My Summer Project Finally Done!

All summer long, I have been wanting to sand and reseal my front porch.  Last year I didn't do it, so it was well past it's prime and looked pretty dull:

Dull and ugly front porch 

After sanding for  some time, I began to see the wood looking better, and it--along with a touch of compulsive sanding behavior, kept me going for two days of sanding:

Looking Better!

Finally, after a day of rain, and a weekend of working, I put my three coats of clear waterproofing on my porch this morning:

Yeah!  Finally done!  Now, just letting it dry nicely in the sun, and then later this week I must wash the front of the house and scrub my railing.  Both have gobs of dust and muck from sanding.  

Messing With the Unmessable! (What?!)

I think unmessable is a new word.  At least for me, it works today.  I woke up at 2 A.M. to major back pain.  Nothing I did would make me feel better.  I got up for a while, after slowly rolling to the edge of the bed and managing to walk bent over into my living room.  


I think the combo of sanding and running 9 miles  hurt my back.  I messed with the unmessable.  Woe is me.


I  tried all the back exercises I knew, but nothing worked.  I sat on the couch, and decided to read, although I was actually sleepy and just wanted to go to sleep.  I managed to turn around and lay down on the couch with pillows at my back and started to fall asleep, but was abruptly brought back to full awareness by the sharp pain in my right lower back.  Ok--now I was getting a little nervous.  I thought of all I wanted to do today, my other day off.  Carry laundry up from the basement to fold.  Nope.  Finish the front porch--nope.  Run my five miles of hills--nope.  Bike ride with the kids-nope.  Having Bud's birthday celebration/dinner tonight--unable to do my whole plan.  Close to crying--yep!


I managed to sleep a bit, and woke up to a still very sore back.  It took a bit to sit up and then stand up.  How will I get through the next 40 years of life with this lousy back?!  I blame it on the mattress, too.  New mattress is now a priority and must be found within the next month.  


I managed to do the dishes, but still couldn't bend over.  Took more aspirin, had breakfast, and gazed longingly outside at the beautiful day.  Now a few hours later, my back has relaxed and feels better.  I'm going to attempt the bike ride with Laura and Cole.  I promised them, and next week school starts, so this is the only chance we have to revisit the Sac and Fox trail during the week.  I won't be running my hills today.  Maybe later this week.  The porch is too wet from yesterday's rain to seal, so that will have to wait til this weekend.  Bud's birthday supper will go on--I found a great peach cobbler recipe that looks pretty darn easy!  


So, lesson learned.  Take it easy and stretch out the back.  And get a new mattress pronto!

This is how I feel, not how I look!