Loose Ends
The family that paints together. . .
Susan Nienow

We painted two small areas and a half bathroom last weekend. It required six months of planning and three weeks of negotiating. First we consulted our color palette - the one we compiled when we painted the front hall and dining room two years ago. We're not the fastest crew around.

According to my notes, we never decided on a color for the half bath. My other half suggested the pumpkin, and wanted the darker shade - so pumpkin it was. I'm not sure how they picked the name pumpkin since it doesn't look like any pumpkin I have ever seen. I would have called it rust or more exactly, rusty brown. But, it looks much better on the walls than it sounds, which is why I wasn't consulted about what to name it.

The only reason we can paint together is because we have a strict division of labor. I cut in, and my other half uses the roller. Actually, he takes the hardware off and reinstalls it - and gets the ladder out - and the paint. Then I fix the goofs with my steady hand. Then I fix again - well, you know how that goes. Some tight places have four or five coats of paint.

Now we are in discussions about the next room to paint. I say my other half's office, but he isn't sure. I suggested the problem might be the two boxes of old bills he doesn't want to go through. He said it is because he doesn't want to deal with the 11 plants I am "storing" in his office for the winter because the sun comes in those windows.

The décor in there is "odd lots" so I figure painting the walls will either pull it all together or make it look like an indoor yard sale. I guess we could put price tags on everything until we get around to decorating - that being the general term for getting a new pillow for the sofa and hanging two more pictures.

We also have a problem with the guest room that I have been ignoring. That room has to be finished before old friends come through in a month or so. So does that mean we can put off doing my other half's office?

I had to wash the bedspread in the guest room. Blame the cat for that. You don't really need to know why. When I washed it, the batting around the edges all lumped into the corners. Maybe I didn't pay enough for that set of bedding.

Anyway, now we have to decide what to do about the lumpy bedspread and how much money we want to throw at this problem - if we should use the same picture frame over the bed but change the picture or try to find another bedspread to go with the picture - aghhhh!

And this weekend we are having company for dinner so we have to put off painting any room - because of the fumes, of course.