Wednesday, July 25, 2007

a busy day

I just came into the house to take a break and thought I would post on the blog. I've been painting the columns on the front porch. They were installed back in 2003 when I had my roof rebuilt. The contractor advised that I let them season for a few months before painting. Well, I let them season for 3-1/2 years. You can't be too careful. I've given them 3 coats of paint and it looks like they might take more.

Earlier today I took a break from painting and went up on the roof and swept all the leaves that had accumulated there. I would think the wind and rain would keep the roof clean but once a year I have to do this. While I was up there a wasp got after me. I swung the broom around trying to swat it but it was making some very good evasive maneuvers and also some very aggressive dives in my direction. I went into some frantic broom swinging and name calling with ever increasing speed until the wasp simply flew away. I wondered if I had been observed because I must have been a ridiculous sight. I scanned the areas toward my neighbors' houses but no one was out and there was no sound of uncontrollable laughter so I was safe. Now, I'm long past the age where I'm afraid of making a fool of myself, but doing a St. Vitus dance on the roof with broom in hand would have surely cost me a trip to the state hospital had I been seen.

Well, I'm going back outside to finish the painting. See ya later.

3 comments:

Dawn said...

You had me laughing our loud as I pictured you doing your "special" dance on the roof!

Anonymous said...

Do you realize that there are very FEW people in the world who know what the St. Vidus Dance is?

For myself, it is a dim memory I have of a story my Dad told me about what happens to people that are bitten by a number of various spiders and such.

Once bitten, the victim does the St. Vidus dance until they drop dead.

I paused while writing this comment to do a quick Google search for St. Vitus, which is the correct spelling for a disease called Sydenham's Chorea.

Link: http://saintvitus.com/SaintVitus/
(copy and paste to visit)

It has been many, many years since I've heard or read any reference to it. How did it come to be part of your vocabulary?

Unknown said...

Clarence: I really can't recall how I learned about it. I'm a life-long voracious reader so I'm sure I read about it years ago.