When we were chatting with Dick and Carol at our closing appointment, I mentioned how excited I was about having ponds. The water features in the backyard were a big draw when we first saw the listing in December.
“There are goldfish in there,” Carol said. “Assuming they survived the winter.”
Well, guess what? After a run of warm days, including two back-to-back 50º days this weekend, the ice on the ponds melted. And, lo and behold…
I counted at least 18 goldfish in there. There were two floaters, but I’m still amazed that any of these guys survived being trapped beneath ice for a couple of months, let alone a dozen and a half. I knew goldfish were hardy, but damn.
By the way, I ordered a book called Garden Ponds, Fountains, & Waterfalls for Your Home. I’m going to do my very best to ensure our water features are well maintained.
So, that’s exciting. As was this sunset on Friday evening.
You might think that’s no big deal, but I’m telling you, I have really missed seeing sunsets since moving here. We used to have the most fantastic ones in Rapid City; the sun sinking beneath the Black Hills painted the sky in stunning colors time and time again. It’s not that there aren’t brilliant sunsets in Wisconsin, apparently – though I was beginning to wonder – it’s just that, living in in a subterranean apartment, we never get to see them. Even if I were to gaze up and out our south-facing window, craning my neck to the west, all I’d see were parking garages and a stand of tall trees behind them. When I noticed the sky on Friday evening while painting, I dropped everything and dashed outside.
Don’t ever take sunsets for granted. I know I won’t.
After my last post about painting, I spent the next two and a half days doing nothing but painting. When I walked into Ace Hardware on Friday afternoon, the cashier greeted me and said, “Are you back for more paint?”
Apparently, after stopping in for paint three days in a row, they recognized me by sight. Plus, small town.
My next project was the master bedroom. We decided on a shade of grayish-blue that Clark+Kensington rather uninspiredly calls Waterline. I was hoping for Blueberry Pie or Dolphin Tail or Malibu Coast, but no such luck. Regardless, it’s a really nice color. Tara and I are thrilled with how the bedroom turned out.
All told, I spent about eight hours working on that room Friday and Saturday. Two coats of paint on the ceilings and two coats on the walls, I even painted the walls and ceiling of the three closets in that bedroom (two standard, one walk-in). We are definitely not lacking in closet space.
Next up was the basement. I was able to throw two coats of white paint on the ceiling Friday, but we have had a hell of a time trying to figure out a color down there. Here’s our wall of rejects.
I initially wanted some kind of brick red, but it just wasn’t working out, so we pivoted in the complete opposite direction and decided to go with a sage green. Tara found a shade that looked good online, so I bought three gallons’ worth from Ace – screw the samples this time, we were pretty sure it would work – but when I started putting it on the walls today, I quit after just a few strokes. It was way too bright; more like an electric lime green. I immediately called my wife, who was at Home Depot.
“Abort, abort!” I shouted (I tend to be overdramatic). “This green isn’t nearly as sage-y as we’d hoped!”
Tara ended up buying two gallons of what we prayed would be closer to the shade we were envisioning, and it is – though I don’t think she’s 100% satisfied. But at this point, screw it. We’ve already wasted over $100 on lime green paint (it’s called Play Ball) and have in general been buying more paint than we need, so love it or not, we’re all in. I only got one coat finished today, so pics will follow when it’s complete.
After painting nonstop for what feels like eons, we decided to give ourselves a break last night. A “break” meant Tavern on the Rock, a local pub we stumbled into our first night here, for cocktails and appetizers and even a couple of shots. It was a much-deserved and fun evening.
Lest you think I’m doing all the work, that’s not the case at all. Tara is painting the living room and dining room, but my work schedule is such that I have a lot more freedom and flexibility (ergo, time) to put in. Plus, she was out shopping for house supplies this morning.
Regardless, we are making such good progress, we decided to push up our move-in date by a week. We’ve got a(nother) U-Haul booked for next Saturday, along with two movers for three hours. Since our flooring won’t be installed until mid-April – two weeks after our apartment lease expires – the only thing keeping us from moving in full-time is the painting, and at this rate, that will be done by the end of the week. We’re both very anxious to ditch the apartment since we’ve been spending most of our time at the house anyway. I think stepping out onto our deck yesterday morning and gazing out over our kingdom sealed the deal.
We’re getting there, guys. Six more days!
Mark My Words 
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