Today I finally began painting the stairway and upstairs hall. It is this awful shade of green, a deep mint that reminds me of the old green that hospitals used -- it even makes everyone look ill. I think that the previous owners were trying to match the green in the wallboard of the stairway but they didn't get it right. I'm not sure what the exact name of the stairway stuff is called but it is basically wallpaper and drywall in one. The same stuff was used in the dining room and was impossible to remove without tearing up the wall in the process (luckily it was only on two walls). I suppose that is why we haven't done the stairway yet. The decision was to just skip the paper removal and paint over the daisies in the field of green. But the main reason for not tackling this project before is that I have two little helpers that just have to paint with me whenever the brushes come out. So the boys and I painted while Laine was napping. We didn't get very far but already it feels like a more healthy space.