“Remoted – Hybrid” – Day 894 (Friday) – fantasy plan

Current porch ceiling.

The weather got hot again. There was no ambition and a lot of sitting around the house. In other words, it was a normal day off with the normal feeling of guilt for wasting another vacation day. 

While passively rooted to the couch, at least my mind was semi-active with imagining how the porch ceiling will look when finally painted. This, of course, requires prep work like choosing the color, buying paint and tarps, and researching best practices for painting a ceiling. 

There was an active planning moment when I stood in the porch and stretched my arms out to each side. There are just a few inches to spare on each side, so based on my height, I estimate the porch to be about six feet deep. The porch ceiling, like the stairwell and the two bedrooms and both sides of both their doors, is covered in wood paneling. The porch is the only paneling that is not yet painted. The fence along the front yard is as long as the house and is either 20 or 22 feet, so the project is something like 120 to 132 square feet. 

The color will be some version of Southern Haint Blue. Yes, I recognize I no longer live in the South. But I like blues. The porch walls and floor will eventually be transformed from the current burnt red color to some version of navy blue, but that is a fantasy plan for another day.

If not for needing to remove curtains and rollup shades from the 10 windows and the ceiling mounted light fixture, moving a bunch of stuff out of the way, covering furniture in tarps, and buying paint, it would already be done. It’s only been six years of deliberation, so it’s probably getting close.

This is one of those times when I really miss having a man friend or best gal pal. This partner in crime/sidekick would be the one who, at the first mention of such a project, would have us immediately in the car enroute to the purveyor of paint. No such person exists in my world, so it’s usually me trying to inspire myself to get my own butt in gear.

While headed to the backyard gate with Winston on one of his several afternoon trips, I was treated to a terrifying sight. Movement in the yard next door caught my eye, and not the cute little hop of the yard bunnies. It was a huge brown rat with a long tail, and it ran the length of the yard then disappeared. It looked like some kind of monster rat, not much smaller than the baby bunnies that were in the planter the other day. It’s a safe bet what will be starring in the next fresh crop of nightmares sure to be visited upon me. <Shudder.>