Paint Job

One of my house projects has been to paint the front deck white to match the trim of the house. I painted the first coat and then for various reasons, including weather, lack of time and procrastination, I didn't get the second coat done until yesterday. I did all the railings first and then painted the flooring backwards, effectively painting myself into the house. To do that the front door had to be open and I was fielding a long distance phone call, and trying to prevent two cats, Weasley and Ceilidh, from getting out, something which they have become obsessed with since getting out about a week ago.

While talking on the phone, painting and easing myself into the front door, Ceilidh hopped onto the deck and I snatched her up but too late. White cat paws found themselves tossed back into the house and I painted over her foot steps on the fresh deck.

A few minutes later Weasely decided he'd take his chance and leaped over my shoulder onto the still wet floor of the deck. I leaped up with a "NO!" and, cringing at my now ruined socks, I ran across the wet deck after him. He shot under the truck and had a moment to relish his freedom while I dithered about what to do. My friend on the phone was getting a play by play of what I was doing.

Including, but not limited to, spotting Leeloo trying to make a break for it out of the house as well. On the wet deck floor. I yelled at her and she shot back into the house taking her great white wet feet back inside to track onto my hardwood. I stomped back to the door, shut it and then, still on the phone, reached under the truck, grabbed Weasley by his tail, dragged him out, tossed him over my shoulder and walking back across my wet deck again opened the door and threw him inside.

I surveyed the damage. Not too bad. when it stops raining I'll have to touch up the deck a bit but at first glance nothing looks out of the ordinary. A closer inspection might reveal the socked footprints over lapping the cat paw prints on my front walk way but with all the rain I'm hopeful it will wear away a little. Seriously - as IF Leeloo needed more white on her feet.

So what exactly ARE the lessons to be learned here? Well, lesson one is that if you are going to paint your front deck on a Saturday afternoon and you have three cats who recently got a taste of the great outdoors ... shut them in a room while you paint yourself back into the house. Lesson two is don't procrastinate. As for long distance phone calls from Scotland from your very pregnant best friend ... well, things like that always take priority.