Goldilocks, the Holy Grail and the Impossible Dream

That's right. It's time to paint the short hallway from the front door to the kitchen. Anyone who's been to a [insert favorite home improvement store here] knows the number of color choices is staggering, even after ruling out the horrid ones. After guessing how the colors might shift once they left the well-lit paint displays and hit the shadowy walls at home, these were my best guesses — I mean the finalists (all are Ralph Lauren paints). Palette A, which looked lovely next to the canoeing poster, but totally not so good otherwise:


Palette B, warmer and more of what I was thinking in the first place but still iffy. In their favor, the colors also coordinate with the wallpaper in the kitchen.


Nothing said I'M IT, ME ME ME, but three samples went on the walls on Saturday night. It was either do that or do laundry.



Pay no attention to that Grandma wallpaper. That is coming off posthaste, hopefully as part of this project. But I digress. Sample No. 1, Mango Gold, at the top, is, um, very mango-y. Nearly radioactive. Can't do it. The middle one, Composed (no joke!), is the best of the three, but not quite there. As for contestant No. 3, Chamois. Hopes were high, but hmm ... well ... golly. Come to find out, our Home Depot is tossing Ralph Lauren over for Martha Stewart, so maybe I'll give the ol' gal a try. Her color sense is pretty good.

Then it will be time for the gloss, semi-gloss, satin, eggshell, matte or flat dilemma. I'm throwing in with satin. Or eggshell.

Today's head-scratcher: The most common of reference books is now illegal in one school district in California. You'll have to read it to believe it. I'm slack-jawed.