Friday, March 27, 2009

Tomorrow is going to be painful

This I am sure of.

I have a wood table and chair set on my balcony that did not survive the winter well.  They were very poor quality to begin and I didn't expect much, but still...for outside furniture they really should have held up better than they did.

The table top is the worst:



But the chairs aren't too much better.  I knew in order to really enjoy them on my balcony this season I'd need to give them an overhaul and somehow, I got it in my head that this would be a good weekend to do it. Warm, dry sunny weather, an empty patio space to work in, and three whole days to get it done, right?  I figured I'd do the sanding on Friday, the color stain on Saturday, and the clear poly coat on Sunday. (Yes, I know you can buy the color and poly coat in one - but they do not sell that here.)  This seemed like a perfectly good plan.

I'm not sure at what point today I realized my folly.  But it's about on the level of your average Jack or Jill suddenly deciding out of the blue that tomorrow is a good day to run a marathon. I forget sometimes, that I am not the person who works out at the gym three times a week and spends weekends shouldering trays of fancy covered plates and toting bus pans full of dirty dishes, that I am now the person who sits on the couch with a Macbook all day. And that person spent several hours today moving her arm back and forth in the same repetitive motion, gripping a sanding block.  As a righty, I did try to remember to switch to using my left hand periodically, but instinct is hard to overcome.

So despite the fact that I spent today sanding and prepping the table and chairs, I do not think I will be staining them tomorrow.  In fact, if I have a functioning right arm at all tomorrow, I will consider that a full-on miracle.  At the very least, I expect to spend large amounts of the day making pathetic wimpering sounds and dosing myself liberally with ibuprofen.

For tonight, I believe I will go with a liquid painkiller and applying heat to my poor aching and abused muscles. Tomorrow will come soon enough. And it's gonna hurt too.

5 comments:

Mia said...

superwomen get sore muscles too :) Good luck with the project, somehow I think it's gonna turn out great.. just may take a day or two longer than the original plan *grin*

Ellen Bloom said...

Any sort of "remodeling" takes twice as long as planned. Give yourself a break! It's not like we don't have many sunny days ahead!

Pat said...

Funny how we get into the groove of something and just keep going- I understand that's how people get stuck at the bottom of the Grand Canyon Trail without the energy to go back up.
Go sit it the sun and enjoy it- it's pouring rain here

Anonymous said...

Oh girl, I feel your pain! You take care of those sore muscles. :)

I got your birthday prezzie yesterday! You're so sweet. I love it and I've already loaded it up with a knitting project. Thank you so much for thinking of me. You made a nice birthday even nicer!

Harbor Hon said...

Oooo! No more pain! I've had enough of my own for a lifetime and you're still young. I feel for you, my sweet friend and hope your muscles relax soon. Just take it easy so you can attack it again another day. xxoo