Booga Booga:

I'm trying to decide what color to paint the backdoor to the garage. No one will see this door but me... still, I'm having a hard time deciding. I could be conservative and paint it the same color as the door to the backyard -- "Lambert Green" by Jones-Blair Paint Company, a beautiful gray-spruce green created in the 1950's by Dallasite Joe Lambert Jr. Or I could be thrifty and use leftover paint I have sitting around. But what I was thinking about was going back to my Louisiana roots and painting it "Haint Blue." After all, blue is my favorite color and Haint Blue is thought to have mystic qualities -- like Cajun Voodoo!

For centuries in all parts of the world, it's believed that painting the home's doors, trim, shutters, or porch ceiling, will keep the Haints away. A "Haint" is a restless, evil spirit of the dead that hasn't moved on from their physical world. And above all, Haints are not friendly! Blue paint is used to resemble water... and as we all know, Haints can't cross water! Using blue paint fools Haints, and painting the home's openings discourage them from "crossing" into the house!

Some believe that using blue paint on a home helps keep bugs away. The blue reminds flies, bees, wasps, and mosquitoes of the sky, and supposedly they won't hang around or build a nest near the color blue. There's Gullah Blue, Dutch Boy Blue, Dirt-Dauber Blue, and what they call it in Louisiana -- "That Blue Color Mosquitoes Hate."

The actual shade of "Haint Blue" varies. It can range from a pastel violet-blue, such as a periwinkle, to a rich shade of warm turquoise, and everything in between. I'm not sure what exact shade I want to use. Maybe I need to consult the local paranormal society to find out what shade of blue keeps garage Haints away!