Dispatches from the Shade House

Once upon a time, Trixie and I imagined that we would paint our house on our own.  We would buy the paint, lay down the drop cloth, and knock the thing out in a weekend.  What could go wrong?


We quickly noted cracks in our plan and some deficits in our house painting experience.  I also noticed my neighbor across the way, trying to paint his house in order to sell it, and it took a lot longer than a weekend.  In fact, my neighbor's DIY house painting job seemed interminable.  So, we hired an expert and they did professional work.  It was worth every penny.


An orchid shade house?  Now, that's a weekend project if I ever saw one.  Buy the paint, tape some things...  What could wrong?


Well, I've put in three long days and it's still not done.  I've faced no major setbacks, but every step has taken a little longer than I thought.  I mean, how long does it take to tape up some lattice?  (a longer time than you think...)  Also, my town is under a tornado watch until late tonight, so the painting project is going to go into Day 5 (at least).  But the end is in sight -- I need to add another coat of base color and then touch-up.


Having had a taste of comfort in the shade house, the orchids are itching to go back.  I've taken most of them inside during the painting process, but I'm keeping them away from the orchids that are staying indoors permanently during the summer (I want to prevent the spread of possible insect problems).


I've spent many hours in the last few days drenched from head-to-toe in a noxious mixture of sunscreen, mosquito repellent, and sweat.  I've had to crane my body in all manner of unergonomic positions to paint hard-to-reach corners.  During these moments, I recalled the time when Trixie and I planned to paint our house on our own.  And I laughed.