sorry it’s late…but look at the pretty colors!

of course, part of the title could come from me breathing in paint fumes for the last couple hours…

…but i could be wrong.

i always have three simple rules when i paint…two make sense to most people, the other i always have to explain:

1. always paint sober – shane disagrees with this one, and the last project we did DEMANDED alcohol due to the locale (the now ex non-girlfriend’s place). we were already starting to be on the outs, but i wanted to be the cool guy and THOUGHT i liked to paint. what i discovered is i like to paint MY place – it costs more, but i put in the work and can then walk in on a room and go “look how pretty this is…i did this”. at other people’s place, not so much…and with SOME people you instantly become “the help” and kinda get treated at such. fuck all that – going forward i only paint at my place. period.

2. try to paint in the morning – this is ’cause of the whole texas heat thing. you get later in the day, it gets warmer, and having the house open turns into more of a chore than the actual chore at hand. did this for my bedroom, but by mid-afternoon the heat started to really kick in and i had to seal myself in with the remaining fumes. as my bathroom (today) didn’t get started ’till 2pm i kept the door to the bedroom shut (as the paint was all set out on the floor) and so now the house is running a LITTLE warm, but nothing compared to the other day.

3. always paint barefoot – needless to say, this one always needs explaining. maybe it’s partially due to my country-raised ass enjoying being barefoot. but a bigger part of it comes from stepping on a paint spot on the plastic dropcloth and the replicating said spot across the dropcloth, the floor, up the stepladder, etc, etc, etc. we’ve all done it ’cause we didn’t REALIZE we stepped in paint and just keep going. when you paint barefoot you ALWAYS realize when you step in paint.

so, i’ve been re-painting. the grand plan has me pretty much re-doing the whole house, i’ve had the paint swatches for most of this since mid-fall but never did it, so i finally said, “fuck it” and got on it, starting with my room – which was probably bad ’cause now, since i spend a good bit of time back there, the job feels done even though it just started. but time will tell. pretty dramatic difference so far:

(and don’t worry – the blinds are gone, too)

all in prep for me to finally host the juneteenth bbq at my place…NEXT year. for my fortieth. this year, i’ll keep it in north austin like it was LAST year. more details on this year’s “fifteenth annual juneteenth “who’s your daddy, chica?*” bar-b-que to follow…

* the “who’s your daddy, chica?” subtitle this year due to the fact the bar-b-que will actually be on SUNDAY, 20th, at 3pm or so. that sunday being father’s day (hence the “who’s your daddy” part) and the “chica” thrown in ’cause it’s also leia’s b-day that actual day. her thirtieth. won’t say to the what power. but maybe she’ll be in attendance?