Have you had a look with strong direct sunlight? Few people realize how radically the color of light changes in the course of the day: pink at dawn, blue at noon, golden at dusk. Our brains are actually wired to compensate for this, but the subtleties of color can still trick us, especially when the 'color of daylight' is even more exagerated by the weather or season. I hate it when color charts have disclaimers like 'actual shades will vary': why bother with the chart, then? If the company won't step up, I'd paint it. This is a pretty big issue to try to live with, especially when it's so easily addressed.

I too am tired and it is mostly from cooking for weeks, for the family working here on the house. Sometimes it is two meals a day. I think everything is aching. They have built 3 high retaining walls, painted all the windows and shutters on the front of the house, installed two new garage doors, two new garage door openers, two new kitchen windows and covered the trim on the outside of the doors and windows with aluminum so it won't have to be painted. Plus cleaned out the garage and re graded the drive to the back and spread crushed stone around. They are getting more stone today and will spread it around plus will start work on the patio door. They probably won't be finished when they get those things done as there are a lot of things around here that need repaired or replaced. So yes, I am tired :) Sue

I wrote the below on the BAH Forum last night, but it applies to Remodels as well. There is a Big Reason that engineers are on Joe's ''Double Secret Probation'' status when he initially gives them a quote. Everyone in the building industry does the same. They usually get the PITA tax too. Point him at another problem. (Quick! Look at the big steaming pile here! OMG! You HAVE to solve thisBIG problem.) And unless you intend to keep all 57 pieces of your cast iron collection in that cabinet, blocking at the side is counterproductive and to be avoided. __________________________________________ Enginerds are genetically unsuited to building a home. They think they know all there is to know about something that is a lot more art than science, and then they think they know all about the science too. And they're never happy with the details that anyone either discusses or creates. Engineers should tell their spouse 3 things that they want that are non negotiable, and then let the spouse deal with the rest of the entire transaction by hiring a Pro. And yeah, I have 73 years of personal experience dealing with them. One irascible worse know it all than me shares the other half of the king sized bed and is on my last nerve tonight. They are also the biggest whiny know it all babies in the world when they are sick.

Perfect quote and oh so true when it comes to selecting art. It's much like someone asking how they should appreciate music, what sounds and rhythms they should listen to. The answer to that will forever be "how the hell should WE know?!" and while some (like tatts) often practically say that, it's not exactly nice. Still, it's like, if you have to ask what kind of art to buy, you'll probably never understand why it even exists. (Is that snobbery? Well ... maybe. Sorry. )