Excess....

Life is full of excesses. Too many people on parts of the planet. Too much pollution. Too much weight. Too much to do. Too much stress.

Getting rid of things sounds easy, but sometimes it isn't.

When I moved the refrigerator, in the kitchen, an old-fashioned cupboard lost its place in the scheme of things. I decided to move it outside, to hold my huge collection of paint. It now sits where a wrought iron shelf once was, and the wrought iron shelf has taken the place of another, smaller, cupboard that used to hold all my paint.

And so, I have excess. Again.

The displaced cupboard will have to find a home elsewhere. Soon, I hope. In the meantime, I am trying to figure out how its contents filled up the larger cupboard so quickly. True, there were painting things sitting on a table on the patio, but not that many things. Really.

So, I dusted off gallon cans of paint. Faded spots of paint on the lid were no help: I still couldn't tell what color some of them were. I did find some of the paint I used in the dining room, some from my bedroom, and nearly a gallon of the Cherry Cobbler that makes such a bold statement in the family room.

Considering the fact that I have painted the living room three times in the last four years, and the hallway twice, it's a wonder I didn't find any more of the former colors from those rooms. I do have at least two of everything that I need to paint: rollers, handles, paint brushes, paint trays, and painter's tape.

And spray paint. I went through my spray paint period earlier in the millenium. I had a booth in an antiques' shop and I fixed up—and painted—everything I displayed in my booth. For reasons I cannot fathom, I have 7 cans of lavender spray paint. I can understand the 10 cans of black spray paint, but not the lavender. Or the six cans of celadon, which is nothing more than a fancy name for pale green....

And I have to wonder: what is “semi-flat”? I have heard of “semi-gloss” paint, but not semi-flat. All but one of the cans of black paint are marked semi-flat. Does it mean it's half way between gloss and flat? Or more flat than gloss? Who knows these things? I do imagine it was either on sale, or in short supply. That has to be the reason for buying so much of it.

Excess....

So, the cupboard is in place. The paint cans are dusted and arranged. The brushes, rollers, trays, stirrers, steel wool, painter's tape and spackle knives are organized and inventoried. The wrought iron shelf is washed off and waiting to be moved to its new spot. The little cupboard is waiting patiently to see what I do with it.

And, if you need any lavender spray paint, call me....