Adults only: Winter follows spring!

It was most definitely a week of weather extremes from Monday’s high in the 60’s to Friday’s unexpected snowstorm.

My experiences during the week were also extremes. Monday’s warmth encouraged me to take on a painting project in an unheated section of the house. I had already sheetrocked, spackled and sanded the walls and had been putting off painting.

Monday seemed perfect.

Whenever I begin a project, the most difficult part is finding all the necessary materials. I know they’re around somewhere, but locating them is something else. I found brushes that were still soft from the last time I cleaned them, I located the roller but could not find the extension handle.  I needed it for this job because some of the walls were very high.

I checked the cellar, the garage, the junk closet (doesn’t every home have one?) and finally out in a shed. There it stood, next to rakes, ice choppers and hoes. Very difficult to notice.

So off to the hardware store for some paint. I bought my gallon of Benjamin Moore and headed home to start my project. The next task was getting the roller tray and roller ready. The nap on my roller had flat spots so I had to make another trip to the hardware store.

I should mention that I gauge the complexity of any project by the number of trips to the hardware store it takes. This turned out to be a three-visit project — not too bad.

The paint went on very well, covering a multitude of sins. I have to admit that I am a lousy spackler and rely heavily on my jitterbug sander. The job was looking beautiful.

I climbed to the top of my ladder and noticed some blobs of spackle that I had not seen when I was standing on the floor.

I guess that’s one of the advantages of aging eyes. So this 12-foot wall just looked great when I was standing on the floor!

Once I wrapped up the painting and went outside, the air had that spring scent of warming earth — delightful. I decided to barbecue a steak on my Baby Weber. It did not take too long to find the charcoal. It was all very delightful. Until late Thursday when everything changed.

I was in Lindenhurst on Friday morning where there was almost a foot of snow. I was ending a babysitting gig and hoping to return home early. No way. Snow came down heavily until noon. I would not have been able to manage my son’s driveway if I did not have a Jeep.

There was not as much snow here when I arrived on Friday evening. However, melting snow and ice on the steps was treacherous. I exited my front door and not being ready for the ice fell flat on my rear end and twisted my hand and my foot.

I am fortunate that everything seems to still work. I’ll live with the aches and pains for a while. I am having trouble depressing the clutch. Other than that, I am lucky.

So everyone: Be hyper-vigilant when walking outdoors in this weather.

It might be time to head south.