Casa Blanca

La Quinta, California: Not sure if you all recall, but we had our house painted. Such a long and complicated process, beginning with seeking approval from our HOA. There are very few color choices/combinations, and only one approved paint supplier, and then we had to get permission/approval from our across-the-street neighbor, and hire a paint crew. Thems the rules.

We are rule followers, so we almost accomplished these steps. Our “across-the-street” neighbors are rarely at here. They come occasionally for a long weekend, and we have only met them once - in their driveway. Happily, our next-door neighbors are here for the entire winter and they signed off - probably very happy to spiff up the ‘hood, after living next-door to our long-neglected house for several years. We chose a white paint, with grey doors, gates, garage doors, and light fixtures. Then we had to schedule a paint crew. That took another six weeks. Finally, they began on Friday, 22 April. The job was finished Thursday, 5 May. Ugh.

For a recap, above is our house as we purchased it June 2020. Drab beige. Or so you might think. This house had different (though nearly the same) paint colors on every exterior wall. Why? Plus, the courtyard was yet another color and the trim and eaves had been painted - the only trim that was painted on the entire house. You can only imagine the nightmare of trying to decipher the various paint cans left in the garage by previous (we think three) owners! Since this country club only has about a dozen floor plans divided up amongst the 400 homes, it was easy to decide what looked good on our floor plan, just from walking down the street.

First, the entire house was pressure washed. Then all the exterior lamps and lights were removed or covered. Cracks were patched. The crew began painting in the back of house, enclosing us like little pupae, with our only escape through the garage.

Plastic sheeting covered every door and window. Our patio furniture was piled-up next to the hot tub. Our patio furniture cushions and pillows were piled-up in our living room. We’re classy like that.

In the end, three coats of paint (sprayed) were required to properly cover all the stucco. Then the crew moved to the sides and front of the house, leaving the courtyard until last. The plastic was removed as soon as the paint dried (15 seconds?) and the plants were rescued from their plastic saunas. Then the exterior doors and gates were painted (by hand) a light grey. All the new paint only made all the exterior light fixtures seem super krappy.

Both metal gates and the wall sconces were painted grey. Serious improvement. Now we need to replace the chandelier between the two gates! And new front landscaping has been ordered!

The last chore was super messy: painting the stucco walls between our two neighbors. The walls are covered in wires to train the bougainvillea. Two workers grabbed the vines and pulled them back, while a third man sprayed the wall. The wall only received two coats and our gardener is scheduled to repair the broken bits. (It's always something.) Did I ever mention how much I dislike bougainvillea? It's messy. The flowers are always floating around in the pool, and blowing around everywhere. It has huge thorns. The only reason I keep the bougainvillea is because so many lizards hang out there.

Neighbors were honking and giving us "thumbs up" as they passed by. I guess we really spiffed-up the neighborhood?

Yep, we fly the Ukraine flag.

The biggest change seems to be our "living" spaces, like the courtyard (above), and the rear verandah:

Another great thing? There are now only three cans of paint in our garage: exterior, exterior trim and interior. Our paint crew hauled everything else away!

Next project: replace a few outdoor lights. Lisa said she will help us choose.

But first, all the windows need to be washed!

Until my next update - and it's going to be a doozy - I remain, your painted correspondent.

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