Lemons to Lemonade

 When I moved into my place I painted all the rooms.  Since most of them were more colorful or deep, I did a neutral clay color for my spare bedroom/office. However it is boring, and I have thought I would like something happier. Yellow in some manner.  However I have a yellow kitchen/dining area and didn't want 2 yellow rooms.  Plus I couldn't figure out anything else that really worked with my furniture.  However when I came back from being gone this summer I was reinvigorated to want something happy. So with the help of a friend I decided to try a gold.

I only painted one wall "lamplighter" and instead of feeling happy, it felt intense and stressful.  Maybe I'll like it if I do the whole room?  I already painted this room the clay color though, and if I don't like it, I don't want to paint it a 3rd time.  The next day I bought a warmer neutral color that I have in my hallway.  As soon as I started covering the yellow I felt a sigh of relief.

Still I had this almost full gallon of paint, in a color I liked, just not in that room.  Is there somewhere I can donate it?  It's such a waste.

A day or so later I thought of one of the garages I'd seen in the complex that had painted a wall.  That might be perfect!  But would I get it done before it gets cold?  (I figured I needed to act fast also before losing my momentum.)

Before

After

And now something I thought was a complete mistake on my part, is transformed into something that I otherwise would never have taken the initiative to do.

I don't like making mistakes, so this is a good thing for me to remember.

Also my niece and nephew helped me paint this wall today.  It was the perfect painting job for kids. My nephew did a jumping and painting dance and I wasn't worried about it getting on the carpeting.

The kids had today off from school, so I took the afternoon to spend with them.  We went on a short mountain biking course, thanks to my friend letting us borrow a bike. My nephew decided it was too difficult right away. I suggested my niece go ahead and he and I could walk.  However my nephew suggested he could run it.  And he did!  He ran the 2 miles. And even had fun doing the curves.

When we brought the bike back to my friend's house we went inside and my nephew started playing with her 12 year old.  My niece sat at the table where I spoke with my friend.  "You're getting older," I said and rubbed her back.  After a while though the 12 year old motioned for her to join them in their play. And she did. And she had a great time.

She's almost done being a kid

but not quite.