February 07th, 2017

Did you ever try to describe a particular colour to someone?  Or over heard someone else describe a colour?  "It was pink, but not too pinky."  "It was a green but not a yellow green, but also not a blue green and it wasn't a greeny green either"   "Kind of a greyish blueish purplish"    I believe I've said words like that.  I know that I've heard them.  Usually while hearing a woman describing an article of clothing.  It's hard to be absolutely perfectly descriptive about a colour. Case in point:

One day recently, Tim and I were walking along the water's edge.  Sometimes talking, sometimes quiet.  Then I heard myself say," What do you think of this colour for the bedroom?" and I dramatically swept my hand at the water ala Vanna White. 

Being the agreeable sort, he responded, "Blue? Sure." 

"No," I said patiently, "This blue. This specific blue" I pointed to the water again.

 He looked at me, then he looked at the water,  then at me again, then, inexplicably,  he laughed.  "Ok, this specific blue."  and he chuckled to himself the entire walk home.  To be fair I didn't actually hear the chuckling, but now, thinking back, I'm positive that he did.

So, absolutely certain that I had that exact blue firmly fixed in my mind,  I took myself off to the paint store to find that specific blue. I walked with great excitement over to the blue paint chip section and after a quick scan pulled two of those little strips that have graduated colour intensities of the same shade.  They were very close but clearly not the exact same colour.  The salesperson came to see if I needed any assistance.  "I'm looking for a particular blue' I said with great confidence. 

I suspect that inwardly, he rolled his eyes but very kindly he asked, "What shade of blue?"  

"It's an ocean kind of blue", I hear myself blurt out and realizing how indefinite that sounds I follow up with, "It's one of these two. I am sure of it." and I wave the two different paint strips around in the air.   Positive that it was one or the other. I brought them home to admire. 

Once I had them up against the walls of the room however, I was not as certain. The colour seemed, well, just wrong.   It just wasn't quite right.  What happened?  "Well", I said to myself, "I must have made a mistake.  Neither of those was THE colour. I will go back and try again." So try I did.  But by now, the specific blue that I thought was permanently etched in my brain had faded a bit.  I was more hesitant.  My hand hovered over multiple paint strips but none of them seemed right. (I think the salesguy was hiding in the back laughing.  I have no proof of that. It's just a feeling)  Perhaps I needed to see that specific blue again to reset the memory. So I walked back to the beach. Only to realize, that the colour of the sea was different. Oh no! 

Well of course it was different. Silly girl. It's a different colour every day.  In fact, the colour changes constantly throughout the day.  I laughed out loud at myself. Sometimes I am absolutely ridiculous.  All of the colours of the ocean are perfect.  All of them are beautiful. I just don't want all of them on my bedroom walls.

Someday soon, I will see that exact colour in the ocean again and this time I will take a photograph of it.  And hopefully it will end up looking exactly right. And even more hopefully, I will be able to find a paint chip that specific colour.  Otherwise, the bedroom will remain unpainted. Some day, I will find that colour.  Now it is a mission!