Blooming!

After a rather miserable spring, we managed to venture into the yard all three days of Memorial Day week end as we annually tend to do.  Here’s what’s in bloom as of today:

  

This is wild geranium.  Barely blooming, but has begun.  A lovely perennial ground cover.

Isn’t that the sweetest lamb?  My SAMBS ( Saturday A.M. Bible Study) ladies bought it for my birthday, as I tend to refer to us as “dumb sheep” a lot.  

Planted this “Jack Frost” last summer for it’s pretty leaf variegation... the early spring blooms are a surprise. 

Lily of the Valley transplanted from our neighbor last year.  It hasn’t exactly spread, but, hey!  A bloom!

Not sure of the name of this bush... love its purple leaves all season. (I trim it into a tree shape... these are a few low stragglers which will be trimmed soon)

Creeping phlox is a perennial favorite which is featured in many flower beds around our yard.  As a bonus it spreads, and is dug up easily for transplanting.  The bleeding heart is a delicate reminder of the promise of spring each year.  💗

This is arch angel, another vigorous creeper which is easily transplanted.  Love its sunny yellow blooms. ☀️ The rooster peeking out has a body made of a rock... a souvenir from a trip to Maine a few years back.

Planted some annuals (the goal is less each year), dug in compost from our local dump (***love that we can haul our yard waste in and then haul home buckets of compost resulting from last year’s yard waste), dug in some garden soil, weeded, trimmed, etc.  Good to be at it again, especially following hand surgery in January. Spring has sprung! #grateful

God and Gardens

As I prepare for teaching 1st to 4th grade Sunday School on Easter Sunday, I am rereading familiar texts.

John 18:2 ESV states, "Now Judas, who betrayed him, also knew the place, [the garden of Gethsemane] for Jesus often met there with his disciples."

Have never noticed that before - that this garden was one of their regular meeting places. In nature with Jesus. In the quiet and the still.

Reminds me of Genesis 3:8 where Adam and Eve "...heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day..."

God placed mankind in a garden upon their creation.  And Jesus, when confronting his arrest and execution (John 18:4 tells us that Jesus knew all that would happen to Him) took his disciples to a beloved garden.  The beginning of mankind and the end of God's incarnation.

Matthew 26:36-46 is another account of Jesus' time in the garden at Gethsemane... a much more detailed account. Read it and weep. Jesus' two closest friends failed Him in his last hours of freedom.  He simply wanted them to be present for Him, and to pray...for their own frailty.   He took them to a peaceful spot...a known spot... their garden of choice.

Gardens.  Spring is barely here, and our garden is still brown and sad.  But soon!  A goldfinch just landed on our feeder as I'm writing - the first I've seen this year.  HOPE!  Can't wait to be out there in our own little patch of Eden, digging and assisting to create order and beauty.
Come watch and pray with me.  💚

our backyard bliss - summer 2017

Bleeding hearts in our front walkway - spring 2016

P.S.

The screen porch experience just got better!

Anna is now practicing piano. The piano is up against the screen porch wall, and there is a small window above it which allows fresh air from the screen porch into the living room. At this moment strains of classical music are filling the porch.

Anna is torn between nursing and piano performance as college majors. For the moment she will proceed with both. Thus she has a big audition on September first, and my summer promises to be music filled. Her three audition pieces are by MacDowell, Mozart and Brahms. Contemporary, Classical, and Romantic respectively.

Happy mama.

Eden

When we went house hunting four years ago, I had a list. (I always have a list). Screen porch was not on the list. But God knew better.

Here I am, still jammie clad, feet up, third cup of coffee (decaf now) sitting in our own piece of Eden. This is a delicious way to start a week. Oh how I love our screen porch, nestled in the back of our house, surrounded by my "secret garden." I have my routines... Journal, then Bible study, with a bit of email and Facebook thrown in...all interspersed with clipping and digging. Am I the only one who accomplishes much in teeny increments? Just now I went out to dead head a plant, and twenty minutes later I am back on the glider, ready to continue with my study. Thankfully the back flower garden is fairly private, but I'm sure by now our neighbors know my sleepwear, and they are used to my puttering habits.

The birds are singing to me, the fountain is gurgling, drops of rain are falling here and there. All is very well.

I have a long long list for the next two weeks as we anticipate the big graduation party on July 10. It will all get done, one putter at a time. Just about over a sinus infection (although my head is still under water) I am hopeful that great surges of energy are just around the corner. But for today, I will embrace a slower, yet thoroughly productive, pace.

I love love love our screen porch.

Christmas

Here's a peek at Christmas decor 2010...

Welcome! Come on in!

Sorry...Boomer is too comfy to greet you.

The tree and the fire are at the center of everything...

Peeking at the tree through the family room French door...

The dining room table gets a lot of use at this time of year, too.

I just LOVE Christmas. Everything about it. Celebrate!

Color

This blog has been ignored due to complete upside down chaos in our home. We're painting. The laundry room was white - now is "blonde." The kitchen had [horrid] old tan wallpaper with faded blue hearts; it is now pumpkin/gold. When we peeled off the wall paper the drywall came off in spots too, so we had to have a "skim coat" done, which was then sanded...oh the dust. Whew. The living room and dining room were a grey taupe (ceiling and all) and now are mostly chocolate brown with one accent wall of "fireweed" red. (with bright white ceilings!) The family room also had gray taupe ceiling and walls, but now has a white ceiling, "trusty tan" walls and the fireplace wall is *bright* "loyal blue." The family room still needs another coat of blue.

