I am sitting here looking out onto the twinkling lights of Cape Town while my body is longing to be lying on the bed! But I daren't go to bed so early or I will be bright eyed and bushy tailed at 3am! My problem is that I have been painting the walls and ceilings of OAP's tiny flat nearby. He is desperate to sell it but it was in such a dreadful state after a fire on the stove, three burglaries and just general neglect by tenants. I proclaimed it needed gutting much to his horror but amended that to needing painting - and guess what? I got the job!!! Nice one - when will I learn to keep my mouth shut!! I had already spent a week with my sis from UK painting out my niece's flat in Wynberg. But that, actually, was FUN! Because it was something we were doing together albeit hard work and also when you tackle such a job with two of you its much easier. OAP said he'd help with the work on his Hole in the Wall as he calls it but he is not much good with a brush and roller so I had to get him busy on other things so I could get on with the main stuff. I must say he really came to the rescue when I just couldn't reach a couple of places and was desperate. He also did a lot of stripping and throwing away of stuff left by the last tenant. At the end of each day we'd grind home (only two blocks), trudge up 4 flights of stairs, shower, eat and fall into bed only to get up again in the morning, barely able to move, and start over! I must be mad to do my own decorating wherever I live - other women call in a painter and then grumble because he dripped on the floor or missed a spot the size of a R5 coin. Why can't I just for once do the same? To make matters worse the first coat of white paint turned grey and I realised that after his tenant had had a fire in the kitchen she had never cleaned up after it and the walls and ceilings were covered in soot. Not badly but enough to make it necessary to paint 3 coats everywhere. And I have to say, here and now, that I absolutely HATE painting ceilings!! I had a stiff neck before coming to CT and now it's permanently in a backward tilted position so I will forever be looking up!!! My hair is full of specks of paint like dandruff and I have WHITE freckles on my face and chest, not to mention my hands and arms, oh yes and my legs and feet! Tomorrow we finish after applying another coat to the lounge and doing the burglar bars. Then I have to clean the bathroom which has a fine coat of mildew although I suppose it might be soot. Beloved sister and I scoured CT for tiles to match the cream ones in the bathroom that were damaged in one of the burglaries but eventually had to settle for the same tiles but in white so the tiler did a very creative job around the windows making it look as if we had meant to have a white panel of tiles in the first place. Then on the first day of painting I looked in the bathroom cupboard and lo and behold there was a box of the original cream tiles! OAP was ever so furious with himself as he hadn't seen them there. I feel quite guilty as I should have looked in the first place as I know he NEVER throws ANYthing away! Oh well - anyone want half a box of cream and half a box of white tiles?
