Yesterday I was blessed to spend the afternoon in a house where I've done quite a bit of decorative painting. The original purpose of my visit was to discuss colors for our next project in the master bath. But of course when I enter this house I never want to leave, so I lingered and my client and I had a really nice visit. A continuing lesson for me is this: When you slow down and listen, and take time to engage, wow you can learn some stuff. I might not get as much done, but I think it's making me a better person.

In our most recent project, the client had the walls wallpapered, and I transformed the regular old sheetrock columns to complement the wallpaper (but not match exactly) using FE Metallic Bronze Setcoat & Brown Suede Lusterstone. The baseboards and windowsills were also painted with FE MetalGlow in New Penny Gold.

Decorative painting makes me a decent amount of money, but that pales in comparison to the friends and mentors the business has brought to me. That's the blessing part of it. I hope somewhere out there in all my jobs there will be a person that needs something I have so I can return the favor.

This Lusterstone powder room was one of the first jobs I took after recovering

from twin birth ... This is Lusterstone in Tequila Sunrise, Cantaloupe & Green Onyx.

When I first met the really smart woman of this house probably eight or nine years ago, I was told by the interior designer who hired me that the homeowner was "the sweetest woman you'll ever meet." Sweet? I don't know that I would use that word now that I have known her all these years. She is kind, and gentle and very, very wise. But I'm not into sugar these days and neither is she. She's much more than sweet.

My first job in this house was this kitchen remodel.

So anyway, I spent the afternoon doing what I once would have thought was frittering. Now I know it was time well-spent. What's really exciting is our next adventure, which will involve freeing my client from flowery wallpaper and transforming the walls in the master bath with a rich combination of Lusterstone in Bordeaux (a pinky red) and maybe Champagne Mist all mixed together. It's going to be fabulous. And I promise to show pictures just as soon as we're finished.

And the moral of the story is...

Like my Papa always said: There's a lid for every pot.

hahahahahahahahaha

The texting and facebook and myspace world is getting on my nerves.

Can anybody just write hahahahaha anymore? Must we lol? What if I want to snicker quietly to myself (which I do quite alot)?

And just when lol was really bugging me, now I have to see lmao. How ridiculous is that? Could I be any older and grouchy? But seriously it's really stupid to write on your facebook comment "Oh Mary you are so funny... remember that time in high school? ... lmao!!@!

What is happening to our world? I tend to blow everything out of proportion, I know, but really, this could signal the end of refined culture and our whole world going to hell in a hand basket.

Oh but wait! It gets worse. Now we have lmfao.

No offense any of you dear, dear people I love who use lol, lmao, and lmfao. I still love you but you're getting on my nerves.

A glimpse into my inner turmoil and/or twisted idiocy

Anyone who's had the misfortune of being withing talking distance of me in the last few weeks knows my cloud job totally traumatized me. It was an awesome opportunity, really overwhelming, and just a big damn job.

This scissor lift saved my life

In preparation, I even took a class with Nicola Vigini to refresh and refine my skills, and make sure I did the job justice. And also, I needed to figure out the most efficient way to accomplish this job on a really tight schedule. Let's just say Nicola makes it look easy. It was waaaaay harder than I expected. Still, I finished the job and got paid. So why am I still freaking out about it? How many times can I use I in that paragraph for God's sake?

It did not turn out the way I imagined it in my mind. At least to me. The client was happy. The builder was practically sweeping me out the door and loading my truck for me. Now, everywhere I go there are clouds. You know, like in the sky. But that's not all: I see them on every TV show, pieces of junk mail, in the grocery store. They're everywhere, damn clouds. And I'll never get away from them. They're pretty much part of my atmosphere. Yours too, probably.

They didn't photograph exactly great either.

Being an artist is not all fun and games. You have a vision of what you want to accomplish, and sometimes you don't get it to turn out just the way it looked in your head. Sometimes the builder says you have to finish today so the lighting can be installed and the floor can be grouted. Stupid details like that. I would have farted around perfecting that damn entry way for another week. I might even have screwed it up somehow. But still, I wanted it to be perfect.


My smart friend Wendy says I'm just suffering from my own unreasonable expectations. I met the client's expectations, so get over it and move on. Easy for her to say. She's my friend that forced me to knit. She taught me to knit left handed, like her. I'm right handed. She knits all sorts of pretty scarfs and baby blankets. At our last Knit Night at Chiro Java, after I had been working on the same sofa throw for at least one and a half years, I tore out every stitch of it and rolled up all that fabulous baby alpaca yarn into balls. It was just too hideous.



