all this before a teabreak!

its going to look so much brighter and lighter fran!! great job!!

tthanks! I stopped the wall because I realised that I'd better paint the low wall so I could put the tables up (see next pic!) and besides, my arms and shoulders were aching a bit with reaching up even on a step-ladder.

But once it's done, it should stay done for quite a while

good for you! it always feels so good when painting is done, a lot of work but not difficult and it makes such a difference!!!

I learned from doing the other wall, and this time I painted it thickly, as can be told by the splashes on the ground! and I still had to use the smaller brush to get into the craicks (I don't know who did the DIY for the previous tenant, but they were obviously a great believer in 3" nails!), but at least I only had to do it once. It's probably patchy, but if anyone comments I'll just hand them the brush and tell them to do something about it!

Annd I did it ALL myself - every drop of paint on the wall, and on the ground, was MY work; that feels so damn good! even if I had to stop every few minutes while painting above shoulder height to grive my arm a bit of a rest, even if I pay for it tomorrow - I DID IT ALL!!!!!!!!

lol sorry to sound so immodest, but I'm finally starting to take the 't out of "can't"

Fran, I live by myself and EVERYTHING, except for electrical/plumbing/complicated repairs etc. I have to do on my own. Wish I could afford to hire someone to help but I can't....this summer my goal is to paint the kitchen cabinets (aaaargh) and walls, repaint the dining room, and powerwash and paint the front porch. My boyfriend isn't much use as he was thrown out of a Humvee in Afghanistan and was left with major shoulder and knee problems - even painting is painful for him.

It does feel good to accomplish something, doesn't it? Last month I dug my vegetable garden. The soil is very heavy clay here so I had to dig out about 6" of dirt in an approximately 10' x 6' plot and replace it with bags and bags of Jungle Growth. I had started all my tomatoes from seed (a first for me!!) and got everything planted 2 weeks ago. Now my little tomato plants have exploded and are growing tall and healthy. It's wonderful to have your own fresh veggies but even better when you finally see the results of your hard work! Congrats on getting so much done, I'm impressed!!!

Sorry to hear about your bf, sending a basket of good wishes you-wards.

Have you tried your local Age UK office? (used to be Age Concern, but they merged with Help the Aged). I use their handyman service a lot - I'm severely visually impaired and have an injury to my lower spine, so I don't have the sight or the muscle to do heavy drilling etc, and I certainly do'nt have the skill or confidence to touch the water or leccy! They charge, but a damn sight less than the handyman service I found online - £60 per hour plus VAT!

I've done small drilling jobs: put up shelves where the walls aren't so solid that they need a hammer-drill, and stuf flike that; lol I even got them dead level, which is a first for me!

I do what I can, even if he does tell me off for doing too much when it comes to shifting furniture etc, but I need to know that I've done what I CAN do, rather than be waited on.

Thereare also garden charities that mgiht help iwth the heavy stuff - or local garden volunteers.

I can do the basics like putting up shelves also, but I have no confidence in myself when it comes to doing anything even remotely technical!! And I'm terrified of ladders!

There are so many people out of work here - including myself - that I can usually find someone to do the more difficult things fairly inexpensively. Fortunately my back injury of last autumn has healed very, very well.....I was lucky. Still have some pain and stiffness but I can lift again. It might take me a little longer to get the job done but it does get done as long as I have the motivation.

thanks for your good wishes, he needs them. He is very depressed lately, I sometimes feel I can't do anything to help him.With me being unemployed and so few jobs available & money tight we're both down a lot of the time. thankfully my garden and my kittycat and puppydog friends keep my spirits up!

I won't say I know how he feels, but I know how I felt when I was depressed - "severely" is relative, but it was quite severe enough for me at the time! Knowing that I would - eventually - come out of it was no consoloation when I was up to my neck in it. Gardening and GoY both played large parts in that recovery.

Glad to hear your back's better. I got medically retired because of mine: inoperable lower-spine injury. I've got a three-step stepladder, and that's as high as I want to go - and even then I'm praranoid about making sure it's not wobbly, cos I do'nt think I'd bounce very well!