Joe & Miffy's Painting Disaster

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Once upon a time in the quaint town of Mapua, there lived a man named Joe who decided it was time to repaint his lounge room while his wife and kids were visiting friends in Wellington and visiting TePapa. Joe, brimming with confidence and the thought of his family coming home to a beautiful fresh lounge room and of course armed with a YouTube tutorial, believed he was ready to tackle this DIY project. After all, how hard could it be?

Joe’s first mistake was choosing a bright yellow colour named "Sunshine Bliss." that his five year old Sophie said she loved. He thought it would bring cheer to his home, but little did he know, it would also bring chaos. With his supplies from Guthrie Bowron ready and a cappuccino in hand (it’s a bit posh in Mapua), Joe began his painting journey.

He dipped his roller into the paint tray, careful not to drip it. As he lifted it to the wall, he realised he had forgotten to cover the floor. "No worries," Joe thought, "I’ll just be extra careful." Famous last words.

As Joe rolled the paint on the wall, Sophie’s cat, Miffy, decided it was the perfect time to chase a nonexistent spider around the house. Miffy leaped through the air, landing directly into the paint tray, and then dashed across the room, leaving yellow paw prints and skid marks everywhere. Joe tried to catch her, but in his panic, he knocked over the ladder, which landed on the paint can, sending a river of yellow streaming across the floor and splashing halfway up the side of the couch.

Desperate to contain the mess, Joe grabbed the nearest thing he could find—a towe out of the airing cupboard, which happened to be his wife’s favourite white one. (He almost dried the dog with it the week before). He mopped up the paint as best he could, but now there were yellow streaks on the walls, the floor, couch and, unfortunately, on himself.

His wife Steph walked in just in time to see Joe, covered in paint, wrestling the cat who now looked like a miniature, very disgruntled, tiger. She burst into laughter, tears streaming down her face. "What happened here?" she managed to gasp between giggles.

Joe, standing amidst the chaos, could only respond with a sheepish grin, "I wanted to bring a little sunshine into our lives."

In the end, they hired a professional painter to finish the job. Joe learned a valuable lesson that day: sometimes, it’s best to leave certain projects to the experts. And Miffy? She became quite the local celebrity, known as the cat with a flair for interior design. Steph loves to tell this story any time she has a glass of vino with new friends. Jo also knows which towels he is banned from putting his hands on.

We hope you enjoyed this little gem.  The names have been changed to protect the innocent, but maybe you heard this story when you were having a drink with new friends…