Walking On Air

Ever have one of those simple jobs or quick chores that you just can't seem to get around to tackling? You're not exactly procrastinating, but it just keeps falling off the bottom of your To-Do list and there never seems to be a right time to get 'er done?

And then when you FINALLY bear down and accomplish this task, you feel like a million bucks. The angels break out a hallelujah chorus and you are soooo relieved and satisfied and happy with your efforts that you feel like you're walking on air?

Meet my walking-on-air project for today. Yes, it's a big orange ball. First I showed you the 'after' shot; now say hello to my 'before' big orange ball. 

Oh, isn't this a sad mess. Let me tell you how things got to be this way.

* * * * *

Once upon a time, I had a bright cobalt blue birdbath. But about a decade into its life, the 'bath' portion of the two-piece ensemble broke. I was devastated. Horrified at the sad prospect of throwing out the still-perfectly lovely pedestal, I decided to find a new life for it. 

I had recently conjured up the big red ball installation in my front yard, so I decided to try a big orange ball to sit atop the blue no-longer-a-birdbath. 

So far, so good. My problem was not one of conception but of execution. When I bought the white globe to serve as the big orange ball, I accidentally grabbed the version made of glass, instead of acrylic.

Big problem. My spray paint did not like that glass globe. No matter how many times I painted it, within a few days of life in the great outdoors, the bright orange color would chip away, leaving an ugly mess where orange bliss should have been.

The solution to this problem was clear: go back to Home Depot and buy an acrylic globe for eleven bucks. Drag out the orange spray paint and doll it up. Put the new beauty in the garden, throw the old one in the trash.

Despite the fact that I go to Home Depot at least once a week, it took me well over a year to fix my problem.

Oh, goodness. That's a long time to wait to solve such a simple problem, isn't it. 

And that's a long time to put up with either a chipped orange ball or a pathetically amputated birdbath in my backyard. 

And it's a super long time to have an item floating around on my To-Do lists. 

But finally, FINALLY, I can cross this one off my list, smile at the bright burst of color livening up a green corner of my garden, and rejoice in the birdbath's new life. 

Now you know why I'm walking on air.