The pergola—a story, okay a novel

Cute little house, right?

But as you come around the side, if you are like everyone else i have talked to, you are probably thinking: What IS that?

I used to wonder the very same thing as I walked by the house last year. It just looks so out of place and very weather-torn.

Well, IT is a pergola, which is basically a shade structure. And although it is a nice idea, we haven’t been too pleased with it.

So, we decided to take some action. The plants were helping, but not enough…and then they died.

I started painting probably 6 weeks ago. However, it was a much bigger job than I could handle on my own, and with a brush. This weekend seemed like the perfect time to tackle it. No football tailgating traffic, no work, still warmer weather. So last night we spent hours preparing by hanging up plastic tarps. We rented an air-spray gun and were waiting for morning.

I was sick this morning when I woke up and it was raining. After some discussion with my dad, who is a pro painter, we decided to chance it when the weather held and go for it.

I think we are still looking a little unsure. And our neighbors all gave us funny looks. I felt like we were in a haunted house with all of the sheeting.

The prep work was time consuming…can you tell, and Abe had to climb all over the roof to do an adequate job.

We were just about ready to go. I think we were rocking our best lunch lady outfits. Then we turned on the machine and it wouldn’t work! More drama as the machine was due back by 3 and rain was on its way, forecasted for 12. We took it back and luckily they gave us a new machine and an extension.

Funny, this is almost exactly what I wear in the OR.

What a huge mess! We also took down a rotting shelf on this corner.

Abe was glad we were done!

We did get some rain after and I could tell it was dripping some but overall I think it held up.

So, what do you think of the finished product? Was it worth it?