Add a couple more letters and pastel refers to a sweet confection (pastille).

As a change of pace, I thought that I would decorate my extra room (for crafts, computer, etc) to promote a feeling of creativity and light heartedness. So, I thought that I would try a light, spring-like color. Maybe even a (dreaded word) pastel hue. Plus, it did take 3 coats of primer to cover the old dingy forest green. I don’t want to just paint another deep color, after all that effort. Inspiration in head…I headed to the local Ace Hardware. (Actually, I was intending to buy a snow shovel and strayed into the paint area.)

I'm sure anyone that actually knows me can see the disaster looming on the horizon. As A has pointed out (correctly) on many occasions, I have the tastes of a roaming crow. I love jewel tones. And, if it glitters and tends toward tacky, it is certainly worth a second look.

(For posterity, I resist buying the tacky glitters - usually - as I have enough common sense to know they are hideous and I would tire of living with them. And, there is always the -$35. But, I do like to admire the sparkles. The light, the light...I'm drawn towards it.)

So, what color did I paint my extra room? Well…I found a color that I liked at Ace Hardware, but I bought the paint in a fit of impatience at Home Depot. So, it is essentially a custom color. In the end, it looks somewhat like one of the Sherwin Williams 2006 feature colors (cooled blue): http://www3.sherwin.com/do_it_yourself/paint_colors/color_trends/2006/retreat/

Except...now that it is on the wall, it is lighter and somewhat neon. More like the Sherwin Williams "spa" color on some sort of '60s adventure.

On the paper swatch, it seemed happy and reminded me of the Bahamas. Specifically, the ocean around Grand Cayman. Unfortunately, while I think this would be very pretty if I was closer to the equator, the vibrancy of the color is a stark contrast to the moody grey of the exterior hues (found in Renton flora and fauna). So, when you look out the window (away from the glowing walls), it is a tad disconcerting.

However, I'm committed to painting the entire room this color. As I learned in VA, having 4 walls with different colors may allow you to live with a series of colors, but it ultimately requires much more painting. So, I'm going to paint all the walls; I suspect it will feel like being trapped in a Tiffany box.

Hmmm...if I'm inside a Tiffany box, does that make me bling?

Lots of ice, no sno-cones.

Winter seems to be lingering in Renton. While I've heard from my former co-workers in VA that they are having a mild winter (60 degrees and sunny) and my family in CA that winter is very harsh (60 degrees and sunny), I appear to be trapped in the arctic circle.

Four inches of snow in one evening...inconceivable!

Yet, once again, it occurred. The results...two days of very icy roads with almost no traction. Thank goodness (I guess) for my two years in VA, where I learned to (haphazardly) drive on ice.

So far, the best part of winter has been the teenager that showed up at my front door and offered to shovel the walk and driveway for $10. He's coming back in summer to mow my grass.

Snow is now falling within my house. Directly from the ceiling to the floors. When I walk through the halls, a puff of dried joint compound rises from each step.

This might sound ominous, but it is actually a sign of great progress. The patchy ceiling has been taped, plastered, and sanded. The first coats of primer made it up. And, now there is just some minor corrections (more sanding and touch ups) left to do. Tomorrow, R is going to start painting the ceilings; they will be pure white. The ceiling is very smooth, like glass. Troy Scott Interiors did a very nice job of fixing all the messiness caused by the abestos removal. I recommend them, if you need someone to fix drywall in the Seattle area. They do other stuff, too.

At the Tukwila Costco, they have some VERY nice paint. They will make any color, and it only runs about $15 per gallon. Of course, you do have to buy at least 2 gallons at a time; it is CostCo. The primer is nice and thick; it runs about $12 a gallon. (I'm buying the most expensive stuff; anything to decrease the number of coats.)

MLK weekend, my big plan is to clean, clean, clean. Then, I'll paint the walls, probably just my temporary office. I cleaned the drywall dust out of 2 rooms today; wipe the walls, vacumn, pull up plastic, etc. Took about 2 hours. Afterward, I ended up using the vacumn on myself to clean the caked-on drywall dust off my jeans.

My temporary office (until the master bedroom is subdivided) will end up being my everything room, when the house is finished. It will also serve as the second guest room, as I'm going to put the daybed in there. My dilemma of the moment - what color should I paint it?

I like the color in J's special room. but she is very vague about its name - perfect taupe is not an official paint color (as far as I can tell). Alternatively, I'm leaning towards light lilac, grey, or a soft yellow. I don't want to do a dark color because the carpet is (eventually) going to be a mid-dark brown, so I'd like to have more contrast. At the same time, I'm not really a pastel person. What about teal? That would be interesting, and I can always repaint if it becomes annoying.