Painting for My Birthday – Pintando el día de mi cumpleaños
Last week I posted this picture on Facebook and asked people what they thought was going on. Several people thought that I had bought a new rug, including Douglas, who expressed his incredulity from the road. In fact, I had moved all of the furniture out of the dining room in order to paint that room.
La semana pasada puse esta foto en Facebook y les pedí a la gente que pensaba que hacía yo. Varias personas pensaban que había comprado una alfombra nueva, incluso Douglas quien expresó su incredulidad del otro lado del país. De hecho, yo había quitado todo del comedor para poder pintar ese cuarto.
First, there was a lot of prep work. Things like the curtain rod that has been hanging for several years. It drives me crazy but not enough to actually fix it apparently.
Antes de empezar a pintar, tenía que preparar todo. Cosas como las cortinas que llevaban años al punto de caer. Me molesta muchisísimo, pero no tanto como para arreglarlo aparentemente.
There was also a lot of puttying to do. The trim was a mess. This is honestly what has kept me from painting the trim years ago. I hate all the prep work!!!!!
También, tenía que llenar todos los huequitos y espacios entre las molduras y las paredes y el techo. Las molduras están en muy mala condición. Es lo que me ha impedido empezar este proyecto antes. ¡Odio preparar antes de pintar!
I also had to let go of the idea of perfection. All of the trim is piecemeal and was not installed well to begin with. Most people would tear it all out and replace it. I think that is a lot of waste of money and resources, creating more landfill, so I will patch and live with the imperfections. They are only noticeable up close anyway, and I don’t think that many people study my trim.
Además, tenía que dejar de intentar hacer todo perfectamente. Las molduras son viejas y no se instalaron bien desde el principio. Mucha gente las sacaría para poner unas nuevas, pero eso me parece ser un desperdicio de recursos y dinero, y crearía más basura en el vertedero. Así que decidí remendarlas como podía y vivir con las imperfecciones. Solo se ven de muy de cerca y nadie estudia mis molduras tan detalladamente de todos modos.
Most of the prep work occurred before I left for the weekend. The painting happened on Monday and Tuesday, which was my birthday. Yes, I spent my birthday all by myself, painting. I’m pathetic. At least I had the inspectors to keep me company and about a thousand messages from friends and family around the world.
Acabé con la mayoría de las preparaciones antes de irme de viaje el fin de semana pasada. Pinté el lunes y el martes, que era mi cumpleaños. Sí, pasé mi cumpleaños sola, pintando el comedor. Soy patética. Al menos tenía los inspectores para acompañarme y miles de mensajes de familiares y amigos de todo el mundo.
Yesterday, my mom and a good friend came over to help me celebrate a day late. I had planned to cook, but I was too tired after cleaning up enough to put the table back in the dining room and get the kitchen in a state that anyone would want to eat in my house. So, I ordered a pizza, but they didn’t complain. It was so sweet of them to come over.
Ayer, mi mamá y una buena amiga vivieron para ayudarme a celebrar un día tarde. Había planeado cocinar, pero estaba muy cansada después de limpiar el comedor lo suficiente para poner la mesa de nuevo y la cocina lo suficiente para que ellas quisieran comer en mi casa. Compré una pizza y no se quejaron. Era muy amable de ellas venir para pasar tiempo conmigo.
Today, I need to finish painting the dining room, but I am terribly unmotivated. I am thinking that it could stay like this for a few more months, right? The flowers are from Douglas and the cake plate is full of delicious chocolate cupcakes from my mother. Maybe, I will just sit here and smell the flowers and eat cupcakes. Don’t judge me, please!
Hoy necesito terminar de pintar el comedor, pero me falta la motivación de hacerlo. Estoy pensando que estaría bien dejarlo así por unos meses, ¿no? Las flores son de Douglas y contenedor de vidrio está lleno de tortitas que me hizo mi mamá. A lo mejor, me quedaré aquí oliendo las flores y comiendo tortitas. ¡No me juzgues, por favor!
Happy Homemaking!
¡Espero que todos tus sueños caseros se cumplan!
I am a teacher, traveler, artist, writer, homemaker and a whole lot more. In January 2009, I bought the Cape of Dreams. It was the second house that I had ever owned, but it was the first that I bought by myself. I now live in the house with my husband Douglas, our dog Kahlua, and Crème de Menthe, the cat. Because, what life is complete without a little Kahlua and Cream? I love arts and crafts of all kinds, and I refinish furniture as well. We are slowly redoing our entire house. You can read about my projects on my blog www.CapeofDreams.com
Oh, happy belated birthday! Painting might not sound like a fun way to celebrate but if it releases a burden that’s been weighing you down, it’s a good way to begin the next year. Sometimes I take a day to just go around and do all those little jobs that probably won’t take long but seem so hard to get to. It ends up being a good investment of a little time to unburden those monkeys on my back.
You have the right idea. I should take more time to do those little tasks. I like to give them the evil side eye for years instead, but that method is not very effective in getting them done.
Happy birthday, Jessica! We are both July babies. I hate the prep work, too. I just want to see the color flow on. It’s going to be beautiful when you’re done! You’re lucky to have a summer vacation to get some stuff done. Weekends are not enough!
I thought of you on your birthday, but I forgot to send an email. Happy Birthday… a little late. Don’t worry about summer vacation. Soon you will be retired and have more time than I!!!!
You’ve done all the hard work with only the satisfying step remaining. You can get the dining room done in a flash then smell the flowers, eat the goodies, and admire your persistence and endurance not to mention the newly beautiful dining room. JO @ Let’s Face the Music
It’s true. Work first; cupcakes second.
i vote for cupcakes & flowers! and then more cupcakes and more smelling flowers 🙂 good for you for starting a big project, though, especially one you are doing without help. it’s a lot of work! and happy birthday again. i’m glad the inspectors were there to keep you company 🙂
What would I do without Kahlua and the inspectors? They were a big help. I have proof that they were painting because they have paint on their fur.
LOL!
Oh, I’m not judging, I know how hard it is to do the prep work… I may have begun painting the landing a few days ago… And haven’t mustered the energy to do the second coat yet! The paint you chose seems lovely.
Painting would be so much more fun if you really could cover everything in one coat. My motivation often runs out before I get to the second.
I have no idea why my little picture isn’t showing up next to my comments… ugh