This sunshine can only lead to one thing....

More work on the balcony! Today's changes are subtle, but oh so very key if I am going to make a point of using the balcony.

The first thing was fixing my screen door. It has rusted pretty bad and was very difficult to open and close. I often left it open so it wasn't in my way, but then I couldn't use my patio door to let in some fresh air without letting in some fresh bugs (ok, it's a bit early in the season for bugs but in the middle of August I would appreciate some sort of barrier). I honestly thought I needed to replace the whole door because it was rusted so bad at the wheels. My friend Sarah recommended some WD-40 first and let me say, THANK YOU SARAH! A good spray of that stuff and my door is sliding back and forth like soap on a slip'n'slide! WOO!

The next step was bug prevention. I bought my place in the fall and by the time I moved in, it was too cold to use the patio. The following summer I bought all this pretty furniture and I was so excited to spend time out there. But then the worst possible thing happened - giant man-eating spiders. Even though I killed all on sight (I may be responsible for all the rain that summer), I was terrified to go out there. They hid under the furniture, behind cushions, on the ground...*shudder*.

The next summer wasn't so bad but I still didn't go out there that much. I still lived in fear of my own balcony. But this year NO MORE! Because this year I found out about spider spray. Yes, they make a spray specifically for killing and preventing spiders. Hollah! So I set out to my favorite store- Canadian Tire- and picked me up a bottle of Raid Spider Blaster, which claims to keep killing for up to 2 weeks. I picked Raid for two reasons- one being that it was a well known brand, and two because the other brand had a picture of a giant nasty spider on it. For someone afraid of spiders, it is NOT an attractive can. Raid just has a simple, small, black spider on it. It understands me.

So I sprayed it around the edge of the balcony and between my balcony and my neighbours. I found it kind of smells, but being outdoors it cleared up quickly. I hope it holds up well on the concrete.

 GOODBYE, SPIDERS!

The next thing I did on the patio was a work on the table. Remember how faded and ugly it was looking after the past two summers of hanging out outside? I decided to try and work with what I got and then if it sucked I would consider painting the top a fun colour so it would end up as a two-tone colour/wood look. So I dug under my sink and I found the protective glaze paint that the table came with. I read the instructions, which included that the bottle expired 2 years ago and not to apply in direct sunlight. Well, screw that! I don't need to follow your stinking directions! Remember, if this sucked I had a plan B. So i went ahead with my staining paint and found it easy going.

Until this happened:

Oops. Ya, that's STAIN on my concrete floor!!! Luckily it cleaned up fairly easily, otherwise I would have to amp up the project to get flooring laid!!!

So here are the before and afters of my patio table:

Yay! It looks much better and this is before it dried (got too dark by the time I finished to photograph it all dry and pretty. I guess that expired stain still had some life left in it. My technique for staining is very simple. I just use a cloth, pour a bit of stain on it, and rub it into the wood. You can also paint it on or use a sponge.

Hopefully now the patio table will hold out for another year and I will have less fading than I did last year.

The final thing I did on the patio was read a book! Yup, I got out there and actually read something in my giant yellow chair. But then I got cold and came in- I might have to wait a few months for a truly hot day (it gets windy up there so it's quite nice on a really hot day).

Did anyone else get out in the sun this weekend? Or just spend St. Patty's day in the bar and then Sunday in with a face in the toilet? Haha. 

I did the former, but thankfully not the latter :) And yes, that is a terrible blackberry picture of me wearing a hat on my hat.

I hope you had a great weekend!!