Making a List...

My father was a hard worker...but he was not a project person. If a room was blue and it didn't need painting, why would you ever even consider painting it yellow????

Me and my Dad, circa 1963?

For the most part my dear mother was okay with this. She just learned for the most part to do things herself but every once in a while I would hear her ask my father to do something on which he would always respond, "Put it on the list."

It wasn't until I was a teen that I wondered just where the list was. Of course there wasn't one...it was my dad's way of saying...I'll get to it when I get to it.


I did not marry my father...my husband is always looking for something to do and it didn't take long for us to realize that to keep peace in the family there needed to be a real life list.

Many times before the creation of the list, I would find him working on something like polishing the car when I was hoping to have the bathroom painted before my dinner party next week. He was working hard...on something that needed done but just not done right now. Soon tempers would flare...


Now we have a list...if something is really important and needs to be done right away for some reason then I put a star beside it.


My husband now finds great satisfaction when he can cross something off the list knowing he made his wife a happy camper...


Are you a list person? Is your spouse?

My Valentine

This is Mr. Amazing as a little boy...


ISN'T HE ADORABLE!?!?!

And he is still just as adorable playing with his tools all these years later.

He is the love of my life.


Not just because he is "amazing"...which of course he is...hence the name...but because he makes me feel amazing.


Happy Valentine's Day to each and everyone of you...

Painting All the Molding

When you love molding as much as I do, someone in the house ends up getting very good at painting it. That would be Mr. Amazing in our home. Over the years he has learned a few things that I thought I would share with you.


1. Pay extra and get the more expensive brush. After years of pulling brush bristles out of his paint job he finally bought a good brush a few years ago and would never go back.

2. Use cloth drop clothes instead of those blue tarps. Drops of paint dry faster on the drop clothes and you are less likely to step in wet paint and track it through your house.


3. Always paint in good light. Since Mr.  Amazing has a day job, much of his painting gets done at night. You can see a picture of the light he uses in this post.

4. Use semi gloss on trim. Gloss is just too shiny and you won't be happy when you are done...learned this the hard way.


5. Oil base paint is more forgiving on covering up brush strokes and is more durable longer term. If you decide to go this route, please ventilate the room well.

6. If you are not the trim painter in the family make sure you "ooooh" and "aaaah" a lot...it will help you get more molding in the future.