together and we rarely do - probably why the marriage has survived so long. We had to acquire a new vacuum cleaner since the new house is mostly carpeted and the old one has done admirable (three dogs and counting) service but is showing its age. My daughter and the ABFA had highly recommended a certain brand so I thought it would be easy. With my wife and shopping, nothing is easy. I dutifully found the recommended machine and was prepared to leave but you know I was mistaken. First we had to summon a sales person to demonstrate some of the features and finally the store manager so we could hook up a demonstration model for a test drive. People who know me realize how close to critical mass the final step brought me, especially when we walked out of the store with the vacuum I put my hands on two minutes after walking in.

Our New Highly Tested Vacuum

It’s been a tumultuous week and I just want life to slow down just a little to the point I don’t feel exhausted at the end of each day. Monday with the final closing on the house should help as I divest myself of one of the two residences I now sustain. While the work’s been tough the week did allow me to recognize some of the truths in my life: 1. I’m blessed with truly remarkable people around me, especially friends and family. Their extraordinary efforts over the past weekend are the only reason the move happened. 2. I must truly love my wife because I would have seriously considered homicide over some of her “requirements” (think flowers & plants) if I didn’t. 3. I have a really weird dog. Buddy somehow figured out how to lock himself in an upstairs bathroom at the old house while we were making one of our runs to the new house on Saturday. When we returned and we didn’t get his usual cacophonous welcome I thought he’d passed away only to find him safe behind closed doors in the bathroom. He’s such a lovable idiot and they say dogs take after their masters (I said it before you could think it).

The Co-Idiots