Mostly Lazy Day

I woke up way too early this morning for it being a day off and all, and couldn't get back to sleep.  Along about 5:00 AM, I finally gave up and got out of bed to begin what turned out to be a very lazy day. 

And what did I do on my very lazy day?  I'll tell you.  Not much. 

After running by the bank to pay my house note, I went on to the store.  You'd be proud of me.  I remembered to take my color card in with me.  Alas, I found no paint to match it.  I found this primer that is pretty close, but no actual paint. 

Since it is so close to my trim color, I thought about just priming my shutters, then putting a clear coat over it. I didn't think it would be that noticeable from the street, but I decided not to do that.

In the end, I decided I'd just use the paint I picked out for my eaves.  At least it'll match, and if I'm careful, the brush marks won't be too visible.  Well, they won't be visible from the street anyway, but I'm kind of particular about how I do things.

By the way, I texted the contractor a picture of the card with the name of the color I want, and he said he might be able to start on my house this coming week!  Woo hoo!  I'm so excited!  This house has looked so rough for so long, and I feel like I'm finally beginning to make some progress on getting it spruced up. 

While I was in the paint department, I picked up a can of light gray semi-gloss for my bricks.

I'd bought some paint a while ago, but when I tested small spot, I thought it was too dark for that corner.  This shade is quite a bit lighter, so I hope it works.  If it doesn't, I'll go with a light beige.  I really wanted the bricks to be gray, so it would look like stone.  If I turned the lights out and used a lot of imagination, that is.

So, I got home from the store, and when I came inside, both dogs came bee-bopping out to greet me as they usually do.  Alas, Jesse had a passenger.  I quickly shooed him out into the back yard, along with the big, giant spider on his back.  I'm seriously wondering where that thing came from. 

You know, it's old weather lore that when spiders come into the house early, it'll be a hard winter.  That's the second enormous spider I've seen inside in three days  -- along with a myriad of smaller spiders. 

 Let's talk about something more pleasant than giant spiders.  Look at this!  I pulled up those weeds from my flower bed.  You know, where I'd planted the wildflower seeds that got taken over by grass.  You can see my zinnias now! 

I also found a toad.   Much nicer than a giant spider.