deck paint

so, we painted our deck.  i never really liked the brick red color that the deck was painted when we bought the house.  it wasn't bad, just not my style.  actually, i loooooove a beautifully stained deck, but since this one was already painted, we decided to repaint it.  i wanted a different color, especially since we are planning on painting the outside of our house from a bright yellow to a gray-blue and a brick red deck just would not go together very well.  and hubs wanted to repaint since some of the paint was chipping and since it's so wet here the entire year except for July-September, we wanted to make sure that the wood is covered and won't be able to rot.  we decided to use olynpic's rescue-it since it has a little bit of texture and it will make the deck less slippery when it's wet (which is often in seattle).  we finally settled on a color that would be neutral enough to go with whatever we decide to paint the house and that wasn't so light that it would show so much dirt.  we decided on silver dollar. i wanted something more greigy so that everything having to do with our house doesn't end up gray gray gray:

ok, so we went to our home away from home, lowe's, and picked up everything we needed.  i started to paint the cracks.  hehe.  this took fooooorrrrreverrrrr!  and it killed my back.  what a pain!  oh, and did i mention we were trying to get this done in a few days, before z's first bday party?  yea.  tried to avoid the rain as well.  oh!  and!  the color totally did not come out the way it looked on the swatch.  and i was careful to look at it outside in different light.  but for some reason, the color was very light, almost white.  you can kind of tell that it has a little gray, but it is much lighter than the swatch.  so i took everything back to lowe's.  they double checked that it was mixed properly, they tested it on a scrap piece of wood, and it was all correct.  for some reason, when on our deck, the paint color was just so light.  because everything was correct with the paint, lowe's wouldn't let us return or exchange it.  so we have to live with it.  i even had the paint associate add more black to one of the cans to see if that would darken it up.  it didn't make a difference.  bummer! we decided to just live with it for a year, and if it is unbearable, then we will pick a darker color and repaint it again.  so anyway, we finished painting the cracks in a few days.  we only had about an hour or so each day to get this done, which is why it took a couple of days.  then, after z went to bed one night, hubs finished the cracks and edges and i started rolling on the first coat.  hubs finished the last of it and we were planning on rolling on the second coat the following day.  about a quarter of the way through, it started raining.  when there was no rain whatsoever in the forecast.  and it only rained for 10 minutes.  juuuuuust enough time to ruin the second coat that hubs applied.  awesome.  it wasn't super duper noticeable, so we decided to just leave it and paint it again after the party.  overall, i'm glad that we painted the deck, the color isn't bad or anything, but it definitely shows scuff marks, dirt and pine needles and all that.  i like the fact that the brick red color isn't reflecting up into my house anymore.  to see bright, light outside is much nicer.  although the brightness is very intense when the sun is shining directly in the deck.

here is what the deck looked like when we bought the house:

 and after repainting:

oh, and because i am so excited about all the stuff that is growing in my back yard, here are some pics of that.  i'm sooooo excuted about our tomato plants, they are the biggest, sturdiest tomato plants that i have ever grown.  i think we will actually get some good home grown tomatoes this year!  and, i am just so happy that we have all these roses in our yard.  i love them.  really, i just love summer here.  a nice, warm, sunny, amazing summer.  i love it.  everything is bright and shiny and warm.  my favorite.  

things are growing and flowering

one of my favorite of our roses

zucchini!

hydrangeas are blooming!  a beautiful periwinkle blue.

our huge tomato plants are growing their fruits!

vibrant pink roses

and orangey-red

beets, tomatoes, cilantro, spinach, lettuce, onions, parsley, oh my

we have made so many salads with our spinach, lettuce, and arugula.  i don't know, there is just something so wonderful about eating food that you have grown in your own yard.  i want to do more next year!  what about ch'all?  been up to gardening or back yarding?