Waiting for Juan.

Deliver me from handymen who listen to different drummers.

We were spoiled with handyman Wayland, who showed up in our driveway at first light and worked all day except for a half-hour lunch which he brought with him and ate in his truck.  Didn't matter if it was 100 degrees or half of that, Wayland was here and ready to work all day.   A lot got done back then... painting and scraping and power-washing and more painting.  Whose idea was it anyway to buy an old Victorian with cypress wood siding on all three floors?

Wayland has since 'graduated' to ultra-handyman talents... he's been building barns and decks and houses... and he hasn't worked here for a couple of years now.  Woe is us.  Handymen aren't the easiest people to find.  Correction:  reliable handymen aren't the easiest people to find.

One handyman took two weeks to get here to cut up and remove a giant limb  that broke off from the pecan tree by the pond. Once he got here, he made short work of that job and hauled everything away, but we haven't seen him since. Probably because we haven't called him.  Waiting two weeks for one small job isn't on our must-do list.

This current handyman Juan came recommended by the ladies in the thrift store.  He's been in the construction business for 25 years..... he works with his son and they can do just about everything.  We've been waiting for a month for him to start work today... painting and scraping and power-washing, and more painting.  Juan and his son got here at 8:40 this morning..... they left for lunch a little before noon..... off in their truck they went, and they just pulled into the driveway a few minutes ago (it's 1:40 now but who's counting).

I'm hoping against all hope that this father and son duo work out.... after they finish the outside painting, I'd like them to paint the main hallway going up to the second floor.  The ceiling is very high over that stairway... they would need scaffolding and nerve.  They would  need to start it in the morning and finish it that same day.  I wouldn't want scaffolding and drop-cloths left on the stairs over-night or over a few days.

Is that too much to ask?  If it is, then I don't need a handyman..... I need a bunch of little green elves who come out of hiding after midnight and do all these chores so when I wake up the next morning, everything would be done and I wouldn't even know the elves had been here. (Is that too much to ask?)