But first the background
The construction work was accomplished mumblety-mumple months ago and a fine job it was too. We kept saying we really should paint the inside...and finally, a couple of weeks back, we went so far as to purchase paint, brushes and tray, drop cloths, masking tape, and one of those handy stirring sticks. We already had latex gloves and two ladders, as well as a screwdriver and hammer for prising open and tightly sealing the paint tins' lids. Not to mention a utility knife the better to scrape splashes off windows, which did not get much use since most of the dropped paint landed on the appropriately named drop cloth. Well, except when they landed on our clothing and shoes and occasionally our heads. The paint itself was wondrous to behold: it served as both undercoat and final coat all in one go. Talk about efficiency! And so we began the task.
It turned out the twirly stirrer was supposed to be attached to a drill, which we do not possess. So we just vigorously stirred the paint by hand as if it was Yorkshire pudding batter. On reflection perhaps we were too enthusiastic, since the operation caused the first minor splashes of white to spatter the drop cloth. Never mind, we said, on with the job in hand.
What we forgot was standing on even a small amount of wet paint leaves tracks.
We soon realised that although the paint was of the one-coat persuasion, what we had not reckoned with was the roof itself correctly had the rougher side of its boards facing inwards, while the stretch of new wall had its smoother side towards us and thus was easy to paint. But when we began to paint the roof this rough side drank up paint something shocking.
It was at that point we discovered one ladder was too short to comfortably reach the roof area and the other too long to be fully erected in one corner where the floor is slightly uneven. A burst of creative thinking produced the solution: duct-taping a brush to a broom and the roller to the handle of a plunger-less plumber's friend kept in case it would be useful for something some day. As indeed it was. Those parts of the roof and beams not reachable by ladder were dealt with by standing on the increasingly paint-spattered drop cloth with our heads at awkward angles, extending stick and broom with aching arms.
And so the job was done, although taking two days rather than just one as anticipated. It really doesn't look too bad so despite a few rough patches where less paint remains on the surface of the wood than elsewhere we may not need to give it another coat after all. But just in case we've stored the remaining tin of paint, the speckled duds we wore, and the plumbers' friend's handle.
https://ericreedmysteries.blogspot.com/2020/10/jane-finnis-on-why-she-loves-short.html
MARY'S BIT or A TALE OF TWO LADDERS AND SOME WHITE PAINT
Matisse opined those who devoted themselves to painting should begin by cutting out their tongues. He was of course talking about a different type of painting than that involved in the tale I am about to relate, but being as this is Liberty Hall we shall talk of our recent job: painting the inside of the sun porch.
NECESSARY EVIL or THE BSP TICKER
The ticker is showing some signs of life this time around!
SHORT MYSTERY STORIES or THOUGHTS ON THEIR POPULARITY
Of late short mystery stories have become an attractive choice for readers because, as so many are finding in the current difficult situation, our concentration has not been of the best. Many readers are fans of this type of fiction even in better times. Among them is Jane Finnis, author of the Aurelia Marcella series, who contributed her thoughts on the topic to our blog last week. Point your clicker to
