Algebraic Thinking

Can you solve my problem?

By virtue of being southern, I have a front porch. It just comes with the territory, the heritage and the genetics. It's a fringe benefit of saying y'all and fixin' to.

My front porch is expansive, hosting so many people and activities throughout the year that the paint has worn thin in some spots and worn off in others. Whenever my husband and I need marriage therapy, we retreat there, where we lose ourselves in the rhythm of the rockers and the hum of the crickets until we can stand to speak to each other again. Most, if not all, of the world's issues have been debated and resolved on my front porch.


The children play roller derby there and I serve Easter dinner. The aromas of jasmine in the spring and gardenias in the summer and tea olives in the early fall puddle in the atmosphere. It's a place where strangers become friends and friends become confidants.


If the rest of my house crumbled to the ground leaving only my front porch standing , what would be lost? Certainly not hope.
 
BUT, a few years back I got it in my head to paint all of the porch furniture green. Not a conservative green, mind you, but a bright apple green. I thought it would contrast nicely with the red brick exterior. After talking my husband into helping me do what he knew would be disastrous, he brought home a pressure washer and paint sprayer. I sent all of the kids to camp for a week and we knocked out the project with enough time left over to go out to dinner, alone.
 

Then I decided I hated the apple green and the way it contrasted with the red brick of the house. Too late, though, for anything but a quick, "I told you so," from my soul mate. Life hit full stride and hasn't stopped yet. I've had no time to right this egregious wrong.
 
Until now. I think. And therein lies my problem. I'm trying to figure out if I really do have enough time. If you would pass the following problem along to any child you might know who is currently taking algebra, have the child solve the problem and then send me the answer, I would be much obliged:
 
One woman has a 2 inch paint brush, 10 sheets of sandpaper, 1 stir stick, 1 metal thingy-ma-bob paint-can opener, and 1 gallon of black exterior paint. She wants to paint 3 benches, 3 wood rockers, 4 metal chairs, 1 glider, 1 wicker plant stand, and 3 side tables. Before anything can be painted it must be washed and sanded. She can work on the project on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays from 4p.m.-5p.m. Five people living in her household critique her work but do not help. How long will it take her to finish? If the Aztecs are right and the world really does end in 2012, will the project be worth her time?
 
Please show your work.