random thoughts – Day 2,292 (Wednesday) – breakfast and ideas

My sister and I (Family 1.0) celebrated Father’s Day with Dad today, which was my sister’s day off. We always assume one or both of our half-sisters (Family 2.0) have plans with him on the actual day (along with his birthday and major holidays). This might currently be an incorrect assumption, but there was a stretch of time of it being true, so there is historical precedent. 

Anyway. It was a nice morning. My sister made her famous Southern biscuits and gravy and extra breakfast sausages, I brought over a fruit salad, and there was coffee. Three hours flew by in a blink and then Dad headed his way and I came home.

Better than it was, but basic.

The weather made it a nice day for getting things done. Once the sunshine relocated to behind the trees after blasting the front of the house, the new, cute mini chain saw came out to play. Several branches of the rhododendron that were too thick for the loppers were cut and stuffed into a bin to be transported to the neighborhood yard waste area another time. It was quick work out front and then it was out to the back of the house to the oil tank enclosure armed with a sanding block, a cloth, gloves, and two cans of silver spray paint.

One can of spray paint covered about 95% of the enclosure and I was glad to have bought two. It's not perfect, but it is definitely better than it was. It is just very, very basic. Boring, even. I think it can be better.

Recoating the big tin can in silver was a good reminder that I like playing with spray paint and I wondered about taking the project a step or two further. In Lowell, I used plastic ferns, various weeds, and a foil grill tray as stencils to spray paint a green deck umbrella that had some faded stripey marks from sun exposure while closed. By the time I was done with the navy blue, red, and tan paints, the faded parts were hidden and I had an improved deck umbrella with a pattern of leaves and dots.

Previous project, new inspiration.

I may replicate the concept on the oil tank enclosure. Nobody but two neighbors, the oil delivery guy, and I will see it, but it will be fun doing it, so there is value there. There are tons of ferns in the back yard, some of which are huge, so this could be fun. 

If the oil tank enclosure turns out to be as much fun as I imagine, there is a shed at the end of the driveway that also needs some love. It’s currently a very boring white barn style with black trim and the plan has been to paint it a color close to the new siding (still to be installed, thank goodness I’m not naïve enough to be sitting here holding my breath). The new main color may just be the start of something a bit grander on the shed. Or not. We’ll see. Sometimes, one little task launches an avalanche of creativity, and sometimes the onslaught of ideas is grander than the attention span.