1st day of school ...

last day of painting in the townhouse.
first day of trying to get new flooring in the townhouse.

four days away from having a new tenant ... and RENT!
four days away from cutting ties with my inner handyman self.

five days away from enjoying dinner with a friend in from Whittier!
two days away from finding out if my daughter will actually change her Florida vacation to California.

five days until my month is up for Xxxx Xxxx Xxxxxx to complete their search for my biological family.

WHY HAVEN'T I HEARD FROM THEM?

So ... what's new?  Mostly that I am hanging up my "house-flipping" overalls for good.

I am so over painting the townhouse (hey, it was on my bucket list) in ... NO A/C and no electricity. I painted in the dim light of a street light and with pouring, drenching SWEAT coming down my cheeks. The temp. in the townhouse was well over 100*, if not over 110*. Easily.  I would not be exaggerating if I said it felt like 130*. Every night I came home WET.

Am I proud of my work?  I was. Until I saw it on Sunday morning after a session of night painting the night before. Good grief. There was more paint on the ceiling than the main walls. Am I glad it's over?  Yep. Will I miss it?  Nope. Did I truly learn anything?

I learned that I don't know squat about painting.  I don't know about primers, I don't know about second coats and I don't know about flat vs. eggshell vs. gloss. Well, I do now ... but I don't know which is best. Actually I do know, now. Flat is ugly. And, of course, flat is what I used.

I didn't know that it's best to use a roller and it's definitely best to used a long stick attached to that roller. Little tiny brushes, I've learned, take longer and make your arm hurt. I also learned that you need to match the new paint to the paint already on the wall. Yeah, I didn't do that. Yeah, I learned this the hard way.

But the most important lesson I learned?  Drop cloths are worth their weight in gold. No matter how much you convince yourself you won't need one.

Oh wait.  The VERY most important lesson I learned?  Don't pour paint on the floor.

Don't ask me how I know that.