Wow, they just left for the night. I find it wearing - 13 hours of being in a fishbowl. They'll be here tomorrow, then come back next week to put the railing on.

My landlord taped CAUTION tape over the four double doors so "children will not fall." I said I wouldn't be inviting too many children over while this repair work is going on.

The competent friend, who is taciturn and I thought, a bit surly, seemed taken with my monitor size, so he became more animated and friendly. The paintery dood treats me like the angels from on high fly around me tossing rose petals and singing in harmony. There's another one - he was carrying a great long 2x12 through a sliding door and wheeled around, the end of the board coming at a clip directly for my video camera, so I put my hand on ithe board - trying to stop it but not propel the man off the (very narrow and with no decking on it) sticky-outy bit he was walking on. Success - but I dunno if he knew what I was doing or just thought I was interfering.

I like workmen - dunno why. The last mural job (3 in a house being remodeled) I did, I adopted all the painters as part of my tribe, and used to tell them things like "Don't inhale solvent - it causes neurological damage and I can tell you THAT is something you don't want - if you can't help it then get another job," and "St. Valentine's Day is coming up - better think now about getting something for your wife." At least I amused them. Scratch a wall painter (a good one, I mean) and a lot of the traits of a painter will show up.