All about steps

This weekend I decided to tackle the front steps. They've been suffering since I moved in. The salt in the winter really is a problem. Wally told me to use something else -  calcium carbonate? That is supposed to melt the ice but unlike salt won't make the cement crack. I'll have to look into that closer to a snow storm.

 

So I got the 10 lb. bucket of cement patcher from Home Depot. The instructions are anything but clear. It's like they expect you to already know what you are doing! So I followed instructions and got everything patched.

  

It looks dreadful.

 

It looks even worse in person. I'm not sure what to do. I guess I should do a bit of research. But my dad is coming back from his world travels on the 2nd so I'm hoping he's got some good advice. I am thinking I need to get a second bucket of cement and just do a complete layer over the whole thing so that it at least looks consistent and not patch-work.  

Other issues are the gaping gap between the new wood of the porch and the back of the stairs. It's not really a problem - it just looks bad. I'm still thinking over how to change that. 

And now that I am preoccupied with finishing up the porch - meaning it needs to be water proofed - I'm noticing what a terrifically bad painting job the previous person did. Look at the marble behind the doormat! Look at all that paint on the marble! How on earth do I remove that? I also need to do a touch up on the bricks before I stain the porch.  

 

My tenants were in Guatemala for  two weeks which would have been a convenient time to stain the front of the porch. But alas - I did not get to it. I started on the back though. It's amazing how nice it looks! I'm also happy that there is some sort of waterproofing before the weather really hits. The porch has basically been finished since? May? April? I can't remember, but the point is that it is already showing weather-wear.

 

It is also time to do some basic maintenance. Painting. Which I love to do. So I did put a fresh layer of paint on the steps here too. 

 

Amazing how nice it looks! That's one layer, it needs one more. 

Next weekend I'm selling my wares at the Collingswood Book Festival. I've been working on boosting my inventory and if I get it in gear I may even submit a "book" to the edible book competition. I think I might submit my "Clockwork Orange" (an orange-almond-polenta cake with real working clock parts). We'll have to see how ambitious I am next Friday.

 

Oh, and I'm getting lots of tomatoes. I'm not sure they'll all turn red. What a shame that I'll have to make fried green tomatoes.