Paint and Paint Again

Yesterday was a day of running around picking up a few things that we needed to keep going with small projects around the house as we wait for the cement mixer to arrive.

When we got home, Rick took the new paint that we had mixed at a paint store in Largo in order to repaint our master bathroom.  We originally had Pratt and Lambert paint in there, but we did not have enough to repaint the entire bathroom.  We have Benjamin Moore throughout most of the house since Pratt and Lambert is hard to find around here, so one paint store in Largo had a formula conversion chart from Pratt and Lambert to Benjamin Moore colors.  We bought a gallon of the equivalent-colored Benjamin Moore paint for $60, feeling confident that the color would match.

It did not.  After touching up a couple of places in the bathroom, we could see that the Benjamin Moore was coming out darker with more blue in the hue.  But what choice did we have?  Rick painted the whole room and we waited for it to dry. We hoped that as it dried, it would meet our expectations. It did not.  By yesterday afternoon, we both knew that the color clashed with the color of the master bedroom.  We were terribly disappointed.

So back to the store we went, this time to an Ace Hardware that still sells Pratt and Lambert.  We did not want to buy the P&L paint because they only had one gallon of base needed for that color, and it was in a plastic gallon jug.  Rick felt that the plastic container indicated that the base was very old, so we did not buy it when we originally looked.  This time, though, we felt that we had no choice.  We had them mix a gallon for us and brought it home so we could start fresh this morning.

We re-taped the room, and Rick painted it all over again.  I am amazed at how a slight change in tone can make such a difference.  The color that we now have in the bathroom is the aqua color that we originally had painted in the room.  The colors of the new shower look good with it, although we are still not happy with the shower.

I called the contractor about making adjustments on the shower.  He still promises us that he will make everything right; however, we are still waiting for him to "get well" so we can have the work done.  He either is a terribly unwell man, or he is using illness as an excuse to avoid us.  I will try not to judge since the answer to that question will not make the bathroom repairs happen any more quickly.

A tracking check on the computer this morning told Rick that our cement mixer has now traveled from Texas to Tampa and should be delivered to the Home Depot near our house tomorrow.  An email alert should let us know when the store logs it in to their inventory. Once we pick up the mixer and some stone, we should be ready to start the fence.

We awoke to 39 degree weather today, so I was happy that I did not have to work outside this morning.  A terrible cold front covers much of the United States, and lake-effect snow buried parts of New York with five feet of snow.  We saw on the news this morning that Green Bay was getting snow again, so we anticipate that we will once again have to pay for snow removal.  This is just too early to be racking up these bills.  According to the Farmer's Almanac, this winter is supposed to be another harsh one for the upper Midwest.  They had terrible cold last year, and I think that this year will not be any better.  I am glad that we can be here, and that we can afford (so far!) the snow removal service for our property.

Rick worked hard again this morning, and he is currently asleep in front of the TV.  I worry about our stamina as we start the fence in a few days.  I hope that we are able to do this.  Building the fence should be our last major project for the season.  I wish it were behind us, and that we could settle back and enjoy the privacy as we wait for spring to creep over the fence.  Each project we finish makes Gladys more complete, so I cannot wait until the fence is finished.  Then it will be hammock time.