A Dog and Her Boys…

The coaches changed their minds and did not allow the 7th graders to attend the Browns football training camp.  Brady was quite disappointed and even called me at work on Monday to try to get me to call and talk to the coach.  I told him that since the high school football program was paying for the players to attend camp, that there was nothing I could do about it.  He would probably get to attend next year.  Calvin really liked it yesterday and they sent the kids home with a bag full of ‘stuff’. lol 

Since Brady is not going, he asked Gannon to take a walk in the orchard with him.  Of course, Sadie saw the pellet rifle and she was raring to go!  She’s a true hunting dog.  She was excitedly barking the whole way up through the yard :-)

As far as she’s concerned, they aren’t my boys…they are hers!

Some may wonder, have I finished my blue bonnet I showed the other day?  Um….no.  It still hangs on my sewing machine where I left it.  I decided that since the humidity is down and the wind wasn’t bad today, that I would work on a big piece outside this morning.  I won’t say what it is yet, but I primed it probably 2 months ago.  I thought I was going to spray it black, so I needed to take it outside.  I had to wait for a few conditions to be right first….it couldn’t be raining, it couldn’t be windy, and I definitely needed at least one of the older boys to be here to help me carry it out.  Today seemed to fit the bill.

THEN the problems started.  Somewhere along the way this morning, I decided that I was going to brush paint it tan instead of spraying it black.  I knew that I wouldn’t be able to sand it to age it (because it is made from that pressboard stuff and I already tried that with the cupboard in the dining room awhile ago…sanding peels the paint right back off), so I decided to go with a color first, and then if I don’t like it, it can always be sprayed black later.  Both boys actually carried it out for me this morning, and we set it on the front sidewalk.  I got it all prepped with newspapers under it and brought out my paint, brush, coffee, and cell phone.  I dipped the brush in the paint and went to work.  It took me about 5 seconds to realize that the paint was NOT sticking to the primer in places and was almost peeling back?  It looked like I had taken candle wax and rubbed it all over and the paint would not stick!  Well, I figured that I would just have to use several coats of paint to get it to cover.  I one-coated it and went inside to work on something else for a little bit.  Came back out to find that the birds in the trees were not happily chirping earlier, like I had thought.  They were downright mad because I was disturbing them!  They had pooped on my piece while I was in….twice.  Great.  Washed it off….put on some more paint.  Then more.  Then more.  I was getting desperate by this point because there were still stubborn spots that the darn paint would not stick to.  I kind of gave up at that point and just decided that it was going to have to have little pinpoints of white primer showing out through the tan…which I hated.  I really, really, did not want to spray it black-I was sold on the tan by this point.  Since it was the pressboard stuff, and since that name brand primer was not all that it thought it was, I figured that I’d better spray it with a clear sealer to try to keep that stupid paint from scratching right off.  I sprayed it over.  It came out splotchy.  Niiiiicccee.  Now I have a white-speckled-tan-piece with splotches all over it.  My day was just getting better and better.   I tried spraying it with the sealer again….still splotchy, but now even more splotches from the second go-round with the can.  A w e s o m e.   I walked away.  Took Calvin to weight lifting/training camp, made a few stops at some stores to pick up what I needed (which included the makings for spinach dip- I have been craving it and today was not making it any better) went to the post office (anyone expecting a package from me- it’s on it’s way!) and then home again.  Looked the piece over one last time before I was going to decide if it should go on the burn pile or not (lol) and ran my hand over it.  The finish felt good.  Just looked like crap.  I scratched at it a bit with my fingernail….it didn’t scratch off.  Really??  Last ditch effort time-I took out the paintbrush again, swiped some paint on one of the stupid peely parts….waited…and it STUCK!!!!  I bet I smiled the whole time I painted that dumb piece one last time.  Matter of fact, I think I may have been beaming!  It now looks A w e s o m e ….seriously this time.  I’m not even thinking of how I’m going to attempt to age it yet.  That’s a problem I will have to deal with another time.  I’m going to get it ready to come back inside and take it’s place of honor in my dining room.  It did not defeat me like I thought it had.  It felt really good to conquer that demon today.  Pics will be coming soon-Maybe even tomorrow.

In between putting a few of the 100 coats of paint on that thing, I hung up some flags and a sign on the porch. 

I worked on a sort of makeover while I was taking a break between painting and crying.  lol  I have to put one more coat of paint on that before I show it.  It’s kind of different- neat.  I’ll show that tomorrow for sure.

I guess that’s it for now- I’ve had no other dramas today :)  Time to do the dishes and get dinner done.  Hope you all have a pleasant evening- I know I will now!