InsaneJournal

Current mood:

amused

A Little Too Helpful
The remodeling project is complete! I have a kitchenette downstairs where I can make hors d'oeuvres and mixed drinks if I want to throw a wild party. The stairs and half of the upper deck are roofed over, and so is the new redwood deck that Adam built downstairs. He finished on Tuesday, packed up his tools on Wednesday,(leaving the place looking rather empty -- he brings along everything he could conceivably need) and left this afternoon for Italy.

Filled with enthusiasm, I went to the hardware store this morning to get a couple of gallons of white paint for the deck railings. I was looking for fence paint, but they didn't seem to have any. A helpful clerk spotted me peering at the paint cans and asked if I needed assistance. I explained what I needed. He proudly showed off his white house paint at $29 a gallon and pointed out that it contained silicone. Okay. I guess that's good. I said I'd take two gallons.

"Flat, semi-gloss, or gloss?" he asked. That was easy, flat. "Do you want white, or TRUE white?" he asked with a gimlet-eyed stare. Responding to my dubious expression, he explained grandly that all white paint has black in it. Now, I am aware of white that tends toward blue, green, red, or anything else you care to name, but white with black in it is usually called GREY.

Sensing my hesitation, he trotted out his Explain to the Little Woman manner and showed me two sample swatches. One of them was a nice brilliant white and the other was... grey. At that point I gave him my best fluttering-eyelashes look and said, "Maybe I'd better ask my husband exactly what he wants," and left.

I went to Mendo Mill, the local builder's supply, and bought two cans of their white Barn and Fence paint for $17 a gallon.