Friday, October 14, 2005

Deck Refinishing



The weather has finally cooled down to the high 80s, so I decided to start my fall project--refinishing the deck. We have a very nice deck that Gary's parents built for us several years ago, but we've been too lazy to refinish it every year. It is a lot of work to scrub 2-3 years' worth of dirt and algae off the deck, so our friends lent us their pressure washer to try. It doesn't do a perfect job, but probably good enough, so we're cleaning it that way.


After a couple years of wear, the nails start working themselves out too, so they all have to be pounded back in. I convinced Gary to help with this chore.

The deck is too big to do all at once, so we're cleaning then painting a section at a time. And the job is too big for me alone, so I've talked Rachel into helping. When I went to Home Depot to buy the sealer, this time I bought the most expensive kind that is supposed to last for four years. We'll see.

Speaking of Rachel, this week she finally heard from the Texas Board of Education about her status as a Texas teacher. The good news: they have granted her a one-year temporary certificate. The bad news: she has to take two more standardized tests to qualify for permanent certification. Ugh. So I guess she'll order the study guides and start studying again. In the mean time, she still has a temporary job that is bringing in some money, and she is hoping to save enough to buy a used car.

Wednesday, October 12, 2005

Another Reception


I was very happy to receive a few photos from Andrew and Laura in Ethiopia yesterday. I remember them saying their coworkers had had a reception for them, but I missed other details about it. Apparently, as you can see in this photo, they had some kind of special white wedding garb. Another photo had a couple of cute flower girls with them. I'm hoping to hear more details.

The weather has blessed us with a few drops of rain, but not nearly enough. So today I'm planning on refinishing another layer of the deck. It is too big to do all at once, so I'll work at it little by little. I did just borrow a friend's pressure washer, so I'll see if that will take the place of scrubbing, but I doubt it.

Not much else for news. Gary is working way too hard. He is staying up so late and getting up so early that when he lies down to watch the baseball playoff games, he is asleep before the third pitch. He's home this week, but off to Richmond next week and Boston the week after that.

Monday, October 10, 2005

Too Good

Sometimes I think my life is too good. Why do others suffer and my life is easy? It isn't fair.