![Paul Bracken, Cabbagetown painter extraordinaire.](https://i0.wp.com/www.makelikeanapeman.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/051115Paul.jpg?resize=450%2C600)
May 2015.
It’s week four of hand-painting Jennifer’s house. Our buddy, Paul, drummed up work all spring. He and I have already bid on a few more painting jobs. We’ve even invested in a power washer and a paint sprayer. Jennifer’s place required a lot of prep work, but we are well into the second coat now.
This morning Duwan and I woke up in KK’s house, where we are sitting Dave (a standard poodle) and Bob (a laboradoodle). The boys paid no attention as I went through my morning routine, but leapt up and started rough-housing as soon as Duwan woke up. As she came down the stairs Dave pranced ahead and Bob loped along behind him.
![Bob guards the front porch.](https://i0.wp.com/www.makelikeanapeman.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/053115Bob.jpg?resize=760%2C570)
![Dave, poised to prance.](https://i0.wp.com/www.makelikeanapeman.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/053115Dave.jpg?resize=450%2C600)
As I walk up the street to Jennifer’s I can barely see the sun through the morning haze. Cabbagetown stirs. People with real jobs drive off to work.
I climb my (borrowed) ladder and paint. A steady stream of dog-walking neighbors goes by. Some folks tell me to be careful up there. After a while I slip into the painting ‘zone’. Then Paul says it’s time for lunch. I walk back to KK’s.
Paul walks across the street to his house. He’s followed by Dora, his black one-eared cat. She has kept tabs on Paul all day. She gets quite vocal if he moves into some position that she considers dangerous.
![Paul and Greg start work on Jennifer's house.](https://i0.wp.com/www.makelikeanapeman.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/051115PaintingJPH.jpg?resize=760%2C570)
Duwan is ‘home’, but not for long. She has been to the city Tool Bank to check out some supplies for a volunteer effort to paint neighbor Bertha’s house. She leaves to report in for her new waitressing job: two lunches a week, cha-ching!
After lunch I’m back on the ladder, slipping back into the ‘zone’. The forecast calls for an 80% chance of rain, but you never know on a summer afternoon. After a while I hear a rumble in the distance. Is it thunder or a train stopping at the CSX? Then we get a cool breeze. It was thunder. Time to pack up and call it a day.
![Jennifer's newly painted house.](https://i0.wp.com/www.makelikeanapeman.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/JenniferHouse.jpg?resize=760%2C570)
After work I walk to Little’s neighborhood grocery for provisions. Duwan and I have two pet orientation appointments after supper tonight. One with a dog who doesn’t like me much. I must remind her of someone mean from her past. She does like bites of uncooked hotdog, though. Time to buy some love.
I walk out of Littles with a 12 pack of PBR and a single raw hotdog, and get hailed from across the street. Handyman neighbors Mark and Sam say that if I help them for a few minutes they won’t have to drive up to the Home Depot parking lot to recruit more muscle. Together we coax a washer/dryer combo down a skinny flight of stairs. Mark steps off to get our payment and Sam bums a beer. When Mark comes back I take a little (for the beer) and tell them to split the rest. C-Town Handyman Econ.
After supper Duwan and I go get oriented on house sitting duties, odd jobs, pet care, and most importantly, Wi-Fi passwords. Oh, the raw dog was a big hit.
![Daisy really enjoys those raw hotdog bites!](https://i0.wp.com/www.makelikeanapeman.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/071915Daisy.jpg?resize=450%2C600)