You should know…

I did not leave the house today. Lovely! The painters were here, the weather was awful. I ran three miles on the treadmill, avoiding the weather completely. DT had to go out for an appointment and he agreed to do my the grocery shopping while he was in town. Yeah! 

Anyway, there are few things I need to go on-and-on about.

While we were in Tennessee, Kathy told me about the SodaStream Soda and Seltzer Maker that she recently received from her kids. Like me, Kathy is a serious consumer of sparkling water. Like me, Kathy is also a serious recycler. I usually lug home lovely sparkling S. Pellegrino water by the case from Trader Joe's. I return the bottles for deposit, of course, but what do you suppose is the carbon footprint of water bottled-in and shipped-from Italy?

Water from Italy? Come on, Terry, what are you thinking? Wine from Italy is perfectly acceptable, however. You know by now how my crazy brain works, right? So, while we were still in Tennessee, I ordered a SodaStream system and have been using it for several days and am now totally embarrassed by all those bottles of imported sparkling water I have been purchasing. It works easily and perfectly. No waste. The bottles are reusable. The C02 cartridges are exchangeable. Over and over and over. I usually just drink plain sparkling water, but you can also purchase flavors (cola, lemon-lime, root beer, etc.) to add to the soda water. One plus is the mixes do not contain high fructose corn syrup - just regular old sugar. (Okay, so I will admit I did buy one soda flavor - tonic water - and will try it out at the appropriate time.) Next on tonight's exciting agenda is this photo, snapped from across Neyland Stadium to our seats at the Tennessee v Oregon game last Saturday:Just in case, you didn't really think we were in Tennessee last week - here is reasonable proof! Woody is taking a photo, I am talking at/with Kathy and Dave is looking to his right. This is before kick-off/during warm-ups, as the stands are not yet full, we are not yet wearing ponchos, it is not raining and it is still daylight. Sidenote: The dude in the white tee-shirt (holding the toddler) next to DT is Freddie Jones. Freddie played basketball for the Ducks and then enjoyed a eight-year NBA career. We have also heard from several sources that we were shown on ESPN2 during the live game broadcast! I have the game on the DVR, but haven't looked at it yet... probably because I know the score...

Now let's move on to the painting portion of the program.

Early this morning, a crew of two from Bernard Painting arrived to paint the ceiling and walls of the Tiger Room and adjoining bath. I chose two wall colors, both from Divine Color - Peanut (from the Pacific Trail Mix) and Cafe (from the Espresso Blends collection). I just love this paint and have various shades all over the house now - cashew, filbert... 

Do not come to Taylor Manor if you have a nut allergy.

The entry area and the back wall of the Tiger Room are now Cafe. The remaining walls and the bath are peanut. (The ceiling is Whip.)

The difference isn't dramatic, yet it isn't subtle.

The peanut color goes well with with the tile on the vanity in the bathroom. (The tile will remain.) The bathroom flooring is being replaced. More on that later... I just can't make a decision until I see the carpet installed.

All of this paint and flooring is due to my choice of carpet. For years we have had plain carpet and tiger-print sheets/duvet. I have decided to change things up a bit.

Turn the room upside-down.

I have chosen a leopard print carpet for the room and will use plain bedding. The carpet is produced in Israel for Kane and for some odd reason is called "Badger". 

Pick yourself up off the floor! It will be lovely. Warm and inviting. Daring. Different.

I hope.

Until my next update, I remain, your home decorating correspondent.