Deck progress and a little glam

Remember this deck? Well finally I have been back there to sort out that hideous dirty blue floor. The pale grey at the bottom of the photo was the first sample pot colour I tried before I quickly realized it was too pale. Luckily with some rain it showed how much it would be stained by the leaf pigment from the millions of poinciana leaves that land on our deck every minute.

Fourth sample pot seems to be the winner again this time and I did a small patch that I have then been considering now for a few weeks while our busy lives hum on. Finally,  there was a window of time without small children or rain where the paint would actually have a chance to set properly.
It still amazes me how a $60 tin of  paint can transform a space.  The colour is called Deep Gorge from Taubmans. I did find it quite irresponsible that Dulux did not provide their own brownish/greenish grey  to complement the brownish greenish White Duck wall colour. Slowed me down a bit having to look at other brands sample charts but when it comes to getting the right colour I am terrier- like and do not give up easily. In our previous house I actually hand mixed both an external balustrade colour and an interior white as I coudn't find any that matched the very clear vision in my mind. Once you know that the colour contains black, yellow and magenta for example, it's not difficult to tweak how much there is of each pigment until you get the desired result.

I only got as far as the balustrade mainly due to all that pesky preparation. After clearing all extraneous toys off the deck, sweeping off all the leaves, a light sand in parts then a final mop, time was running out for the actually painting. I'm really happy with the colour and can't wait to get stuck in and do a second coat. It is also nice to have one small section of Betsy looking glam as the rest of her looks distinctly more worn out dishrag.

Someone else was looking mighty glam in her skirted Dora swimmers with matching new swim cap. Had to share my proud mama moment watching my little Liongirl starting her 4th swimming lesson. She had lessons for a few months as a baby but we stopped around 15 months as winter arrived and it was all too hard. You know, neglected second child syndrome.

Well after 2 lessons of crying, the third producing  a brief grizzle ( for my benefit)  at number 4 she happily suited/capped and goggled up and was happily in the pool doing dives off the edge, attempts at handstands and picking rings up the bottom of the pool. The only problem now is she wants to play in the pool at the end of her lesson like Roboboy and likes to wander down to the deep end despite not actually being able to swim. Oh and have I mentioned that she likes to ignore my hysterical shrieks to GO BACK TO THE STAIRS. Twice she was yanked out and once I was within a hairs breadth of jumping in fully clothed. I can sum it up best with a high order mathematical equation:

2 years + stubborn as a mule + fearless + no actual swimming ability = mother needing alcoholic beverages. What is this monster I have created........