Blue has always been my favorite color.
Blue reminds me of peace, blue is the color of the sky and
often times, blue is the personality of the ocean.
Blue is
inhale. It's the color I imagine racing oxygen to all the cells in my body,
it’s the primary color in one of my all time favorite paintings, Van Gogh’s,
Starry Night.
I love the different names and shades and hues of blue:
celeste, azul, turquoise, denim, navy and certainly all the creative names from paint
samples Laguna Blue, Surf’s Up, High Seas, Poolside Blue and on and on.
I remember in great detail the dark blue seats on the first
flight I was on from Panama to Chicago when we all traveled with my MOM to
visit our Grandmother Rodewald in Iowa. The seats were Pan American blue, they
were leather, dark, worn. That’s the
flight in 1965 that when they served our meals, the meal trays included a tiny thin
delicate cellophane wrapped box of cigarettes, 4 cigarettes to a box.
My Mom almost lost her mind when she saw Carlos holding one of the
cigarettes in his hand, pretending to smoke.
As you can imagine, she was not happy and the Pan Am crew apologized
profusely.
Another memory, the crisp blue seas that tickle the shores
of the tiny San Blas Islands in Panama. The color is intense, the kind of blue
that if you quiet your heart and mind long enough, will pierce your soul and
stay with you forever.
The blue of those waters and tiny islands calls me often. I actually have on open invitation to go camping
overnight in the San Blas Archipelago with my nephew, Danny and his wife, Andrea. l look forward to that blue adventure one day soon.
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| San Blas Islands, Panama |
One of Maggie’s dogs, Cody, has a blue eye. His blue eye is curious, surprising, friendly. While it seems out of place, when you get to know Cody,
you understand the uniqueness of that amazing blue eye, in the life of an amazing
dog. Cody is indeed special. He is a noble and gentle dog. Morgan loves him. Cody is the only dog that Morgan has had a crush on.
A significant part of my house was painted dark, soothing
blue. The painter swirled a tiny bit of white and green, ((and I mean tiny)), to
give the blue color a feel of the swirl created by waves in the ocean. I always
felt invited to calm and rest in the blue rooms of the house. And for 15 years, I inhabited those blue rooms and indeed felt at home. Below is a photo of one of the walls.
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| The Blue Swirl |
And then in April and May of this year, there was the BEIGE invasion.
To be precise, Sherwin Williams, China
Doll Beige, (a stage the house neutral color BIEGE)).
I followed the
advice of all the professionals painted the entire house beige and indeed the neutral color sold the house, ((among other things)), in 2 days.
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| The color of this room along with the kitchen, was yellow. A yellow that invited and suggested spring, a yellow that energized conversations a yellow that welcomed and complimented the light of every day |
So what is it about the neutrality of the color BEIGE that soothes, that attracts, that makes the unfamiliar familiar, a color that
whispers “it's OK, yes this can be your future space"?
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| Beige Invasion |
I’m certain the neutrality of the color supports the idea of
the blank canvas, the clean slate, the idea that I can build upon this color and create
my own palate of colors, my own flavors of life. And maybe for some it’s
that simple.
For me it is not.
The first few days the beige painting was completed on all the rooms in the 2nd story of the house, I was not comfortable. The beige color on all the walls was in no way neutral for me, the beige was almost an assault on my senses.
The mind is such a powerful and interesting part of who we are, the beige colors on the wall reminded me of the exact color, hue, shade, of beige, the color of the beautiful dress my Mother had on when I last saw her, at the private memorial service. Yes my Mother dressed elegantly in beige, laying quiet, peaceful, and deceased in her coffin at the chapel at Mead's Mortuary in Barstow, California in May of 1974.
I know, call me crazy, I'm sharing the truth.
And why things like this happen, I'll never fully understand.
It took me a few days, weeks, to translate and quiet all of the emotions, memories, and visuals in my head and heart related to the assault of beige on my senses.
Now that the house is under contract and I'm going through all the steps to complete the sale, inspection, appraisal, final-walk through, I'm beginning to entertain daily the idea of the blank canvas.
What will the color of my life be in a few months when I'm in a new space, in a new city, with all that is possible ?
Discovery, adventure, curiosity, new people, new places, new skies, and yes, the Atlantic Ocean nearby and also The St. John River. Moving to Jacksonville, Florida will bring a significant gift and joy to my life, my sister Ana. Ana and Parker will also be moving to JAX and will be in my daily life.
I am "over the moon" excited.
Blue moon, red moon, yellow moon, who knows?
For certain, there will be NO BEIGE.
