OMG, you guys really READ this S*@T!!

Today I finished one of the projects I’ve had my eye on for a while. I’ve had the supplies, but I just haven’t gotten around to sanding and painting the base of the dining room table that’s in our furnished condo. Now, before y’all go runnin’ to Howard and tell him his tenant is painting the crap outta the place, he knows about it, okay? Hell, he even paid for the supplies himself. (Hey, some landlords can be nice…it happens! And I’m not sure he really knows he paid for the supplies so keep this on the down low, right?)

Oh, hey, here’s a picture of the finished product. Yea, yea, yea I know I promised you pictures of the place in an earlier post and I AM going to do that when I finish the next project. Which is sanding and painting the little bookcase/TV stand that Howard provided for us. (And yes, he paid for the supplies for that project, too, ya little narcs!) I want to do a “Before” and “After” shot of the living room, kitchen and bedroom, so you can see how little you can spend to have the place looking halfway decent…a future post, okay?

In the meantime, here’s the quick shot of today’s project which leads me into

This table base used to be a weather-worn icky rattan color.

what I really want to say:

I had spray painted the table out in our shared carport. John and I had carefully put up a large plastic tarp to form sort of a “spraying booth”. I really don’t want our neighbors walking out from their condos and discovering their silver car is now a lovely shade of off-white. Wouldn’t be neighborly, know what I mean?

So there I am folding the tarp so I can store it for the next project. My hands are  full of spray paint, no makeup on, hair a mess, and I can hear voices coming from the second floor. I know the unit directly above ours is for sale and they have been showing the place pretty regularly, so I’m assuming prospective buyers are checking it out. Three people come down the stairs and into the back drive area to stand and look at the building. I (again, being neighborly) say “Hey”. They, (being neighborly) say “Hey” back. Stimulating conversation, eh?

Anyways, there is a couple and a single lady. One of the women looks at me and says “Can I ask you a question?” “Sure,” I replied. (Thinking they want to ask a question about the unit in which case I can launch into the things I think they oughtta check out before they buy….)

So she says “Are you Robyn?”.

“Ummm, yeah?” I say.

“You write the blog, right? Third World Wife, right?” she asks.

“Yes, how’d you know?” (Dorky question, but I’m in a little bit of shock.)

“Well, we’ve been researching Boquete, and we’ve been reading your blog since September! You’re known as the ‘Ironing Board Couple’ in our house. Oh, I’m so excited to meet you! We feel like we know everything about you — John, your kids, how long it takes to walk to town, that you just joined the Country Club at Valle Escondido. In fact, we’re heading over there now and can’t wait to check it out! We just love reading your little stories!”

Well, so H. and N. from Toronto, Canada ‘love my little stories’, eh? (Hey, you didn’t think I’d use their full names now, didja?) But I’m amazed at the power of the blog, and the power of the internet. I started out writing this blog for my friends back home so they could keep up with what’s going on with me and here I am making friends with people all over the world. Blows me away.

And it REALLY blows me away that you people read this S*@T… er, drivel… er, pearls of wisdom! I’m loving it! Keep reading!

I neglected to take a picture of H. and N and their realtor, so here’s a reasonable facsimile of them. Now do you know why I’m taking art classes:

This is H. and N. from Toronto, Canada, and their Realtor. Very nice looking people, eh?