We repainted the cabinets

It started out when Leah said she wanted to repaint the kitchen cabinets gray instead of their old apple green.

We went to a hardware/paint store and picked out the gray paint she wanted. We paid for a sample, took it home, and painted a cabinet door or two. It looked okay, so I bought a full gallon of the paint, some brushes, and some other equipment -- about $75 in all.

We finally got the lid open and we painted some more. Spouse decided it was too light and she wanted a darker gray. The gray we had bought looked almost lavender.

"Patience!" I told myself, "be patient."

I might point out that our garage and two storage buildings are full of unused gallons of paint and assorted brushes, etc., not organized in any way, but just scattered around enough to trip over handily.

The labels are mostly unreadable, so it is hard to discern if the paint is for indoors, exterior, or decks and porches.

As you doubtless know, high-quality paint has become quite expensive. I have been making plans for massive painting projects one of these days. I thought I would use some black paint of the same type to create the darker gray. I kept adding black, stirring well, and testing the colors. It seemed impossible to get the color of the original gray much darker, no matter how much black I added.

At last, we decided to go back to the store and buy another color. So now we have a multi-color kitchen until we get that perfect color.

I am stuck with so many cans of paint that I need to paint something. I guess the chicken house would be a good place to start if I ever manage to get it cleaned out enough. On the other hand, recent days have been great for napping. Television is no good because it is overrun with car, pharmaceutical and furniture advertisements.

I'm actually waiting for a day when the temperature, humidity, and weather forecasts are right and I don't have any appointments scheduled. Of course, it might be too windy.

I bought a new Harlan Coben mystery novel -- "Fool Me Once" -- the other day. I would like to read it if I can find time. It might be too dusty or rainy to paint.

-- Louis Houston is a resident of Siloam Springs. His book "The Grape-Toned Studebaker" is available locally and from Amazon.com. Send any questions or comments to [email protected] or call 524-6926. The opinions expressed are those of the author.