Work & Play

What do CAMPING and PAINTING have in common ??

Well, this weekend they will certainly have A LOT in common.

DadToCherubs is taking our children camping up in the mountains for 2 1/2 days and 2 nights. Yes, all by himself ! He is taking our 6 children ages 13y, 11y, 10y, 9y, 7y, and 4y CAMPING IN THE WOODS, really ! There is much talk of surviving solely on hotdogs and s'mores, with probably other junk food thrown in as well ... oh, and eggs with bacon cooked over the campfire. They are going to hike and swim, climb to the top of the water falls, scale tall trees like moneys gone wild ... and get absolutely filthy in the process. Oh, and the younger boys have informed me that they do not intend to bathe until they get home (although I highly doubt DadToCherubs will allow this, because even though he enjoys camping, he also prefers CLEAN children atleast at bedtime - HA !). The children DO want to take their Nature Journals and sketch pencils (and nature guides to look up what they have found), and of course they HAVE to take the digital camera too. Everyone here is really excited ! (and MomToCherubs began praying the moment this idea was hatched.)

DadToCherubs and the children went last evening and bought a new tent (ON END-OF-SEASON SALE which is even better!!) which is pictured above. The tent is really cool - it has curtain room dividers, sleeps 9 comfortably, and is 7'4" tall in the center .... it will be like having a COTTAGE rather than a tent. They also have a big cooler on wheels for food storage. (YEAH !!) We already have a big water cooler for drinking water, plenty of sleeping bags and flashlights, and cooking supplies that are suitable for campfire-cooking .... just add junky clothing, hiking shoes, some ratty towels ... and toys and bikes ... and a string of exterior Christmas lights for "style" of course ... and VOILA ... a vacation that will delight each child and make memories to last a lifetime. (Plus I am adding a small first aid kit, extra soap, & extra toothpaste with toothbrushes too just in case !) Today they are going to gather firewood to take with them just in case it is difficult to find near camp, and this evening they will pack and get everything ready to load into the van (after church tomorrow).

And while all of this FUN is occuring, MomToCherubs is going to be at home, working hard for 2 1/2 days ... painting the kitchen, and painting the exterior doors. We have not painted at all in this new house, and several rooms are in much-need of a fresh coat. And since we spend a lot of time in the kitchen (and because it NEEDS a fresh coat of paint the MOST), I am going to "start" there (and DadToCherubs agreed whole-heartedly on starting there, but he HATES to paint, so it is left to me. HA !!) When the going gets tough, apparently the tough go CAMPING. (hee hee hee !) I am also going to paint 2 of the Exterior doors to this house while everyone is gone as they "were" white but are stained by a few years of "Tennessee clay" dust and dirt, plus MANY handprints and paw-prints too (orange stains that refuse to come off, no matter what we use to scrub). This way, the doors can be dry and ready-for-traffic when the family returns from their adventure. Painting the exterior doors has always been a challenge as "someone" always seems to forget which door they can / can not use ... despite WET PAINT signs and strong warnings. So .... this is much simpler .... to do the most family-challenging jobs while everyone is gone.

You ask ... why combine camping and painting ?? It's quite simple, you see .... with our big family, if the kitchen is out-of-service, our lives are literally a mess for days. And exterior doors -well, above you can read how that usually works out. So, the idea is that the family will go have a fun weekend (without Mom , so the added bonus is bonding with DAD) while kitchen can be closed completely, and while the doors do not HAVE to be used ... the kitchen will get painted from top to bottom (primer, 2 coats of paint on each wall, and trim work) .... the doors will be fresh and clean AND dried complely. This will make the Painter's life (aka Mom's life) easier because there will be no one here to "need" for anyone to eat or get a drink or be IN the kitchen during the painting process, nor will anyone need to come in / out (every 5 minutes - ha !). We have learned much over the years .... normally when the kitchen is out of service (for painting) we have to either eat out 3x per day (around $100 per day probably) OR we have to stop painting and re-assemble the kitchen to eat, and then take it all apart again to keep painting (not to mention meal prep and clean up). And we have also learned that painting doors is a job best done when no one is home except the painter to prevent smudges and smears. So this time, for the rest of the family, they will not have to avoid said room (or doors) while the paint is wet (thus avoiding a stressing, and possibly grumpy-because-overtired Momma saying "don't touch the wet paint" and "don't make a mess" and such things). HA ! What a grand idea, I know. I only wish I could take the credit ... but it was DadToCherub's Grand Plan.

Please pray for DadToCherubs and the little Cherubs as they head out "to the wilderness" (complete with a bathhouse and electric plugs - HA !) ... that they remain safe and sound, and that their time together is blessed and full of love and fun ... and snacks. HA ! And also please keep me in your prayers as I scale the tall ladder with roller and brush in hand in hopes of transforming the kitchen in record time as I soooo want to me completely finished with painting and the re-assembly of the kitchen before the family returns.

UPDATE Tuesday September 18th: The kitchen painting was completed last evening. So today I will clean up the debris and reassemble the kitchen. After painting the kitchen, I am encouraged to paint the other rooms as they will look so fresh, and will look more like "our" home as we personalize it ... but, BOY OH BOY is this a big house (it was certainly a BIG kitchen !!) so it will take a while to get it all finished. The kitchen looks so nice. Bright and clean, warm and inviting. I painted the top half a warm creamy white (almost tan) called Navajho ... and the bottom of the walls are painted a dark rich brown called Buffalo, which should be very "practical" for our large family as well as looking very nice. The colors remind me of a fresh cup of coffee, before and after the cream is added. HA ! I am very pleased with the outcome .... and am looking forward to the next project (after I get some rest - did I mention that this kitchen is GIANT ?!?!)

Oh - and the front and back doors are freshly painted and should be ready for use when the family returns this afternoon. I touched up the screen doors which are black (and needed some touching up due to general wear and tear, plus lots of scratches) ... and the front and back exterior doors were white (stained orange and brown with many dings and scratches), and now are a shiny black which looks lovely with the black screen doors. The darker colored doors should (hopefully) prove to be quite a bit more serviceable than the original white.