Earlier this week, I mentioned to Don that I hadn’t seen Henry in a long, long time and that I was worried that he was no longer with us.
Three days ago, as I was making the bed in our bedroom upstairs, I saw him sunning himself on the ramp to the shed. I quickly made a move to grab my camera, but easily startled Henry had disappeared by that point.
The next day, there he was again.
This time, I got a quick picture.
Yesterday, I saw him back on the ramp and quickly signaled to Don, who managed to get a glimpse of him. We love our Henry, who never bothers us, eats only grass and weeds, and is a quiet and respectful tenant.
I washed the wall that we’re going to paint, then washed it again with TSP. And I tried the floor again – still sticky. Someday, I’ll figure it out but I have a deadline here, with departure to Hartford next Thursday. Between painting and a whole host of other things that need to be done, I’m over the floor for the time being.
Today, primer. We’re going to do that this morning and then, maybe, we’ll have time for a coat of the yellow (Sundance Yellow from Benjamin Moore.) Finger crossed that it looks good! Paint color is so influenced by light and we have a lot of windows in that kitchen.
This is the other plant stand that I snagged at our neighbor’s barn sale.
Very fifties – it reminds me of something I would have seen in my childhood.
And here it is upstairs in our office. The houseplants were already in the space, on a table and on my desk, but this is much better! And there’s another shelf just ready to be filled. I don’t know if you remember, but these two plants were tiny little grocery store plants that I got a couple of years ago to brighten up my Hartford apartment. Look how they’ve grown!
Okay. Time for some oatmeal and then…the kitchen.
Oh. Act Three (always the longest act in Shakespeare): check.
Happy Friday.
Glad to hear Henry is still around…he’s such a cutie! Sounds like you are whipping through your to do list. Happy painting! ;)
Not exactly whipping through, but doing my best!
Nice to see Henry again. So cute! I envy your energy right now. Since my company left, I’ve been struggling to find some of my own…with no luck yet.
Nice plant stand! It reminds me of one from my childhood, too.
Henry looks as if he is posing for that picture! what a cutie he is! I love your house plants…I have spider plants also…every time a baby falls off I root it and plant it so I have a lot of them~I also love African Violets and they are all blooming right now~Molly my beagle likes to sniff them…Have a good weekend! :-)
I would love some African Violets, but we don’t have the right exposure for them. My grandmother grew them and I have a fondness for them!
Seeing Henry is such a treat! He is cute as can be. We have a boy deer that has started coming closer to the house. He and Annie had a stare down at the window last night. I think I’ll call him Moe! I love the plant stand, so very 50’s! I enjoy having green plants in my home. I think they are healthy to have also. You have a busy day ahead. Hugs!
Moe is the perfect name for a deer!
Henry is huggable (if only !).
Very cool plant stand; I’d consider that a prize find.
We’ve had out-of-town guests, ‘touring’ them around in dripping humidity; 90s every day and the temp is always closer to 80 degrees than not at 3am or thereabouts. Lots of clouds, so beautiful/wispy/watercolor-y sunsets, especially at the beach…but we never get the rain in SoCalif these days, not in my neck ‘o the woods, so I am positively yearning for what I hope will be cooler weather by November (but we can remain pretty warm from now through October; sigh).
I’m gonna go look up Sundance Yellow!
I wish I could hug him, Vicki!
I hope you’re enjoying your time with your guests despite the humidity. (I hate it too!)
Henry probably reads your blog and was inspired to take his own wonderful trip across the country. I am glad you are both back safely after your adventures.
Hahahaha! Love it!
I chuckled at that as well.
Yes! Henry is having his adventure and we are having ours!
Glad you and Don had a glimpse of Henry; I know you worry a bit if you don’t see him for a while. The plant stand is a find, and a beautiful way to keep your plants tidily in one place. You are checking a lot of to-do’s off. Frustrating about the floor…
It’s very frustrating. I wish I could get it fixed before the stove arrives!
Try hand sanitizer. I work in the logging industry and it takes pine sap right off of hands, and tape measures and windshields. And so alcohol is the biggest ingredient in sanitizer….try that.
I’ll try that, Kathy! I wonder if alcohol by itself would be too strong?
I love your line about Henry being a “quiet and respectful tenant.” That’s a GREAT line. If you ever run out of projects, Claudia – I don’t really have any fear that you will – but if you do, you should definitely try some writing. You have all the hallmarks of someone who’d be great. First, natural talent, Second, you read voraciously. Third, you’re a [seemingly] tireless worker. It’s like Nathaniel Hawthorne said, “Easy reading is damn hard writing…” Hope you like your Sundance yellow! That’s always the Moment of Truth, isn’t it? When you first see the color you agonized over a color on a real wall in your real home. Have a great weekend! 🖌
Thank you, Janet!
The yellow is making us happy, you’ll see in today’s post.
I was wondering if Dawn dish detergent would work on your floor. They use it on water fowl covered in oil after an oil spill. If it works on something that extreme, perhaps it would also work on removing it from your wood floor. Just a thought.
I tried Dawn first and it isn’t doing it. Sigh.
That plant stand is a treasure. What I could do with that. Have a great week end.
Marilyn
It’s a great find – only $15!
Copy & paste … hopefully the link works!
http://www.ehow.com/how_4778378_clean-grease-kitchen-cabinet-doors.html?utm_source=pinterest&utm_medium=fanpage&utm_content=inline&crlt.pid=camp.mPtpNmKeuhgM&crlt.pid=camp.CPoVng9oiIod
Wonderful to hear Henry’s so respectful of your space. Just trapped & relocated our groundhog to remote rolling fields with pond. I know he’ll be much happier & safer. So beautiful I’d love to live there myself. We’ve had them in years past and they decimated our gardens to the point of no return ( expensive ) and then proceed to get run over, so it was best for all. They are a beautiful and I do enjoy the wildlife since we feed the birds, added birdhouses to our perennial pollinator beds, etc … My husband was laughing one morning from the kitchen window watching me put the “meal worm” cake feeders out ( due to potential bears in rural NH ). According to him I had the family of woodpeckers, chick-a-dee’s, momma squirrel & the chipmunk following behind me for their morning breakfast. All I could think of was Snow White.
So enjoy your blog even if I don’t get to visit as often as I like.
– A.
Thanks for then link, A.!
Our groundhogs – and we’ve had babies on the property – have never gone after the gardens. So we all get along. I do feel sick to my stomach when I see them close to the road, because they so often get hit by cars.
We’ve used that same Snow White reference around here, when I see bunnies and butterflies and finches and a groundhog hanging around outside our window!
Hi Claudia, enjoy your blog very much. I was thinking you might try CLR Bath & Kitchen foaming action cleaner. Just a thought. I know how frustrating it is to have a problem area and not have a remedy, yet you keep trying everything. Hope it works for you.
Thanks for the tip, Denise. I’ll give it a try!
That was pretty amazing that you got a photo! Our own version of Henry is too quick for us. We actually may have a Henrietta as well. We also have an armadillo, a box turtle, a toad under the house that come out and sits and stares at my husband when he gets into the crawl space to do some work.
Hubby has been working on our floors and finally started using a mild solution of borax on them. It’s working a charm to clean all the old gunk on the old floorboards.
You have your menagerie, just as we do!
You know, borax is a good idea. I have some on hand, and I’ll give it a try!