It has been a long wait but finally the repairs I needed done on my house began in earnest. The gorgeous weather cooperated with a cool breeze that helped maintain the energy level of the painters. Monday they washed the house to remove mildew and today they painted all the white trim.



After trying nearly six months to find a "handyman" to repair my screen porch I decided that maybe I would entice someone if I also asked them to paint the exterior of the house. Probably sounds extravagant to most but if you have ever lived through a disaster you start to think differently and take initiative in many matters. I do whatever it takes to get the job done. For instance, the guys are painters and do light consruction work. I asked the foreman if they could trim the oak branches away from the fireplace chimney. He didn't respond at all but..... Hey! It was worth a try!

The porch was so important to me as I needed a tranquil place to sit quietly and reflect to rid my mind at least momentarily of anything to do with Katrina.




The guys are doing a good job and as the work progresses somewhere deep inside I feel a slight excitement that a little beauty is coming back into my life. Then I stifle the feeling with the thought that none of this will last, another hurricane will probably hit us this year. I am sure that I am not alone in the way I feel. We all have to go through harrowing feelings before we can heal. Obviously, six months is not long enough.

As soon as the house is finished then comes the chore of cleaning the yards for spring. I have some unusual plants and I hope they survived. Not knowing what kind of bug the tiny figurine below is, I call her a ladybug that couldn't possibly be happy in her present surroundings.