What a guy!

We've been living in this house for nine years now, and though a wall had been knocked out between kitchen and dining room and new windows were installed, the kitchen had never been properly repainted, though the dining room had. The kitchen ceiling was so discoloured, and the walls weren't much better. As we hadn't done any home maintenance for almost a year, I happened to make a comment to Lee about how nice it would be to give the kitchen a fresh coat of paint the next time we were in reno mode.

I honestly didn't expect him to act on it. He had a pretty exhausting summer thanks to a trip overseas, and his vacation time came in short chunks rather than the nice two-week stretch it seems to take him to fully relax. There was always yard work or some minor project that prevented him from really taking a break, and I didn't mean to add to that with my kitchen comment.

I didn't realize it, but Lee was in a painting kind of mood. He repainted the cast iron railings at our front step because I'd been talking about doing that for a while, and then he took me to Rona to pick out paint for the kitchen.

Lemon Tart yellow was my choice -- for me, happiness is a yellow kitchen. I debated a bit about Lemon Tart or Cool Lemonade, and thought about how my kids complained about the lack of colour in our home (we like light, so we prefer white walls, especially in the winter). They wanted something bold. Lemon Tart was definitely bold in my books, so I went with that. The lady who mixed the paint gave me two thumbs up for my choice. So did our girls.

It took a week from buying to applying the last coat on Friday evening when Lee got home from work. The girls were ecstatic... but I wasn't so sure. It was SO bright. Hard on the eyes, almost. Definitely tart. Especially with our new ceiling light fixture. After we cleaned up, Lee and I took a walk to my parents' house for a visit with my dad (who had just had a cornea transplant and sees fine now!) and as we chatted, I mentioned my misgivings. My mom turned to Lee and said, "Do you think it's too bright?"

"I have no opinion on the matter," he said, to both my delight and exasperation. He was content to leave the decision to me, but at the same time, no help at all! When we got home, I pulled down a bit of the green tape to see how Lemon Tart looked against our white, and said I'd have to sleep on it.

I woke at seven, early for me on a Saturday morning, and went to look at the kitchen. Lemon Tart was definitely harsher than I expected it to be at that early hour. I tried to like it, I really did, but I also realized that the person who spends the most time in the kitchen had better be sure she likes it, especially since we don't paint that frequently. Could I live with Lemon Tart yellow for the next ten years? No. But how would I break it to Lee, who was looking forward to a Saturday with nothing pressing?

He appeared ten minutes later, took one look at my face and said, "We could mix the leftover ceiling paint with your Lemon Tart, and that might do it. What do you think?"

So that's what we ended up doing. Our girls complained as Lemon Tart was covered with something lighter, but as I pointed out to them, they can paint their own kitchens their own colours someday. One coat was all it took, and I was a much happier camper. My kitchen is a warm, buttery yellow now, and looks pretty sharp. Lee also sanded and repainted the stove top ceiling vent so that it looks brand new. He's pretty proud of that piece of work, and rightly so.

Best part of all? When everything was finished, I asked Lee what he thought of our kitchen. "I have no opinion on the matter," he said. "But I think you made the right choice."

What a guy! And I say that with absolute affection!