Window ledges. All around the house, they need to be scraped, sanded, and repainted. I've just started, and I hope the weather will stay dry enough for me to be able to continue working on them in September and October. I bought a can of exterior white paint — acrylic, so everything cleans up with water — at BricoMarché a few days ago.
This concrete window ledge and some of the woodwork under
the window itself sorely needed attention.
the window itself sorely needed attention.
This is the window in the utility room, over the laundry sink, on the ground floor. I'd repaint the window frame too but we'll probably have the whole window replaced in another year or two. House maintenance isn't the most exciting topic for a blog post, but it sure is a big part of living this life here in Saint-Aignan.
A little bit of scraping and sanding, and a coat or two of paint, make all the difference.
Only 10 more ledges to go. It's a good project. It would be nice to have them all done by November. If the weather turns rainy, I can go back to painting radiators. When I was living the working and commuting life in California, it would never occurred to me to undertake this kind of job. I had neither the energy or the time.
When the weather's hot and the windows are open in the evening, many moths
like this one come into the house (no screens). It wasn't as big as it looks here.
Our hot spell has ended. It's still plenty warm (mid-80s F) but not stifling. The mayor of the village stopped by yesterday, on her bicycle, coming home from work. She left a flyer in our mailbox, and I poked my head out the kitchen window and said bonjour. We commiserated about how the worst part of the hot weather was not being able to sleep comfortably. Everybody is tired.
At the same time, the garden has been generous in giving us tomatoes, eggplants, beans, and zukes. It really is summer, finally.
At the same time, the garden has been generous in giving us tomatoes, eggplants, beans, and zukes. It really is summer, finally.
Very clean and tidy work..Hopefully you have used the good quality paints.
ReplyDeleteDaniel, no advertising, please... I've removed the link to the commercial site.
ReplyDeleteIt looks so much better. Good job Ken!
ReplyDeleteWow, the ledge looks so nice, all painted and refreshed :)
ReplyDeleteGlad for the weather change!
Jane told me on FB that she hadn't figured out how to see and answer comments on her blog ,but she is headed back to the U.S. today. Apparently, they have two buildings on their property in France, and so they have just finished up la petite maison, so they can offer it as a gîte in the near future. The pictures are cute! I don't know if you saw, but Amy H. has listed their Loire Valley home for vacation rentals, too. It was cool to see the rest of the house.
Judy
Judy, thanks, I was reading Jane's blog today and I suspected there might be two houses on their property. You are right, the work they've done on the little house looks great. Also, I did know about Amy's house. We've been there a couple of times, and it is nice (still rustic, though). I hope Amy and Jane both have lots of renters.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Nadège. I started work on two other window ledges this morning. Problem with those is that I have (or Walt has) to get up on a ladder to reach them and do them right.
Nice paint job. I wondered about
ReplyDeletethe ladder bit. Always a tricky
task.
Is it my imagination or are you
using a smaller text? Love the
new header photo.
Hi Sheila, I just increased the font size for the main text of my blog. I changed templates yesterday, and some of the defaults are not satisfactory, as you saw. I'm trying to iron it all out now.
ReplyDeleteNo screens on your windows? If France has no houseflies or mosquitoes, I might be tempted to sell out my home in California and relocate to France. Just one housefly drives me crazy!!
ReplyDeleteAnonymous, I don't know where you are in California, but in San Francisco we didn't have window screens either. No real need. Yes, there's a fly once in a while here in Saint-Aignan, and sometimes even a mosquito, but mostly we get moths. Why be so worried about an insect or two?
ReplyDeleteYou are a good painter. It's good to do a task where there is visible improvement. Like the new banner!
ReplyDeleteGlad your garden is producing en fin.
Oh, that it were just one or two. Here in the northern Sacramento Valley we get more than our share of flies and mosquitoes. Moths I could handle, but bats....no.
ReplyDeleteAll I can say is that here we are, after a week of very hot weather (by our standards) and three weeks of good weather, with all the windows wind open, no screens, and no bugs but a few moths at night. Bats? We've had one or two in the house over the past nine years that we've lived here, and a few birds. But the bats and birds eat insects, so they are desirable neighbors.
ReplyDeleteEvelyn, hi, it's great to have garden produce, even if it's late. Maybe the good weather will last into October...
The photo of the moth is hilarious. I thought it must be 6-foot from wingtip to wingtip.
ReplyDeleteI love house maintenance blog posts. Isn't it amazing what a coat of paint will do. It looks like a brand-new window.