I. Am so. Sore.

I've discovered muscles I haven't used in years while painting over the last couple of days. I was so sore when I went to bed last night, I had to take a painkiller. Well, "had" is probably over stating it, but I wanted to, so I did! I got a lot done today, starting with the ceiling. I thought it was going to be the hardest part, but it turned out being the easiest. I changed it from your basic white to a warmer antique white. The best part was that I only had to do one layer. I then started in on the alcove where my sink is at. I'm painting it a lighter shade of brown (Dutch Boy refers to it as Ginger Snap). This is when I discovered that little alcove has a ton of nooks. It took forever to paint it. Finally, it was time to apply the brown. I used an edger along the ceiling which worked great, but not so great along the floor boards. I had to resort to cutting in by hand. Oh, how I loathe cutting in. I'd also like to mention at this point that, as I side effect of the Crohn's Disease, I have arthritis. So, doing things like gripping a paint brush for two hours straight, or sitting on the floor cross-legged while I paint along the floor boards - not fun. My right hand is still roughly in the form of a grip. I got the first coat down today and should finish tomorrow, except for all the trim. I then get to go pick out some carpet. Sigh. So much for "days off."

When I went to dinner with my friend the other night, we brought our dogs and sat out on the patio. Wally is always happy to be on the patio near strangers who think he is very cute and might like a french fry. My friend brought a dog she is temporarily fostering. She works with an organization that rescues and adopts out pit bulls. I'm not ordinarily a big fan of the breed, but this dog was so sweet. He's still a cute, sleepy puppy at 3 months, and sadly, he was born blind. They've named him Ray Charles. A family came to meet him today and are interested in adopting him, so I hope it all works out for little Ray. Here's the cute little guy:


The song of the day is "Gentlemen" by the Afghan Whigs off their 1993 album of the same name. This is actually a great CD, though it's the only one I own by the band. They're sort of known for being the band that never really broke. This is a great, song, though. This is the first song I heard by the band, and when I first heard it, I was stuck by the dark energy of their music. It's no surprise to find that they had been previously signed to Sub Pop Records in Seattle, the label known for helping bring grunge rock to the forefront with Nirvana, Soundgarden, and other Northwest Bands. In fact, Afghan Whigs were the first non-NW band signed by the label. If you've never heard them, check out this video before YouTube pulls it down: