Porches

I just finished cleaning the porches out here at the studio.  There are porches on three sides of the building that are all screened in but the wind whistles through here and deposits a fine layer of dust and dirt on everything.  Or at least it’s a fine layer to begin with.  Once it has sat for a long time it becomes this thick mat of dirt that looks pretty bad.  In the end it’s a huge thick layer which doesn’t exactly dampen the footsteps of people coming up the stairs but it looks like it should.

A thick layer of dirt on the porch floors isn’t that big a deal when this is just my working studio but starting this Friday at 10:00 am this will be an operating store with regular store hours.  We are excited to give this a try.  We have always been open by appointment and will continue to be on other days but from now on we have regular store hours on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.   I feel like we have graduated or suddenly grown into adults.  It’s a giddy feeling.  But back to the porches….

The original plan was to wait for a nice warm sunny day and get the power washer cranked up.  We’ve had cold foggy overcast for the last week or so until yesterday when the sun showed through, the temperature climbed to 80 degrees and it was glorious.  I was in Houston at the monthly meeting of the West Side Weavers so wasn’t available to work on the power washer. Today is my only option unless I want to wait until next week.  The latest mass of frigid air is hurtling towards us from Canada and it’s supposed to stay in the 30’s tomorrow – not below freezing but cold and raw and raining.  It’s my least favorite weather in the entire year.  So today is the day.

I didn’t take time to play with the power washer this morning since getting it started after it sits all winter long is always an issue.  I wanted to be sure I had time to get all the porches scrubbed down and rinsed off before the cold front hits later this afternoon.  Over my first cup of coffee this morning my dear husband presented me with my very own brand new brass hose nozzle.  Turns out he got tired of always searching for the one we had so he bought a handful of them.  Now I have my very own and I won’t have to be scrambling to find one the next time I need it.

Would that a powerful stream of water was enough to clean off the porches.  Nope.  They are painted green and need to be scrubbed either with a brush or a wet mop.  I opted for the wet mop today and it did a pretty good job.  The floors are not polished and they do not sparkle but they are clean and inviting.  I also moved the furniture around and I think the front porch looks just about as good as it ever does.  I’m pleased.

Tomorrow while the wind howls and the rain comes and animals huddle in their shelters full of nice fresh hay, I’ll be snug inside the studio warping a loom, happy in the knowledge that my porches look wonderful!