Friday, April 29, 2016

My Week Off

Today is the final day of the week that I snuck and took off work.
Since I teach at two universities, their breaks rarely match up. One college had a break this week, so I took advantage of my substitute hours and got a sub to fill in for me so I could have the week off.
Originally, I hoped to fly to visit Mom and Dad in Florida, but the price and the timing didn't cooperate. I also wanted to stay home to get some things done.
My husband has been working crazy hours covering a trial, 12 to 13 hours a day many days, and I wanted to help reduce his stress. I planned to accomplish a lot more than I actually did, but I got some things done.
I was especially productive on Monday and Tuesday. I got an Adirondack chair sanded and painted.

I sanded and painted the metal chairs that go around the outdoor table. A wooden bench that sits on the front porch had gotten faded and rough. I sanded it and used spray lacquer to finish it.
Finally, I sanded the porch swing and coated it in hemp oil, which my friend Sheila gave me. She refinishes furniture for a living, so she held my hand through a lot of this stuff.

In addition, I also started scraping the house to get it ready for painting. I know that painting the house is one of those things that is weighing heavy on my husband's mind. I haven't made much progress, but I plan to scrape, sand and paint one section of the house at a time and I have all summer.
Wednesday was fairly sedentary, after my morning run and walk. And Thursday, a sinus infection set in that left piercing pain in my face and head. I went to Writing Group anyway and my ears got stopped up too until finally, everyone's voices sounded like they were coming through a strange filter.
I skipped my run this morning but walked a couple of miles instead. In addition, I had a lot of shopping to do.
My husband and oldest son are headed out for a week on the Appalachian Trail on Sunday, so I bought the food they will need and also went to Eddie Bauer to get some hiking-appropriate pants for my son. Three stores and a load of laundry before I collapsed on the couch for an afternoon nap.
I think I made good use of my week off, and I'm just going to bask in the things I accomplished rather than focusing on what I didn't. 

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oh, the satisfaction you will have when the house is finished!

our life in france said...

Oh those best laid plans they never seem to come together and you end up doing jobs that were not on the list but well done you for all that sanding and painting they look fantastic, I do hope your sinus infection soons gets better x

grammajudyb said...

I feel it is always better to focus on the positive. And you did have a positive week for the most part. I would have felt accomplished to get just one of those projects done. Good work!

Just Me said...

Good Job ! And Beautiful work on the furniture.

Allison said...

Sounds as you had an extremely productive week. And as if you now need a break from your vacation. You were super busy!

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