And one more thing!

I forgot the most important thing I learned while painting last week:

• When Dad has to go to the store to buy more paint and I say, "Pick up some doughnuts while you're out," he doesn't take it as a joke. And then I am grateful we live around the corner from Dunfords Bakery. Yum.

And in answer to your questions, faithful reader, Mom did not get electrocuted. She got a little sparkle of a shock. And it's Dad's house, so I hung everything in Dad's way: levelers, rulers, measuring tapes, and ONLY ONE hole per picture! When it's my house, I do things my way: eyeball, don't like, move a little this way, uneven, move a little that way, don't like, one more try, and 42 holes per picture! (When I own a home again, I have been converted to Dad's way.)

New...

If you know me at all, you know that I like moving to a new house. Why? Because after I move, everything is clean and organized. It's a good excuse to clean out the cupboards, dust behind the books on the bookshelf, and throw away every broken toy. I like moving so much, I'm afraid I will be disappointed if ever we find a house we want to make our home for life. Somehow, I don't see that happening any time soon, so I'm good for now. Anyway, I've discovered something almost as great as moving: PAINTING!!

Painting is a big pain. But, now that it's done, everything is clean and organized and fresh. When the walls were first finished, Nathan came upstairs, stood in the corner of the room, spread his arms wide out and said, "We have a new house!" Today we did the finishing touches: hanging pictures and reshelfing the books. Fun, fun, fun.

Here are some things I've learned from painting (or watching my parents paint) this last week:

• No matter how dirty and dusty outlets look, wiping them out with a damp cloth is a bad idea. Electric shock is real, Mom.
• A color-blind nephew can receive minimal mocking for accidentally painting a wall with the wrong color paint, but a color-seeing dad is not so lucky.
• Using levelers and tape measurers and planning ahead when hanging pictures takes a lot longer. But in the end, it turns out better. There are not 12 holes hiding behind each picture as I artistically "eyeball" it to the right spot. Amazing.
• It is very difficult to homeschool and do home improvement projects on the same day. But, if I plan ahead (there it is again!), it is possible.
• It's a bad idea to let Chris look too closely at the painting job. He sees smudges and unevenness and old paint peaking through everywhere. This means more paint and more work. On the other hand, if you enjoy beautiful, perfect walls and ceilings, go ahead and let him look.
• My dad has a lot of books.

Did I miss anything? Probably. I'm tired.

Speaking assignment

Bethie gave her first talk in church today. She was brave (meaning she didn't run and hide her face in my chest, which is pretty normal behavior). She spoke near the microphone...not quite into it. She used her soft little voice, no matter how many times I told her to speak loudly. She quoted her favorite scripture (yes, a 3-year-old with a favorite, memorized scripture--Psalms 82:6) and then the lyrics to her favorite song.

All of you are children of the most High.

I am a child of God and he has sent me here.
Has given me an earthly home with parents kind and dear.
Lead me, guide me, walk beside me, help me find the way.
Teach me all that I must do to live with him someday.

She's a sweet little girl and it was a sweet little talk.

Sidenote: At dinner, Nathan started singing "I am a child of God" and Beth shouted, "HEY! That's MY favorite song!"

Okay.

It's a difficult wall to photograph properly because it is part of a narrow hall. But, these are my best attempts. It looks better in real life. The first two are from the top of the stairs looking towards the back hall. The walls around the stairs are actually tan, although the photos make them look white. The second two are closer to the actual orange color (the first two make it look pumpkin-y, which is not accurate). The first is from the master bedroom, looking down the hall towards the office. The last is from the office, looking down the hall to the master bedroom. It will look much prettier when we hang all the art back up. I'm not very helpful with the painting, but I'm good at hanging up pictures! I think I'll be more helpful tomorrow because I am planning on painting tomorrow.

Signed in.

I signed into blogger so I could make some comments on other blogs. I figured that means I ought to post something here. So, here it is:

The wall is orange.

It's painting time here at the homestead. One wall is orange. The other walls are supposed to be tan, but the tan is confusingly yellow. But then in better light, it's a delightful tan. Um, let's hope it all works out in the end. The orange is quite lovely.