Small milestones

My dad was a good carpenter, extraordinary Mr. Fixit, roofer, mechanic etc.

I am now wondering how I grew up with him and never insisted that he teach me these skills. Maybe some of them can't be taught. He could figure out how to fix Mrs. Smith's sewing machine and how to get Mr. Jones's lawnmower started. He had the touch.

We did wallpaper our living room together when I was in high school and I remember that time very fondly. Since then I have done papering with some success (and some failure!). But I have always been passionate about color so painting has been important to me. (Dad was, of course, also a good painter.)

In my last house I practiced painting with a good brush that allows you to move along edges without the annoyance of blue or green tape. You just need to get a good stubby beveled brush, such as ones made by Wooster or Purdy. These brushes fit nicely into your hand and you can then feather the paint, in a floating motion, up against the ceiling, trim, and door edges.

I have worked on this skill. In our new house in Topeka, I have just completed painting the walls of Bedroom # 1. I can't believe I was able to finish all of the wall surface with no tape and successfully cover all of the old paint. Next, I need to tackle the trim. By the way, I am using Valspar's historical house colors, Lyndhurst beige for the walls and Lyndhurst mahogany for the windows and trim.

Kudos to Lowes for marketing historical colors in their wonderful Valspar paint, which combines paint and primer.

Still need to work on spackling techniques and how to cover previous bad repairs.

Researching… skim coating. Dad would have had a good solution, I am sure. I will figure it out, somehow.