Not so fast. Not so easy.

Whenever we're in New York City, Mr. Beers and I walk a lot. When there's somewhere we want to go, we tell ourselves that if we can see it, we can walk to it. Our little fit bits vibrate with joy when we're in New York. If we can see it, we can walk to it. For some reason, similarly, Mr. Beers feels the same way about most anything he sees on Pinterest.  If he can see it on Pinterest, he can make it or do it or whatever. And he usually can. And he does a beautiful job. Always. He's creative and he's crafty and he's a really smart guy. And he usually drags me along...

Sometime back, our local Central Market had a big old Italian festival. To decorate for the event, they created a faux cobblestone walkway and patio at the entrance of the store. Well, dear reader, Mr. Beers thought that was just the cat's pajamas. Better than Pinterest even. It was Pinterest in the flesh, in real time, in 3D. And in that moment the decision was made. We would be doing a similar patio at W. D. Deli. And so we have.

Mr. Beers did his research and found that the best product to use for such an endeavor was Behr's Deck Over.  He craftily figured out that we would buy multi-packs of big sponges and cut them into the desired sizes and shapes to use as painting implements for our faux cobblestone. We looked at the colors available in Deck Over and picked four - one (Slate) for the background and three others (muted shades of yellow, green, and blue) to make the bricks/stones.

Before any of the painting commenced we had the patio powerwashed. Once that was done, we had a great blank canvas on which to recreate a charming European cobblestone patio.

The biggest obstacle in the whole process was the Texas heat. And since the project has been done, several concerned friends and customers have asked why we chose to do such a thing when the temperature daily climbs up to around (or even above) a hundred precious degrees. We started the painting on a Saturday evening. Mr. Beers used a roller on a long handle and mopped the background Slate Deck Over paint onto the entire patio. By the end of that ordeal, he was exhausted, but not deterred. He was sure that the rest of the process would "be easier and go faster." The next day was Sunday, and after sleeping in and then enjoying a leisurely breakfast, we prepared to do the "easier, faster" part.

By the time we started painting with the sponges it was close to noon. It was not easier. It was not faster. By about three, we were soaking wet with sweat and wiped out from painting sponge by sponge by sponge on our hands and knees on burning hot black concrete. Afterward, we cleaned up and regrouped and - once we had cooled off - came up with a more sensible strategy. We would get up at 6:00 or 6:30 every morning and come over and paint our cobblestones until about 8:00. We did that Monday and Tuesday and Wednesday and Thursday. And we are just about done. The only parts that need to be finished up are the top of the stairs and the small ramp from the patio to the parking lot.

Our knees and our backs are very nearly recovered. I can hardly wait to see what our next project will be. One hopes that whatever it is will be done during a civilized time (when the highs are in the 80s, please) or at least in an air-conditioned environment. Until then, I'm just not that pinterested.