Work on a Sunday

C had to work today, and I did too (although I work "at home"). I was so stressed about having so much to do I knew that it was fruitless to try to have any fun - I'd just be thinking about everything that is not getting done. I have stress dreams almost every night now.

I did the first stucco sample on the house today. This is heavy, wet dirty work and it was VERY hot today. I managed to get one sample up in about 2 hours. The first one took a long time because I mixed 30 pounds (of a 90 pound bag) of base material with the dye (the base and dye are meant to go 1 bag base to 1 bag dye. Since I was only doing samples, I decided to use a third of the base and dye. It turns out 30 pounds was way more than I needed. It took a lot longer to mix all 30 pounds and the bucket was heavy when I was done (about 40 pounds total). The cleanup takes way longer too because there is so much extra material. For the remaining samples, I'll use 15 pounds and 1/6th of the dye. There is probably a saturation difference in the color because it is impossible to measure exactly 1/3 of the dye, but it's close enough to help me pick. (Pictures will follow when I have all the samples up.)

I have to say it is really cool to be the kind of person who can do stuff like this. Since we've done concrete and tiling, we had the equipment and I knew how to mix it and trowel it on. It's nice not to be helpless and at the whim of a contractor. I was very surprised that the contractor doesn't routinely offer samples as part of the stucco process. Given how expensive it is and that you have to live with it for decades, I can't believe people are willing to pick their colors from a 1" paint chip. It seems that we are much more thorough than many people, and that's part of the reason our project is taking so long.

I also cleaned the outdoor trash can today by dumping in a few pounds of baking soda, hosing the inside and outside and letting the baking soda-water sit in the can overnight. C thinks that's overkill, but I just get grossed out thinking about the people who lived here before us and the fact that we've had the trashcan for a year and a half and it's probably never been cleaned.