I’m a bit late penning todays offering as I’ve been otherwise occupied glossing doors, skirting boards and landing woodwork. A therapeutic task which, accompanied with an eclectic set of Apple Music playlists, passed surprisingly quickly.

I sanded the woodwork to the sound of Sinatra, glossed the skirting/doors to a 2000’s mix and the landing woodwork was freshened up to a list of Coldplay anthems.

If truth be told, I find sanding woodwork to be a most unfulfilling of tasks. However, when you add ‘Old Blue Eyes’ belting out a standard with a Nelson Riddle arrangement it somehow becomes less of a chore.

While preparing for this morning’s task of decorating, it dawned on me that, despite purchasing gloss and brushes, I hadn’t checked if I had masking tape or white spirits. Key materials for protecting my carpet during the decorating of skirting and for cleaning oil paint from brushes.

On a search of the garage, it materialised I needn’t have worried. Hidden in a box on the top of a cupboard was five half used rolls of masking tape and three half full plastic bottles of white spirit.

I’ve no idea how it came to pass that I’d accumulated this excessive amount masking tape. I must ordinarily buy a new roll every time I purchase paint and brushes. To a lesser extent I must employ a similar approach with bottles of white spirit. Not forgetting sandpaper, which was present in reams inside the same garage box.

On telling my wife Karen about finding this plethora of masking tape, bottle of white spirit and sandpaper she responded “Oh ok.”…… Not the most memorable of conversations we’ve ever had, but in her defence she was distracted at the time, seeking new recipes online to freshen up the weekly Strachan menu.

It turned out to be a productive few hours work, where I completed everything on my daily decorating ‘to do’ list. There’s still a couple of doors and a hand rail to decorate tomorrow, however I feel I’ve ‘broke the back’ of freshening up the woodwork in chez Strachan.

Hopefully, this will leave me plenty of time in the afternoon to work out what to do with the fourteen miles of newly discovered masking tape in my possession. With tongue very firmly in cheek, I proffered a solution to Karen’s culinary conundrum by suggesting a masking tape salad for tea.

She treat my epiphany with the contempt it deserved, rightly saying it was a ridiculous idea. Anyway, she’d already decided that this evening’s meal was sandpaper and white spirit broth.

Of course, we aren’t having that for tea, they are merely words from inane exchanges, by a couple who earlier received excessive exposure to gloss fumes.

So all that’s left for today is my current boxset fix of Suits on Netflix. Along with later the family and me navigating the way to our respective bedrooms without getting gloss on clothing. A big ask when you take into account the numerous wet paint spots on the landing woodwork.