A Little Hair of the Dog...

Is there any sort of "Locks For Love" program for dogs? You see all those poor dogs who have some sort of skin condition and have lost their fur. Surely they would feel more confident with little doggie toupees to cover those spots. You don't want the other dogs to laugh and point. Well, maybe the hyenas and the pointers, but they really can't help it.

I am prepared to contribute to such a program. I daily sweep the hair shed by my black lab, Tally, and I am sure that I have enough to cover a small poodle. A week's worth and you can knit your own Great Dane.

So, if someone will send me the address, Tally and I will be happy to help the bald dogs of the world.

Behind the Red Door, Part II

After a day and night, the door was ready to be rehung. And it was beautiful! It was truly deliciously red. But, it made the old brass hardware and lights look dull and shabby. So, I went to Home Depot (Trip 2) and bought a new door handle, kickplate and light fixtures. My husband (lawyer-turned-handyman) installed the shiny, new door handle and kickplate.


And it was even more beautiful! No lights yet, but I could see it in my mind. But, now the flowers in the pots out front didn't match. They needed to be red - and pink - and bright! So, I went to Home Depot (Trip 3) and bought gerbera daisies. And, it was even more beautiful!

My husband (lawyer-turned-electrician) tackled the light fixtures. They didn't fit the existing mounting, of course. So, he went to Home Depot (Trip 4). And back to Home Depot and back to Home Depot and back to Home Depot....and finally the lights were up. And, it was even more beautiful!

The white trim around the door now looked shabby and I said I would paint that. So, I went to Home Depot (Trip 326) and bought the white paint. My BFF the orbital sander and I cleaned up the old paint, I filled some spots with wood putty and put on a fresh coat of white paint.

Then, I turned around, and saw the not-white-enough-looking columns. I had a brush full of white paint in my hand and you can guess the rest. (By the way, "wood filler" is a lie. It won't fill in spots where the wood rotted away and really needs replacing. But, you can slather it on like cake icing and paint it anyway.)

And, it is the most beautiful ever! I love, love, love it.

Now, we need to talk about the inside paint....

Behind the Red Door - Part I

Finally - I have the red door of my dreams. The process was tedious, but worth it. I had a hard time finding the perfect red - not unlike trying to find the perfect red lipstick. Some are too pink, others are too orange, some are just WRONG!


I sampled many colors on the door. I considered leaving a note on the door and a sign at the sidewalk asking passersby to come vote. I almost chickened out and painted it blue. I asked for opinions on Facebook and had more comments about that than any other thing I've ever said.

Finally, I settled on Red Delicious and sent my husband to Home Depot. (Trip 1.) He came back with the correct paint AND the correct primer, took the door off the hinges and put it on sawhorses. He borrowed my pal, the Orbital Sander (more about this in another post) to smooth it out and put on the paint. Done, right? Wrong.

First, it didn't dry in one day so we had to sleep without a front door. We took careful security precautions though. The door had a sheet of plastic stapled over it to keep most of the bugs out and the cat and the dog in, so that was the first barrier. I was still nervous that a truly resourceful crook could figure out how to get through the plastic shield so my husband stapled a quilt on the inside. He told me that would make it look dark so that no one would know we didn't have a door.

Okkkaaayyy...everyone knows that a sheet of plastic AND a quilt are inpenetrable. But, just in case, he set up a trap. He put two chairs in front of the door and filled the seats with the tools he had been using (staple gun, screwdriver, orbital sander, etc.) Anyone coming through the plastic and the quilt would not expect that and would fall over it, making a lot of noise.

And, at my request, we added our main noisemaker. We left our dog, Tally, out of her kennel. She barks loudly at anyone (known or unknown) who comes into our house. She is really saying "Yay,yay,I'msogladyou'rehere.I wanttolickyourface.Yay,yay!" But, crooks wouldn't know that and she does sound very fierce.

As it turned out, we were safe and ready for Part II of Behind the Red Door.