Missing the Forest for the Trees

I’m usually fairly detail-oriented.  It’s a required trait for both my job (proposal writing) and my condition (I’m perhaps slightly afflicted with OCD).  This weekend, following Saturday’s Grungy Fence Removal Escapade, I was making the rounds on my lazy Sunday, double-checking the house to make sure everything was ready for the scrapers to begin on Tuesday.  (Really, do lazy Sundays exist, aside from on SNL?  I’m beginning to equate them with the Yeti or Nessie: all this time, and I’m still waiting to catch a glimpse of one.)  I stopped in my tracks when I realized that my exposed rafters were missing–that is, they weren’t exposed. 

Below is an image I used in a recent post about color selection.  Do you notice anything?

That’s right, the downspout and gutters are still in place.  Er.

How did I miss this in the two months since the siding removal began?  Maybe it’s the lead paint I’ve been exposed to in the last year.  Maybe I’ve become desensitized to bland, boring white aluminum.  Maybe I’m finally off my rocker.  Whatever the reason, so began a mad dash to remove the gutters and fascia boards before sundown tonight.  I was not calling the painter to push back the schedule.  I was determined to be ready–and as exhausted, sore, and shaken as I am (due another close call or two on the ladder), I can now say that this house is truly ready for her make-over.  On the eve of the kick-off, here are her last few ‘un-glamour’ shots:

THERE are those exposed rafters (and one looong piece of gutter)!

The way the porch column should look:

And an all- too-familiar sight for me, often seen as the moving truck is being loaded:

Tomorrow’s showtime, so cross your fingers for sunshine!

Excitedly, 

 

*Forest image courtesy of http://www.keephillslibrary.ab.ca/.