Jan Is Alive And Well And - Working Her Butt Off

Hola darlings!

Just a quick note to let you know that I'm still here.  Primarily one of my brothers and I have been working to get our mother's house ready for sale.  Our other four siblings have vanished into the ether, or so it seems.  I've been putting in 3 or 4 days a week of between 4 to 6 hours a day, not including a 2 hour bus round-trip when my brother isn't available to give me a ride (he is still working a full-time job).  This entire thing has been - overwhelming.

Today I started painting the plaster acanthus pattern crown molding in the living room and hallway from the living room leading to the bedrooms, bath, and kitchen.  I spent a couple hours yesterday going up and down a ladder taping off and I'm glad I did, because let me tell you, painting acanthus pattern crown molding is no easy task and I slopped paint all over the tape for the first 10 minutes or so of painting.  I worked on it off and on from 8:15 until 1 p.m. when I dashed out to catch a bus to start my journey home.  I was tired and my arms hurt from working "up" and "over" despite balancing precariously on the third rung of the step ladder to get me to eye level.  And, my left hand kept cramping from holding the brush for so long.  I do not believe I have dibbed and dabbed so much in my entire life.  So many nooks and crannies to get paint into!  And this is just the first coat (and may be the only coat, for I'll be damned if I get up on that ladder again to add a second coat of paint to molding in a house we're selling).  I managed to get two "lengths" of molding painted (one length and one width of the living room); one more each of length and width to go in the living room, and then the hallway area which, by the time I get there, I should be able to do with my eyes closed and paint with the brush between my toes.

I haven't forgotten chess, darlings.  I am sponsoring prizes for female participants in the Milwaukee Summer Chess Challenge hosted by the Southwest Chess Club.  I'll post more about that later - if I stay awake long enough and remember to do it; these days I'm running rather exhausted and decidedly distracted.

I leave you with this.  Let me make it plain.  I HATE DONALD TRUMP AND EVERYTHING HE STANDS FOR.  HE IS A FASCIST AND WOULD TURN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA INTO THE 21ST CENTURY EQUIVALENT OF NAZI GERMANY.  HE IS AN EVIL EVIL EVIL PERSON AND NEEDS TO BE STOPPED.