Painting!

As previously reported, Katarina was growing tired of the unpainted addition. To be honest, I was getting a little tired of it, too, despite the, um, loveliness of primer gray and white. So after finishing off some bits and pieces of trim, we painted. And painted. And painted. Between the rustic-V siding, the ins and outs around the windows and doors, and under the eaves, the painting goes slowly. The fact the ground around the house isn't level doesn't help much, either -- setting up a ladder takes some doing. But despite the recent heat (it sure doesn't feel like June), we've managed to get 3 sides as well as the rebuilt wall where the doors onto the deck used to be painted.

I did a little demo work around the old front door, too. I recovered as much of the 1x12 siding as I could for reuse later. And I bashed at the stone step for a while with a sledge and chisel, but I'm going to have to rent the jackhammer again to take it out.

And here's your gratuitous kitty shot, with the Rosie and Star admiring the weed-whacked and raked yard. Yes, it's fire season again, only earlier this year because we had a dry spring. I had the yard in compliance ahead of schedule because of it, but I think a lot of people have gotten more urgent reminders from all the fires we've been having in California lately. A recent one here in the Oakland hills started very near the origin of the massive Oakland Firestorm of 1991. If that wasn't enough to motivate people to clean up their property, I don't know what is. The firefighter who came around to inspect said it gets a little easier with inspections every year, but that doesn't change the fact that state-wide more and more people are living in a wildland interface, in areas prone to fire.