In this case, there's really no arguing with me that this was one hideous throw. It's a pretty damn hideous picture of me, too, come to think of it. All the other knitters at the table were about to wet their pants laughing at me and my hideous creation.


So I guess the lesson I'm supposed to be working on has something to do with perfection. And until I figure out what the lesson is and conquer this obstacle, I will not be satisfied, dammit.

They don't teach common sense in college...

So I got this big job painting clouds in the entry of a "destination gas station," which promises to be the Buckees for the Corpus bound. Basically the jobsite included me, some electricians and about 30 guys we'll presume are Newcomers from South of the Border all busy pouring concrete, setting tile & installing rock on some pretty serious deadlines, all taking our turn at the porta-potties and water-hose wash station.

For the first three days of the job, I wondered to myself, what am I going to pack for lunch? Here's how my inner conversation with myself went, as I stood in front of the refrigerator each morning: "What can I take for lunch? These yummy beans? They're my favorite meal, afer all. This Lean Cuisine? No, I can't take that, they need to be heated. Where would I heat it up? The competitors next door aren't going to let me use their microwave. There's no love lost there, especially since their sign says they're 'American-owned' just because the owner of my station was from some other country at some point. Whatever. I suppose I could drive across the freeway and use the micro at the owner's other station across the way. That's a hassle. ... Oh screw it, I'll take a sandwich."

So day after day, I ate a cold sandwich. It was tasty: on my fancy Ezekial bread, turkey, lettuce, mayo, mustard and horseradish. And then one day, while I was eating my ok, but not mind-blowing cold sandwich purely for sustenance and not enjoyment, one of the Newcomers on my jobsite came walking up carrying something large and white. I initially thought it was a box.

No, it was a microwave.

What the hell! The Newcomer carrying the microwave unplugged something important they were using like a drill and plugged in the microwave! And then he and all his Newcomer friends proceeded to gather round and heat up tasty lunches of carne guisada and tacos. All while I sat there eating a cold sandwich, wishing I had my beans.

In case you're wondering, the moral of the story is yet to come. And here it is: Any time you or anyone you know feels compelled to think you are smarter than a Newcomer just because you can speak English and you were fortunate enough to be born on the right side of the Rio Grande, please take a moment to recall Miss Smarty Pants Sami with the college education, sitting there in her high-dollar SUV, wasting gas with the air conditioner on, eating a cold sandwich while the Newcomers ate tasty warm lunches they heated up in their portable microwave.

And that's all I have to say about that.

Let's Preview: What I'm Going to Write About When I Have Time...

It's ridiculous. I have severalllll subjects to blog about. Practically everything I've done lately is blog worthy (although sadly not all is sponge-worthy). Anyway, do I have time to download pics? No. Do I need to be in bed right now? Yes. I am bone-tired. The only thing saving my life is a handy scissor lift. So because my six or five readers are dying to learn more, I'll offer up an enticing preview of what's to come. You know, so I don't forget.

1. Rodeo. Let's just say we've come a long way baby.

2. The spec house down the street. Or, how the builder screwed me, and I "didn't even know it was happening..." Despite the f-ed up lighting. It's turning out lovely.

3. My cloud job. Wow. This one is a doozy. I cannot believe I actually got this job. More importantly, I can't even believe I am doing it, and not half-bad either.

4. I love newcomers, my term of endearment for illegal aliens. That ought to have you coming back for more. Just call me Miss Non-PC, don't put me in your damn Republican demographic box ever again ... I have my opinions and they cannot be categorized.

5. Why I may have to stop blogging. Is it sucking the creative life out of me and keeping me from writing the next Great American Novel? ... Well, it wouldn't be a novel even if I write it. It would be one of those good must-reads where it could be non-fiction, could be fiction to protect the guilty. You just never know.

Basically, I'm putting on my Judas Priest t-shirt and taking the gloves off. I'm tired of playing nice.

Help Wanted: Implementation Assistant

I'm here to paint but I can't seem to find my groove. It was that whole day of caulking that killed it. Or, the 30mph+ winds are messing with my chi...

While I was caulking, I couldn't help but think that it sure would be more efficient if I had a nice, subservient helper, kind of like a cabana boy, but with knowledge of paint. At this point there is nothing glamorous about what I am doing.

