Gil-Bob Gray and Grease Monkey

Matt O is just about finished with taping, mudding and sanding our sheetrock.

Our bungalow job has required more time and has been more

labor intensive than the usual home its size.

That's because I requested smooth finish ceilings as opposed to textured.

It's one extravagance I was adamant about.

It's been great to have Matt around and because summer break has begun

his boys, Gage and Gavin, have been around too.

Gage just finished 3rd grade and Gavin just finished 7th.

I love having their bicycles in our driveway while they visit their dad, swing on the rope swing 

that hangs from our walnut tree, enjoy an ice cream bar from our freezer or play ball with Al. 

They are a bit on the reserved side, but we've have some pleasant conversations

about dogs and chickens and school and swim team.

Matt grew up just down the street from Our Retro Bungalow and his family

knew the Chadwicks very well.

When Gage and Gavin get back on their bicycles after visiting here for a while,

they head south on Fruitland Drive about half a mile 

to visit their Grandma and Grandpa O.

I was pleased as punch to find Matt, his lovely wife Jessica and their boys

having a picnic lunch together in our garage one day.

I just love that.

As I think back on what got done this past week

it doesn't seem like a lot compared to some of our previous weeks.

Things have taken a different pace;

we're still busy as bees, but the intensity has eased up.

Dean got the framing done for the stone pillars on our front porch.

And I painfully accepted the reality that composite decking is the wise way to go.

I really, really, really want a real wood front porch, but Mr Mossi reminds me that 

even though we think we'll never actually grow old, we will.

It's just plain hard for me to embrace the 'maintenance free' program, 

but I did some shopping and research and finally sucked it up and

decided on a product.

AaaannnnnD...

we painted the garage.

The garage?

Yep.

Why?

Because when we move in we don't want to backtrack and have

to move everything out to paint and finish it. 

We've had some interesting comments about painting our garage,

but we painted the garages of our three previous homes.

Yes, we did.

I chose Pratt and Lambert's

"Genteel Gray" 

for the walls,

but it shall henceforth be referred to as 

"Gil-Bob Gray"

 in the bungalow garage.

Gray is the hottest color trend right now in homes,

but that is absolutely not why I chose 

"Gil-Bob Gray".

I don't buy into trends very easily and I don't care for gray at all.

I chose gray for practical purposes.

You see, my husband 

(Gilbert is his first name and that's a big secret so don't tell a soul)

and our son-in-law Robert 

(you know him as Tannon but his first name is Robert)

are gear-heads and always workin' on some kind of automotive project together.

(when we're not up to our eyeballs in house building, that is)

Gray will allow the colors of  the smudges of automotive work to blend in naturally.

I thought it was a genius idea.

The trim work in the garage will be painted

Pratt and Lambert's 

"Steel Wool",

which is a darker shade of 

"Gil-Bob Gray",

but the trim paint shade shall henceforth be referred to as

"Grease Monkey".

You get the idea.

We are very appreciative that Matt's scaffolding was conveniently here
and we took advantage of that what with our garage ceiling being 12' high
and hauling the ladders back and forth and climbing up and down and up and down
those ladders would have been a huge pain.
Have I mentioned I'm a bit acrophobic?
True story.
 And then there's our dog-child...

who brought me ball after ball after ball while I was up
on the scaffold just to remind me
 how neglected she's been as of late.

Dean also started getting all the outlets and switches in the garage
installed and covered.

Other than the excitement that the deep-green tops of the potatoes I planted have
made their appearance in the garden,
I have my very first zucchini blossom, a few tiny tomato blossoms
AND
A BABY PUMPKIN 
 (YAY for pumpkins!)
in the garden,
that's all the news from
Our Retro Bungalow
for last week.

Thanks, as always, for stoppin' by.
We sure appreciate the support from y'all.
Good night and God Bless.