Dave’s Blurb for March

My wife, Sandy, says it’s the small stuff I agonize over.

Big stuff like starting a business, expanding a business, hiring someone—I’ve got it covered. Picking out a new lamp for the living room? Give me a week.

So yes, I can be a bit indecisive in the home improvement department—which explains why the exterior of our garage looks like the Partridge family bus. I have one of our advertisers coming next week to paint the house, the folks on page 39 (Ray the Painter). That’s great because it needs it, but not great because I haven’t found the right color yet.

I’m doing research. And the process goes like this: Go to the paint store. Agonize over all the choices. Don’t ask advice. Buy samples. Prep the sides of the garage for paint. Roll on the paint samples. Decide I hate those colors. Go to paint store again…you get the idea. At this point, I’m five trips in to the paint store. Sandy says I’m not choosing a color, I’m eliminating colors. Thanks for the support, hun. In all fairness, I have narrowed the choices down to Svelte Gray, Neuvelle Shade, Sorbet Douglas Fir and Flatulent Umber—who names these colors? (Okay, I made up some of those.) Needless to say, Sandy is growing tired of our multi-color garage. Maybe my neighbors are too.

So hopefully by the time this column arrives in my neighbors’ mailboxes, they can look over and appreciate that my house is now one color. Next on the home improvement list? We’re putting a storm shelter in the garage from the guy on page 11 (F5 Storm Shelters). So do I put it under my car or Sandy’s…. Hmm, let me think about that.

Dave Miller, Publisher, Back40 Design President