I have the ideas. I just need an implementation assistant.

Visualize this: In praise of the Sherwin Williams Color Visualizer

Do you love it? Do you want to marry it?

I love the Sherwin Williams Color Visualizer. It is so much fun to click and drag colors and see what you can come up with. It also will suggest colors for you, which is pretty handy because it will offer suggestions you wouldn't think of yourself.

You know I've been contemplating (obsessing, actually) about exterior paint colors for the Marathon, Texas, retreat house. It's what I do. I think about paint colors. And then I also think a lot about that house. The poor thing has been quite neglected through the years. We have been lovingly encouraging it to be, if not a swan, then at least a really cute duck. The energy there is restorative. The view is magnificent. One day I hope to have other people enjoy and restore themselves there. Here's what it looks like now:

Well, I doubt it's snowing right now, but you know what I mean. One day soon it will get a new front porch and a little overhang over the back door -- and a new paint job, ASAP!!! I know, it could use some new windows but that's another project for another day. The goal here is to get the house to visually acceptable.


On the top photo, I was playing around with the Color Visualizer. I used my personal favorite, SW 6410 Brassy, for the trim. The Color Visualizer actually suggested SW 6496 Oceanside for the door and I have to agree that it's quite dramatic, especially given the Southwest blue-door tradition.

To check whether I was out of my mind with the Brassy choice, I enlisted Abbey at Design-Block to help me. She knows West Texas and I'm sure those in the know would say her design aesthetic is quite sophisticated -- whatever that means. I'm from Alpine.

Abbey suggested some other options:

This one has SW 6951 Cote d' Azur for the trim and SW 6607 Cherry Tomato for the door. All of these use SW 6165 Connected Gray for the base color, although the real selection is SW Crater Gray from way back in the day old skinny fan. It's still really similar to Connected Gray:

Pretty cool, right? But something makes me feel like it's a little too whimsical and cartoonish. I keep thinking Minnie Mouse is going to come out that door. I don't want the house to just stick out and stop traffic. I want it to stop traffic but in a more subtle way.



Ooooh! This one really blows my skirt up. Here Abbey suggested SW 6477 Tidewater as the trim color. And the Color Visualizer offered up SW 6342 Spicy Hue for the door. It's a toss-up. This one is probably the safer, less edgy option. It would be my second favorite, for sure.

Let's also mention, because I know you're thinking it: The house on the Color Visualizer is just a wee bit more visually appealing than the poor little thing sitting out there all by itself in Marathon. Very true, but let's just say you get what you pay for and they don't even have anything close to that adorable in Marathon. So we're working with what we have, such that it is.

So what do you think?

Pix from my creative field trip

Sometimes you just need to get out and see the world to get some inspiration, aka go shopping with your girlfriend(s). So that is what Wendy and I did yesterday. Here's a look at what tickled our fancies:

Our first stop was Architectural Antiques, 403 Dawson, on the near east side of San Antonio, where I spied these great old ceiling tiles. I am thinking of facing the skirt around the tub in my bathroom with these. The plain old white tile is rather boring.

Wendy was looking for some columns to use as decor pieces in the remodelling of their nursing home. Nestbit Living & Recovery Center in Seguin is going to be like no other nursing home I've ever seen:

This pair of columns were just the right height, and also still had what's left of their paint job. Architectural Antiques strips a lot of what they sell, but Wendy wanted the old crusty paint. She said she only needed one column but I was so uncomfortable with that idea. "You can't just buy one of them. What about the other one? You can't just leave it here," I reasoned. She bought them both. Women are just reasonable that way.

While Wendy was seriously shopping, I noticed I really liked the "patina" on this old door. If I was to use this as a linen closet or pantry door, I would leave it just the way it is.

My favorite thing about enormous old antique stores and warehouses like this are the surprises you'll find around every corner. This beauty below was hanging from the ceiling -- above the loading dock. Go figure.

Totally gorgeous and interesting. You won't see this quirky chandelier hanging over the breakfast nook in your local McMansion. Please note: they do not sell this in the Pottery Barn catalogue. I really, really wanted to take it home.

OK these were so cool and I'm sorry I don't know their official name. They were in the lighting area and so I know they are globes for some kind of hanging light fixture. They were fabulously gold on the outside and silver mercury glass-like on the inside. LOVE IT!

