Paint Angst

Okay, so we all (at least all homeowners) have experienced it. That exciting moment when we put a roller in the paint we purchased, put that first big swoosh on the wall, (because cutting in doesn't quite count) and stand back and exclaim:

That's nothing like the chip!

The paint, as it hit the wall, was peach. It was a very nice peach, and had I actually wanted to paint the walls peach, by God, that's just the peach I'd have wanted. The color I chose, on the chip, was a rich creamy beige. It was not supposed to be peach. I kept painting, and as it dried I felt more confident that it was not a Total Damn Disaster. I am an experienced painter, I know paint changes as it dries, but picture putting a warm beige on a blue-white base. It looks frighteningly pink. Disturbingly pink. Picture that flesh crayon in your childhood box of Crayolas, the one that freaked you out because nobody you knew actually was that color. This was that Crayola Alien Flesh when painted on that blue-white base. It freaked me out. I was Sigourney Weaver watching the guy's chest burst open.

Time passed, and I am not freaked out anymore. It's not Crayola Alien Flesh, it has dried to a nice soft warm creamy beige. I visited it, now that it is dry, and I actually like it. I think it's just a shock, after the very cool strong blue and white theme of that room, to see it with something soft and warm and neutral.

It's Okay.

Speak to me soothingly in soft voices, I'm still a little rattled. It's Ooookay. Because I have to either embrace this beige, which really is growing on me, or go buy more Cream in My Coffee for the hall, and I have to decide this tomorrow, bright and early. Cream in My Coffee, IMHO, is too much like what is already there. I'd rather go with Balance. Time to kick it up a soft, gentle, not too shocking notch. And certainly not a peachy notch.

I took a break from the paint fumes and watched "Man on Fire." Eh. Denzel Washington is on the very short list of actors who could do anything and I'd love it, and I did not hate this movie, but it was extremely predictable, and he deserves better. I worked on the top-down cardigan while watching, and am very close to the dividing for sleeves and body thang. I've only restarted this sweater twice (from flat, to in the round, to in the round with a different increase) and now I am just working my way along, all business. It needs a good movie to see me through, but it's also a sweater I'll actually wear.