I'm Cooking, but in Another Way ...

 I have hardly been in the kitchen at all this week.  I've been working outdoors like crazy painting our deck with weatherproof paint.

This project was started last year with my husband painting the floors with a very textured weather-proofing material called Restore.  It looks as if he's painting concrete.  It's supposed to have a seven year guarantee against water damage.  Ok, then, beats painting or weatherproofing every three years, right?  We decided to give it a go.  Our first BIG home improvement project since we moved in.

A few weekends, and a few hundred dollars later, my husband was hardly able to get the first coat on the floor completed before we ran out of material and the weather turned bad.  He bought more material, rolled it down, and it never set.  Instead, it began to melt and run through the cracks.  We had a cold, rainy Spring last year, and only a few weeks of  'nice' weather.  It was 90 degrees by early June, with over 80% humidity.  The label on the cans said it can not be spread if humidity is over 77%.

Ok, so we waited to finish this year, and I stepped up to the plate.  I saw how long it was with just one person doing it.  I never painted outdoors, or have done much work outdoors at all.  I'm still getting used to weeding.  However, I've helped paint 10 rooms in my life, including three here in our new home, and I ENJOYED it; so, how hard could it be to help?

I must say, I am really having a blast!  Hubby's finishing the floor, I'm putting two coats on the railings and privacy wall.  It's my fifth day of painting 10-12 hours.  I'm almost done with the second coat on the outside of the railings and must put first and second coat on the other side of the wall, then I'm done.  I may almost regret it, like finishing a good book - you're so excited about completing it, but when it's almost done, you had so much fun during the process, you hate to end it.  I love being outdoors all day with just one thing to focus on - paint.  My husband has suggested that I crank some tunes, as I love to do that when I'm cooking.

Nope.  I've been too engrossed with hearing the bird songs.  I've been elated at discovering the different sounds I hear throughout the day.  They have different songs at sunrise than they do at noon.  Have I not had an excuse to be outside daybreak to sunset the past 5 days, I may never have noticed.

Though some like redwood (and I do in some settings), we were never impressed with the color and the job the owners did before us.  It was uneven and peeling when we first moved in.  Plus, the floor of the deck got very hot with the darker color.  Most importantly, it just wasn't 'us.'

This granite color is definitely more 'us.'  We love that it's brighter and makes the deck look larger.  We love how darker gray shadows move along with the sun on our deck as if they were color coordinated.  And, last year when it was scorching hot, the part of the floor my husband did stayed much cooler under bare feet.

The kitchen has been closed since I've been Ace Painter.  With both of us working on it the past weekend, it was a great excuse to load up at our favorite all-you-can-eat Chinese/Japanese buffet and indulge in big breakfasts at our favorite local diner.  During this week, Hubby has been picking up burritos and pizzas for munching between brush strokes.

I do hope to get cooking again soon as well as highlight some of my favorite food festivals coming up - especially my favorite Greek Fest  this coming weekend.