I could imagine myself building an entire house around this door. It was at least 8 feet tall.

If you have just the place for this cool old bank vault door from the old Jourdanton State Bank, it will only cost you $12,000. I'm betting for that price you would be furnished with the combination.

After spending around two hours in that big old warehouse, we got a good recommendation for lunch and found our way to Madhatter's in King William. They have an inspired menu of sandwiches and soups and teas and wines. It looks like the restaurant is located in two old houses joined but a glassed in connecting hallway. Rooms go this way and that and so it's easy to find a great place for conversation. It's also a cell-phone-free zone, the big sign tells you at the door.

When we were walking to our car after lunch, I spied this darling house with the good paint job:

You can't tell from the picture, but the wall color is a soft blue/green. The trim is a creamy antique white but much less white than it appears in this picture. And then those dark accents were a darker green that I wasn't crazy about but it was still very well-done.

We then visited some quirky second-hand shops in the Midtown area on Blanco Road north of downtown, but the salvage place we wanted to visit was closed. There were some interesting pieces suitable for transformation but in major need of new upholstery, right across the street from Casbeers. Next time we'll have to make the trip there again and then see what's going on over on Hildebrand. ...

When you first get one of these awards, it's real exciting because you feel someone finally noticed. And then comes the pressure. It's akin to receiving one of those chain letter emails that suggests if you don't forward it on to at least 29 people you do not love the Lord. I hate those. At first I sent them and then I decided the Lord knows me and he won't mind if I don't play along. He did make me a non-conformist, after all.

But Honest Scrap? This one is fun. Here are the rules: First, choose a minimum of seven blogs that you find brilliant in content or design. Secondly, show the seven winners' names and links on your blog, and leave a comment informing them that they were prized with “Honest Scrap." Well, there’s no prize, but they can keep the nifty icon. Lastly, list at least ten honest things about yourself.

I don't know if I have discovered a minimum of seven brilliant blogs yet but I'll nominate the blogs I like and hopefully if they've already been awarded and/or think these awards are stupid, they'll just ignore them. I do think they are useful for drawing blog readers to your blog if that's your intent.

Brilliant Blogs

1. Lucchese to Louis Vuitton. Honest woman that Meg. And she always plays a song on there that makes me go back in the day and get all misty-eyed. Her latest series on divorce has killed me. And she's also a West Texas girl which is all I have to say about that.

2. Hill Country House. Don't know her at all but whenever I check out her blog she always has something on there design-related that interests me. Special note: she is based in the Hill Country (duh!) so she's kind of local and the places she writes about are do-able.

3. Laura U Blog. She's way to busy to respond to this award, but Laura U of Laura U Collection always has something interesting to say on her blog and something interesting to buy in her store.

4. Design-Block. I'm always looking for a new post from Miss Design-Block and we really do need to have lunch because I have a lot of questions I want to pick out of her brain that are design-related. We go way back ... and yes, she's another West Texas girl.

OK, that's all I can muster. I have other blogs I follow when I can, but these are my top four that I think even need mentioning. Some of the others, like Cote de Texas are just too world famous, so I'm not even going to bother. And Lavenderchick nominated me for this award so she's already gotten it.

OK now for the hard part. 10 Honest Things about Me. Yikes.

1. I am fiercely conservative and crazy-liberal, all at the same time.

2. My zone of personal space is extremely wide and deep.

3. Which brings me to the fact that I cannot allow anyone breathing my air. Space issues.

4. I have a thing for chihuahuas. Don't ask me why.

5. I don't like interruptions. I like to get in a groove and go with it. Now you know why I'm so frustrated.

6. In high school I had a spiky mullet. I was trying to be all rock n roll, hard core. It was the 80s, what can I say?

7. The test you take in high school that tells you what you should be when you grow up suggested that I should be a plumber. At the time I thought that was the most ridiculous thing I'd ever heard, but now that I am a decorative painter and realize I like to work alone, in my painted groove, of course, I completely understand. It only took me 25 years to get to this place...

8. I was artistically frustrated for most of my life. And that's why I am a fierce proponent of arts education for ALL children and why the public school system makes me insane.

9. I wish I could eat sushi every day.

10. I take note of the artwork in construction jobsite port-a-potties. In fact, I am going to start chronicling this for all the world to see because it's fascinating. So don't steal my idea.