More Painting Tips

My husband and I just bought a new house.  I've been calling the place "The Pit" since it needs so much work and is sucking up money in dollar repairs.

Almost the entire interior has needed painting, so I embarked on that task.  I bought paints from different stores and in different brands, and though a painter told me all paints are pretty much the same, I did not feel like they were.

I used Dutch Boy Classic One, AD Designs, ACE Royal, and Color Place.  This is what I learned.

Dutch Boy Classic One: The paint did not want to stick to former paint. I had to paint a thin coat, let it dry, and then paint over it. Most walls took three coats and a touch up to get the slightly thin spots.  I was not impressed at all. 

AD Designs:  First coat went on a little thicker than the Dutch Boy Classic, but not by much. All walls and ceilings took three coats, even dark blue.

Ace Royal: This paint went on the thickest with each area and I only needed two strong coats with a little touch up.  Of all the paints, this proved to be my favorite and the one I will buy in the future.

Color Place:  Though this paint tended to go on reasonable thick, it had issues.  I did a first coat, waited six hours, went to do a second coat, and the paint from the first coat came right off.  I had to let this paint dry a full 24 hours before I could apply a second coat.

I hope this helps all you painters out there.

Found Dog in Willow Creek, California- Update Owner has claimed Buggy!

A very friendly dog crawled under my fence to get into my yard to play with my dogs.

He appears to be between 1 and 2 years old.  I would guess his weight at 50 lbs.

He has no collar or ID on him.

Do you recognize him?  Please e-mail me if you do.

Update:  I am glad to announced that Buggy's owners saw my flyer and came and claimed him this afternoon.  Though Boomer and Maggie enjoyed his company, they were so tired when he left, that they both nearly slept the entire day!

Happy First Day of Summer!

I hope everyone is enjoying a cool evening after a beautiful first day of summer.  Up here in the woods it was warm, but then a powerful wind picked up and blew a lot of the heat away, which made the day all that more pleasant.

Now that I am free from my day job, I am eager to dig into tons of summer projects ranging from sweeping the cobwebs off the house to getting Unicorn's Milk finished. Finishing my first two mosaic projects are on my agenda as well. I have started and been plucking away at my two simple pieces, but have not had the time to fully focus on the final touches. When they are done, I will share the first two mosaics I have ever done.

Enough for now. Enjoy your first summer's night.

Informational Update on Buying Stocks

My great investment adventures in the stock market continues.  I am investing anywhere from $300 to $700 a month.  I consider this my retirement fund.

I really like the Disney stock (DIS).  It has been good to me.  My 14 shares have gained $444 since I starting purchasing them a year ago.  I bought my first 4 shares at $68, and an additional ten when DIS was around $75 a share.  It is currently about $110 and I think it will hover there a while.

I also was surprised how well my Rite Aide stock has done.  I bought it thinking it a good risk, and it has risen and made me a few dollars.  It is still cheap to get in at under $9 a share.  It doesn't pay dividends, but it has potential.

I also just purchased INN and have been happy with it. It is a dividend paying stock and my 40 shares have made me $5 in just 2 days.

I am really disappointed in my Real Goods (RGSE) stocks.  They reverse split, and that is never a good sign. This was a company I really believed in, but then the original company bought itself back out of the bigger company. This was the first stock I bought.  I used to own a 100 shares, but thanks to the reverse split I now own 5.  For me to make my money back, those 5 shares would need to be worth about $65 each. I just don't see that happening, so I am going to sell what I have at a loss and get out.  I figure it will be a good tax deduction.  Thankfully my Disney stock has made more than RGSE has lost me.

Canon Inc. has also be a decent stock to own.

My other investments are just hovering and haven't really cost or gained me anything (though some pay a dividend).

Since I'm not a day trader, but investing long haul for retirement, I have time to see if my so-so's go up.

Happy Investing!

Kirkus Review of Stubb, the Magic Pencil

After much waiting, I received Stubby, the Magic Pencil's review.  I found the review to be fair. Though, as most author's would wish, I would have preferred a more positive, book-selling review. The bit about the dark elements (which I consider mild), is personal taste. I think there are lot darker elements in Harry Potter and the whole series by Lemony Snicket, and those have sold well. 

Thus, I decided to publish my review (I did have the choice to archive it and not let anyone see it).

The grammar mistakes in the review are easily fixed on my end, especially in the Kindle version.

Anyway, here is the review.

https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/heather-hobson/stubby-magic-pencil/

Tips for Painting a Room

I just finished painting my living room!  The task proved lengthy than I thought. As always, I jumped in eagerly, and then after a couple of days was eager to be done.

I did figure out a couple of useful things though. The first one is that old towels make great tarps. They are heavy enough not to move very far when dragging ladders and foot stools over them, and they are very absorbent. They sure beat out the giant plastic tarps I bought that were hard to shift from area to area.

Secondly for some touch up on trim, my husband bought regular mini brushes from the hardware store. Upon first use they were shedding bits of fibers onto the painted wall. What worked well and didn't shed fiber were the little paintbrushes that came with the Easter egg kit I had. They were able to get into the smallest places too.

The other thing is to keep a wet rag handy, but I'm sure anyone who has painted before has figured this one out.

Happy painting!

Book Reader Magazine Interview

I have been blessed to have yet another interview for Stubby, the Magic Pencil and myself. The interview is in Book Reader Magazine.  Check it out.  Heather Hobson Interview

I must also add, that I was saddened to read about Leonard Nimoy's passing. As a science fiction fan, Mr. Nimoy's departure is a mournful one.  He will be missed.  LLAP.