Pea Green Soup

My house is like that fourth grade joke where the questions "What did you eat for breakfast?" "What did you eat for lunch?" "What did you eat for supper?" and "What did you do all night?" are asked and the answer is "Pea green soup" for all of them.

Everything is green. The people who lived here before pesimst bought it painted EVERYTHING a horrible shade of split-pea soup green: walls, ceilings, woodwork, doors, built-in bookcases, wainscoting. Everything. And they did it all with a roller. So I have textured, green, painted doors, floorboards, etc. The only rooms not green are the kitchen (off-white with off-white cabinets, also painted with a roller) and the bathrooms (one is a sickly pale blue with rollered off-white cabinets, pink toilet, pink tub, pink sink and white-with-gold-speckles counter and tile and the other is rusty orange with white wainscoting and white sink and toilet). I've wanted to paint it since the first time I was here, let alone since I moved in.

Tonight, I began the task of creating beauty around me. I got fed up with feeling mopey and wishing I could make it better, got in the car, drove to the store and bought paint. I have one wall nearly finished (just to get the look of it), and I am THRILLED! The top two-thirds of the wall are a pale, creamy blue. It's clean and bright and surprisingly warm, for blue. The wainscot is being repainted a rich, chocolaty brown gloss. For the ceiling, I found an ivory the color of old piano keys to create the illusion of a bit of sun in the room; it doesn't actually have any windows in there.

In spite of being tired from a long day and a late night, I feel energized. I have come to the conclusion that I have to be surrounded by Beauty. Without pretty to look at, I don't feel pretty inside. By that, I mean that I get depressed, whiny, mean-spirited. It's not that I want expensive "things;" I just want the things I have to be as nice as they can be, as cared-for as they can be, and as pleasant to live with as possible.

I think I'm finally fighting my way out of the funk I've been in, thanks to post-baby hormones and general BLAH.

And, hopefully, soon I won't have to look at any more pea soup green!