Wednesday Night Jitters

It's 9pm, the child is in bed and the barista is at the shop, has steamed up some chai and is now about to embark on the kitchen project. It's too bad it's not a clear night. I may end up outside again at 4am on a fleece blanket, wrapped in wool, warped with caffeine jitters. Maybe the stars will be out by that time..............

When the health inspector, a very humorless man with a very bad haircut, came in about a month ago, I scored a 96 out of a possible 100. I wish I did that well in high school.

I lost a point for the spoons being spoon side up at the creamer station (which I know about but was training the new girl that day and forgot to specify when she took the clean batch out... my bad). I lost a point for a rip in the screen door we don't use and for some gaps in the ceiling in the back kitchen space around the heating vents where mice can squeeze through if they so chose.

Not too bad, really, considering. I had no idea what to expect. I just received my official License to Operate in the mail today.

I learned when he was here that all unfinished wood in a kitchen has to be painted over or sealed in some way. So I went out today and bought some deep red paint. I was hoping for a funky shade of purple or a funky mauve but the local hardware type place, where Bill has an account and I could get his discount, seemed to be out of whatever base they needed to make every single color I asked for. The deep red color was a stock color, which meant they have it in house, already mixed, and so I ended up with that. I eventually just started feeling bad for the employee, who was feeling bad for having to keep saying he couldn't make this or that shade. Maybe I'll just accent the red with another color down the road... from another, more equipped paint place. I figure that the kitchen space won't be seen by customers so I can get as crazy as I want to with it.

I came in an hour ago and so far haven't been able to leave the computer except to make my chai. It was hard enough getting into the car to come into town. Took a look at some of the wedding pics (thanks Jim) and checked email.

Now, though, I need to roll up my sleeves and get dirty. In about twenty minutes my every nerve ending will be pulsing with a blend of Kashmiri and Tra Quai chai tea..... I need to utilize that time well.

Benjamin Moore

So maybe saying that I had three thousand paint samples was a bit of an embellishment. I have fifty seven paint sample cards. Three hundred and seventy eight different shades to look through. You ready, Lisa? How many bottles of wine will this take?

It felt good to leave the world of regulation and licensing this afternoon and come home and spread out this wide spectrum of color. Sidling up a split pea with an eggplant purple. I've got a stack of booklets that show blending samples. There's the Affinity Collection, the Aura Collection, Serenity Collection, Interior Inspirations, and the Historical Color.

Who markets this stuff?

Some of the colors have pretty obvious names. Pistachio, Jack O' Lantern, Wild Aster.

But then we've got Mink Violet, Foot Hills and Monet.
Corduroy? What color is corduroy?
Northhampton Putty?
Pony brown?
Tudor brown? Hmmmmm....

Magic potion.
Serene breeze.

Land of liberty?
Stolen moments?
According to Ben Moore, a stolen moment is a subtle shade of celery green.
And Land of Liberty is more like an avacado green.

What else....

We've got Spring Break, Dreamy, Wishing Well...
and Cupid's Dart?????

oooh, here's one. Cup o' Java.
and Purple Rain.
and Love Affair.

Maybe we could pick the colors according to the name only and in the picking we could tell a great story. Or pick only names that relate to music, like Purple Rain or Cornerstone or Guava Jelly. Or we could do like Dana did and select names of paint that have only to do with the Grateful Dead. There's a Terrapin Green in this stack. Number 2145-20 for those hard core die-hards.

I don't know. This is fun and all and while the coffee shop is going to be a great job to have, I think someday I'd like to get paid for making up names like this. To sit around all day and name color. How does one land a job like that?

Today's Playlist

High Lonesome Sound ~ again. Great to open with... keeps you on your toes.

Jimmy Cliff ~ for you, B.J..... why on earth would you assume there'd be no reggae?!

Oh, Kalinas ~ it's your disc. You left it at our house :)

Old Crow Medicane Show ~ because I'm still mourning not seeing them in Burlington this month.

Nina Simone ~ because I'm an addict. In The Morning. It's Barnum all over again.

Arabic Groove from the Putamaya Collections.

Dixie Chicks.... I played two songs and had to turn it off. I don't think I like the Dixie Chicks all that much.

GLove... a good replacement to the Dixie Chicks.

and of course...

today's dose of Mountain Bed from Billy Bragg and Wilco.

Gittin er Done

I'm about three numbers away from finishing the business plan and may even have it to the bank by Monday.

I'm meeting with my small business guru on Friday... where I'll probably find about forty more things I need to do to make it complete but.... we're close.

I talked to the people who sell credit card machines today, talked to my insurance guy, the graphic design friend and the friend who is going to take over the baking. It's been an exciting day here in the hills. Lots of talk about cinnamon buns, flourless mocha tortes, Italian anise waffle cookies.... workers comp policies, 1.69% on each credit transaction, new faucets!

I've been trying really hard to not put my energy yet into the nesting element of this shop. I'm trying to keep my focus on the numbers instead of the sheetrock that needs to go up in the office space or the floor that needs to be insulated in the kitchen. Once I have this plan to the bank I can enjoy those things... I can look through the gigantic stack of paint samples I picked up today and I can think about where the new furniture will go or what kind of hanging plants to buy for the porch. Bleeding hearts? Begonias?

Opening the shop tomorrow morning is coming quick, though. Time for sleep.