Home stretch

Today I learned that scraping, sanding, and painting while standing on a ladder is a lot different from scraping, sanding, and painting while standing on the ground. It also takes a lot longer. For an added challenge, painting around a window while standing on a ladder creates the very real possibility that you and/or the ladder will go through the window.

I got one wall completely finished today. And by "completely finished" I mean "painted white." Sure, it could probably use a second coat, And I need to paint the inside edge of the window recesses, and I need to paint the window frames and sills a shade of green that closely matches the faded paint that is flaking off the window, but those are all things I'll save for later.

The bumblebees are back, so we can all stop worrying about them. Today they seemed more curious than threatening, though I'm not sure what the "curiosity" function is for a bumblebee for things that are not flowers and may be enemies. Tomorrow I'll try to get an earlier start and try to do the "easy" wall, which is unbroken by windows or doors - just two boards and a strip of molding that need painting. Bumblebees permitting, I'll also take a stab at the "door" wall - maybe I should just paint the door first thing regardless, so it will be dry when I close up for the day.

I'm nearly done with the concrete, which means that I've bought and/or used nearly every concrete product made by Quikrete. These include:

- Mortar mix
- Concrete adhesive (for helping concrete bond to existing concrete)
- Concrete mix
- Sand mix (for thin-layer topping and evening out of uneven spots)
- Acrylic bonding agent (for Sand mix under 1" in thickness)
- Vinyl patch (same idea as the Sand mix with Acrylic bonding agent)
- Concrete resurfacing mix (a very expensive product that I probably won't end up using)

So far I've used the first three products. Tomorrow I will probably use the next two, and possibly the Vinyl patch as well. I'll need to keep track of what I used where so I can judge how well each item holds up.

While taking breaks from the garage-painting I also strung wire across the places where the grapevine boards had collapsed or been removed and pruned out all the dead wood from the grapevines. The grapes have had 100% crop losses for the past ten years or so due to a condition that makes the grapes turn bronze before they even begin to ripen and then shrivel up into dry black raisins on the vine. This is something I've meant to try to rectify with some stuff called Bordeaux Mixture. Unfortunately, this mixture is very toxic and must be washed off the grapes before they can be eaten. Until last year there were tenants living on the other side of the house, and I didn't want to risk any liability, especially since I didn't yet own the house. Still, even now I'm having qualms about using the mixture to fight this condition. Maybe we'll let things go one more season.

Yesterday I ordered two dwarf cherry trees, five blueberry bushes, and two red grapevines. They should arrive within a week or so, delivered to my new house, and then it will be time to get planting. By then I should have all the insurance company-mandated repairs done to the house, and I will be able to start focusing on making this house a home!