Your room also sounds like it will be beautiful. What kind of bulbs will you be using? I'm sure you know that the bulb choice can drastically affect how the lighting comes across. For instance: even though the fixtures aren't specifically intended for fluorescents, we decided to use CFLs in our master bath. We have both bright-white and daylight (daylight in the downlights, bright white in the sconces closer to our faces) and they have *very* different effects on all the colors in the room, including our skin. I'm guessing that if you like the Alabama White in the large-window room, you want something with a higher CRI (and consider the kelvin factor if you choose cfls) than the bulbs you have tried the Alabama White with so far. Maybe you want to get some samples of colors on posterboard or watercolor paper, and look at them with different kinds of light bulbs in the fixtures to see what works best. We went through this with the light over our dining table recently. Comparison of the micromini/mini-twister bulbs from Lowes: Daylight (6500K) was *too* blue for dining ease, but when I put them in my office lamp they're wonderful; they make me feel like there's a window in my dark little corner :). Bright white was just right (3500K), and 'soft white' (2700K) was so *red* it gave me a headache and made my eyes play tricks on me. The higher Kelvin number was better for us. (HD had only the soft white, not the others.) I love that painting, btw -- so dynamic! I love somewhat expressionistic takes on landscapes. (I also love non-representational art, but there's always a soft spot in my heart for the landscape) The sky is fascinating. Do you know the artist? (btw, I just have to wonder to whom BM was marketing that paint color -- having just seen a documentary on the Freedom Riders, the name 'Alabama White' doesn't seem any too complimentary to me...maybe you can rename it something less 'incendiary'?)

In Sparta, we drove to a convenience store parking lot to use the restroom. It was a little bit after noon, well over an hour before peak eclipse time when we got ready to drive around to find our viewing location. Robert just happened to look up with his eclipse glasses before we got into the vehicle and said, "It's already started!" Sure enough, a little bite was missing from the sun! Even that was exciting. The difference between any smaller percentage and a full eclipse is very significant. You wouldn't think so, but it is. Even at the last minute.....99%.....there is still sunlight providing light, if even a little bit. as the moon moved into that perfect position everything changed. It was shocking, startling, gasp provoking. Can't explain it, really. I shouted to everyone to remove their eclipse glasses; it was an amazing thing to see. The corona around black hole was like a dim night light, providing some illumination to the night sky but not to the ground. Can't really explain it. Everyone was quiet, speaking only in whispers to those closest. It was an intimate moment for this small group we were with, thankfully not a mob nor with an idiot who felt compelled to shoot off fireworks. ;-( But that second when the moon moved into that perfect spot, lots of noisy spontaneous reactions. Funny about the bug spray. The guy who came with his little Yorkie (Rocky, a rescue) went around offering spritzes of his organic repellent after the little nuisances came out in hoards; they were ravenous! It duskish at that time and we needed protection! By the way, Huntsville was in the 97% range, enough to enjoy an interesting experience. We chose to "go big" and drive that picturesque two hours to Sparta. Robert took a couple of quick videos and they are both filled with the sounds of the crickets and cicadas. The difference between a couple of minutes before the total eclipse and the big moment was striking. Day and night. I can't quite explain it.

Raee, Lunt was on the original very long list of approved manufacturers. The actual site diverts you to Amazon. However, as I kept reading different articles, the ISO logo was mentioned and my glasses did not have this Logo. Since Amazon already had to recall eclipse glasses, I didn't want to take a chance. Lunt Solar did get back to me after I emailed them about my concern. They did not address the missing logo but assured me that the glasses were fine. I got the ones from the library and we are using them. I returned the Lunt to Amazon. I know! I am very paranoid.

I am gonna go blind