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Hoverboards and holidays

Shelley E. Huguley, Editor

February 14, 2020

2 Min Read
swfp-shelley-huguley-20-paint-hoverboard.jpg
Shelley E. Huguley

In January our nation celebrated Martin Luther King Jr. Day on what would have been Rev. King's 91st birthday. King was a leader, a man of courage and an individual of great faith who fought for equality. MLK Day is the only federal holiday designated as a national day of service calling Americans to volunteer to improve their communities. What a great call by an amazing man!

While I didn’t serve my community that day, I did have the day off. Since my kiddos were in school, my mind began to romanticize about all the things I could accomplish while I was alone. For example, cleaning out closets and underneath beds. This involves rescuing abandoned socks, dirty dishes and "lost" clothing and library books for which a fine has already been paid. 

But instead, I chose to paint. My thought was, I'm going to quickly paint the bathroom vanity and maybe touchup places scarred by two rounds of hoverboards. If your home has never experienced rookie hoverboarders, you're missing out. Personally, I think these motorized scooters should require driver's ed and come with touch up paint and/or baseboards.

Before I started with Farm Press, I had painted several rooms in our home along with the kitchen cabinets. I felt semi-professional by the time I was finished, so I was confident I could quickly freshen up my vanity and still have time to rest.

Not quite. Apparently, when I paint, I become like a magnet. As I move to clean up one drop of paint, I instinctively smear paint somewhere else. I'm not sure there's enough drop cloth or painter's tape to help me. And to further complicate things, I was using oil-based paint. In my defense, I find that it endures life's spills and bumps better than water-based unless you're learning to ride a hoverboard.

By the time my vanity was sanded and painted, I was covered in Sherwin William Dovetail paint. A beautiful color, but I could have passed for a living color sample. It was even in my hair. I know, I can't explain it.

At one point, my farmer stopped by the house. I told him it might be better if he left. I had already sinned in my anger and I didn't want to take it out on an innocent bystander.

A few lessons from my painting escapade: Number one, there's a reason people are paid to paint. It's an art. Number two, coconut oil and a pick remove oil-based paint from your hair. Number three, never tell yourself, 'I don't need a drop cloth. I'm just going to touch up this spot,' because as you're standing on your tiptoes, reaching an area above your head, your paint pan might tip and guess what? Dovetail oil-based paint doesn't come out of the carpet!

About the Author(s)

Shelley E. Huguley

Editor, Southwest Farm Press

Shelley Huguley has been involved in agriculture for the last 25 years. She began her career in agricultural communications at the Texas Forest Service West Texas Nursery in Lubbock, where she developed and produced the Windbreak Quarterly, a newspaper about windbreak trees and their benefit to wildlife, production agriculture and livestock operations. While with the Forest Service she also served as an information officer and team leader on fires during the 1998 fire season and later produced the Firebrands newsletter that was distributed quarterly throughout Texas to Volunteer Fire Departments. Her most personal involvement in agriculture also came in 1998, when she married the love of her life and cotton farmer Preston Huguley of Olton, Texas. As a farmwife, she knows first-hand the ups and downs of farming, the endless decisions made each season based on “if” it rains, “if” the drought continues, “if” the market holds. She is the bookkeeper for their family farming operation and cherishes moments on the farm such as taking harvest meals to the field or starting a sprinkler in the summer with the whole family lending a hand. Shelley has also freelanced for agricultural companies such as Olton CO-OP Gin, producing the newsletter Cotton Connections while also designing marketing materials to promote the gin. She has published articles in agricultural publications such as Southwest Farm Press while also volunteering her marketing and writing skills to non-profit organizations such as Refuge Services, an equine-assisted therapy group in Lubbock. She and her husband reside in Olton with their three children Breely, Brennon and HalleeKate.

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