“Remoted – Hybrid” – Day 813 (Tuesday) – surprise day

Didn't hate it, didn't love it.

While drinking coffee this morning, I got the urge to paint the bathroom. It’s taken five years and nine months to get to this point, so it would be a mistake to call it a “sudden urge.” It’s more like I was suddenly ready to do something, and I am as surprised as anyone. I never loved the blue color, but I also didn’t hate it, so there was no sense of urgency. Until today, when suddenly there was. 

The “relaxing” aspect of the week set on Sunday and Monday was out the window, but cool breezes were blowing in and the conditions felt right for the project. The weather was pleasant and not sweltering, there was time available, and I was motivated.

There was online research on riveting topics including “how to tell if you have latex paint on the walls,” “how to paint walls with plastic bags,” “patterned paint rollers,” and “what colors go with robin’s egg blue.” Gift card balances were checked on two Lowe’s Gift Cards in my wallet for the past several years. Yes, years.

Looks like bread crusts,
smells like low tide.

There was no agonizing over the color. An ivory/cream/almond tone was going to be applied over the blue to tie the walls to the toilet, vanity top, and tub enclosure. Walls were washed and the nail holes filled. There were a lot of nail holes because it sometimes takes two or three or ten tries to hang one picture. 

At 1:00 I headed to Lowe’s because the neighborhood hardware store closed at the end of March, and I had financial resources in the form of gift cards for Lowe’s. Two paint chip cards were chosen and carried to the toilet aisle to check against the almond color throne, which helped to rule one option out. 

Rollers were looked at in the hopes of finding a patterned one, despite the website not showing any in-store. Miracles were already in play, so it felt possible. The only non-standard roller option available was a sea sponge roller and it was bought with a quart of paint called “Sunset Nude,” a tray, and a paint can key so I didn't have to look for the one I already have somewhere. 

Surprise drawer!

By 2:30, taping was nearly completed. I tried to see if the front bottom board on the vanity would come off, and surprise, surprise, there was a drawer there! All this time, and I had no idea. A tarp was spread over the vanity and the toilet.

The sea sponge roller looked comical, like it was assembled with various glued on bread crusts. The instructions were to wet it, which caused it to smell a lot like low tide. 

There was rolling. Drips. Hard to reach spots in all the corners and edges. There was filling in by dabbing some spots with a foam brush. The progress was quick.

Blue toned down and
order mostly restored.

By 4:15, the painting and cleanup were done and I was foraging for something for late lunch/early supper. By 6:30 the tape was removed, slight bits of overpaint cleaned from the vanity, towel rack reinstalled, the glass shades on the light fixture washed and replaced, and order almost completely restored. The switch plate covers still need to be reattached, but that's about it. 

It’s satisfying handling something from idea to delivery, seeing the result, and enjoying a sense of completion. Sadly, not everything in life comes that neatly packaged.  

Next will be deliberations over use of the surprise drawer and the agonizing rehanging of the artwork, which will probably be swapped around and change 15 times before it’s done. It’s nice to have puzzles to work on.

Unfortunately, the weather forecast seen last Friday that showed warm temperatures and sunshine all week has drastically changed to 60s and cloudy. That is a surprise I could have skipped, and now the loosely planned beach trip with Mom feels less appealing and will be swapped for Plan B, whatever that turns out to be.