In which we work from Can until Can't, and get a heckuva lot done!

Mom and Dad showed up early this morning, carrying many buckets of paint, plus ladders and brushes and all kinds of wonderful things.

Dad spoke not a word, but went straight

to his work.

Yes, my mother is standing on

the refrigerator. I know. Didn't your mom always say not to stand on top of the fridge?

Mine too. I guess her

mom never said that.

Mom is

painting her way towards the Corner of Doom. SHE did not fall off the ladder in a

very spectacular fall involving stepstools, ladders, and blue paint in unmentionable places. That wasn't her.

That was somebody else...who stood up, washed the paint off, and then said, "damn, I wish we'd gotten a picture of that for the blog."

We continued with painting, having determined that no bones were broken, and only a rather undeserving dignity was bruised. Paint paint paint. Blue in the kitchen. Two shades of green in the living room and dining room, and more green for the bedroom. Yellow for the bathroom. Pretty pretty pretty. (I'll post pictures when the sun comes back up and I can see it in natural light!)

Meanwhile, elsewhere on the farm, the Menfolks were digging holes and putting up posts.

"Take a picture!" they said, so I did.

Tools. Don't you love tools? I love tools.

Strong men, standing by the new post for the new gate!

"Frankenstein bolts" on the bottom of the gate

post, to help keep it upright. An admirable goal, towards which we should all strive.

"Take more pictures!"

they said, so I did.

Here are the posts. They will practice their upright posture for a few days, and then we will add the gate!

After working, there is food: spaghetti with italian sausage. I made it using my usual recipe: "hmmm...tomatoes, mushrooms, are there any peppers? Excellent, I'll use one of those too, oooh, and that red wine with the tractor on the label, perfect! I'll just chop them all up while we're waiting for that dark green paint to dry, and simmer everything all together in the big pot for a few hours. "

Put away the paint brushes before opening the wine. Trust me on this.