January 12, 2019 – Out with the old . . . then we start with paint.

         Today is a melancholy day for me.  I am changing my formal living room from the closed St. John Title office back to a formal living room.

         Half the day has been spent emptying a file cabinet and moving countless reference books and bookcases along with sucking up the dust bunnies behind and under the full-size office suite of furniture.  My last piece of work will come when I have my electrician put in a new electrical conduit in a new place for the computer.

         I’ve scaled down drastically.  My 7-foot wide by 3-feet deep desk is being replace by a to 48 inch by 22 inch new surface.  I sure hope I can think and write on that small desk area. I will miss the prestige of sitting behind such a huge desk.  It has been a good friend to me for 14 or so years.  I will miss the vast workspace where I sprawled reference materials on a wraparound desk extension.

         Years ago, I worked on a surface about the size of my lap – so I know I can do it – but it will be a challenge. The problem is I am not the type of person to accept change easily – even if it is of my own volition.  This is my decision – so I had better be up to the change.

         What am I frightened?  Maybe my writing will become stilted or jarring due to a possible strained or unworkable atmosphere created by myself ‘scaling back’ to a computer in a corner compared to an entire living room as my writing office.

         But then again, maybe I will be able to answer the telephone in less than four rings because I had to walk completely around the desk and through the window alley before I could reach the telephone.  I think my friends will like that instead of ending up in voice mail most of the time.  That will be a good thing.

         I will hang my hat on that one major improvement to start with.  The next improvement will be the concept of “less is more”.  Less of a desk – less desk clutter.  Though I fear, I will have to do the “laundry-basket-dash” every few days before I teach myself to be more neat and contained and live within my space in a neat way. I should be able to learn how to do that.

         The best part I look forward to is painting the walls that haven’t seen the bristles of a paint brush since December of 2005.  Yes, that will be lovely  - a freshly painted room.  I am opting for a brighter pale yellow – as in the color of good butter.

         If that phrase sounds familiar, it comes from Myrna Loy as Mrs. Muriel Blandings in the movie Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House.  She plays the wife of Cary Grant in a movie about the “fixer upper house”. It is a 1948 movie that has the same theme as the movie, The Money Pit (1986), starring Tom Hanks and Shelly Long.  If you haven’t seen it – worth watching – TCM has it often and probably streams it.

         Myrna Loy’s entire scene with the builder about what colors she wants in each room is sheer delight to anyone who chooses paint colors by comparison – like me.

         Half way through Myrna says:

         “Now, the dining room.  I’d like yellow.  Not just yellow; a very gay yellow.  Something bright and sunshine-y.  I tell you, Mr. PeDelford, if you’ll send one of your men to the grocer for a pound of their best butter, and match that exactly, you can’t go wrong!”

         You know – that is a good idea- when I go to the paint store to pick out my yellow, I only need to bring a stick of good butter.

         What will the paint store employee think?  Who cares, I’ll butter my toast – ah room – any way I like.  I know it will be scrumptious when I am done.

         Just for fun, I’ve included the entire one-side discussion of paint colors with her builder for you to enjoy.

·       Muriel Blandings: I want it to be a soft green, not as blue-green as a robin's egg, but not as yellow-green as daffodil buds. Now, the only sample I could get is a little too yellow, but don't let whoever does it go to the other extreme and get it too blue. It should just be a sort of grayish-yellow-green. Now, the dining room. I'd like yellow. Not just yellow; a very gay yellow. Something bright and sunshine-y. I tell you, Mr. PeDelford, if you'll send one of your men to the grocer for a pound of their best butter, and match that exactly, you can't go wrong! Now, this is the paper we're going to use in the hall. It's flowered, but I don't want the ceiling to match any of the colors of the flowers. There's some little dots in the background, and it's these dots I want you to match. Not the little greenish dot near the hollyhock leaf, but the little bluish dot between the rosebud and the delphinium blossom. Is that clear? Now the kitchen is to be white. Not a cold, antiseptic hospital white. A little warmer, but still, not to suggest any other color but white. Now for the powder room - in here - I want you to match this thread, and don't lose it. It's the only spool I have and I had an awful time finding it! As you can see, it's practically an apple red. Somewhere between a healthy winesap and an unripened Jonathan. Oh, excuse me...

·       Mr. Delford:  You got that Charlie?

·       Workman: Red, green, blue, yellow, white

·       Mr. Delford: Check

https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/mr_blandings_builds_his_dream_house/quotes?