Needless to say, my world is upside down. We hired a couple guys to do it all at once - a blessing and a curse. The kitchen and living room are back in place, other than touching up where I'm moving artwork and decor. The contents of the family room are still in the foyer. I finally got the wash caught up tonight.

Both Frank and I were painting too. It was a big big job. And now I'm studying for a quiz tomorrow.

So...I'll be back soon. And I'll post photos of my colorful world. I LOVE it thus far.

Twinkling

The best part of fall and winter is the lovely effect of lighting inside our home. Unexpected dim lights from all corners of a dark room makes me smile. I'm big into dimmer lights, and into the general calming effect of candlelight and low wattage uplighting and glows.

Last night Sweet Sue was at our house, and I asked her to help motivate me in my office - the half of our bedroom which is dedicated to study and creativity. A couple piles of unfiled mail is really all that stood between me and order, since a couple weeks ago I finally hauled all the funeral paperwork, photos, cards, etc. to the basement. There comes a time when I simply have to haul a pile to a new location - it's something about how I'm wired - just seeing the pile overwhelms me and I avoid it all together.

Sue observed that what I really needed was more lighting.

An hour later the perimeter of this little cubby was sparkling with twinkle lights. Icicle lights on white wire hung from tiny nails spaced a foot apart - about 3 inches from the ceiling. It is positively magical.

My desk was quickly cleared off, and when I went to bed all that remained on it was my laptop and my desklamp. This morning I've been busy with Bible study and the preparation to lead worship on Sunday, all beneath the glow of a million white icicle lights.

I'm working on a photo to post. It's a tough angle to get - this is an indented cubby area of our bedroom - and the lighting is hard to capture.

In the mean time, I am twinkling. Thank you Sue!

Friday

Since this is post number 3 in 20 minutes, you've likely surmised that I'm off today. In fact, a four day week end stretches before me. WOO HOO.

I'm in my spot. In the past few months this spot nestled away in our bedroom has become much more beautiful due to the replacement of our 25-plus-year-old covered loveseat with a de-luxe chocolate brown leather reclining loveseat and some new artwork. The lamp came from my dad's room, as did the blue down lap blanket. (sigh) You can see in the photo that my coffee is in place as is the art tote used to store my current quiet time materials, journal, Bible and colored pens.

Our 19 year old, Emily, came in and said it felt like summer in here. (the little noise machine has the sound of ocean waves and seagulls as I enjoy my morning ritual...covers the distractions of the house) Another time she said it felt like a spa - all in browns and bluish greens. The triple window to my left is a gift that cannot be put into words - watching the birds, the squirrels, and now the budding trees.

I won't bore you with the details of the amazing deal on the loveseat at HOBO and the artwork at TJMaxx. But I know that my Father honors the priority I give Him - both in how He fills me during this time each day and now in how He has provided such beauty and luxury in such a personal way.

Thank you Lord for the gift of this hiding place - a place for YOU and I to spend time together each early morning. It is a sheltered cove in my busy world.

Concrete Thoughts

Just ventured downstairs to take a peek - the men are on lunch break. They've dug a trench at the base of the south wall - step one in seepage repair.
In case you think we have an AWFULLY narrow basement, that wall on the right is the foundation of the two sided free standing fireplace above...



This is what used to be in our basement...


Our 1900 sf ranch home is long and narrow, and the 1900 sf basement is divided in half lengthwise. Thankfully the unfinished side is the side with seepage. The finished side is dry... Guess I should be counting my blessings!

The Desk

There's still a pile of things to sort as I rearrange the entire bedroom, but here's the desk area so far.

On the wall is an old printer's drawer, filled with rubber stamps. On top is the word "Inspire." Behind the chair is a calligraphy of Proverbs 31.

This is my little corner of the world, filled with creative tools and items which evoke happy memories. I'm loving it.

Just Do It

In cleaning out papers yesterday, part of moving into the desk, I found my personality profile. I am an ESFJ.

Guardians of birthdays, holidays and celebrations, ESFJs are generous entertainers. They enjoy and joyfully observe traditions and are liberal in giving, especially where custom prescribes.

All else being equal, ESFJs enjoy being in charge. They see problems clearly and delegate easily, work hard and play with zest. ... ESFJs are easily wounded. And when wounded, their emotions will not be contained. They by nature "wear their hearts on their sleeves, " often exuding warmth and bonhomie, but not infrequently boiling over with the vexation of their souls.

I truly hate to think that I can be so easily classified, but that is SPOT ON. Those words describe me to a T. Love me or leave me.

I am a delegator to the nth degree. But I am also a perfectionist, and THAT is an interesting combination. Take the kitchen cabinets, for example. (stay with me...)

We have old cabinets. I live with 5 slobs people, and so these old cabinets get gooey. I'm afraid to wash them down too much cuz they are...old. I delegate much of the cleaning, and my girls get paid beaucoup bucks to finish my list of chores each week. It works out well both ways - they actually ask for the lists to earn money. They clean quite well, except that everyone seems afraid of the cabinets. Neither girl gets that far on the list. And the goo-iness makes me nutty. The job looks too big. We have a LOT of wood in this house and somehow if I do one area the perfectionist in me thinks I need to continue to completion.

Thus the title. Just do it. Every once in a while I become a white tornado. There is nothing pleasant about it. I just attack, and if you are in my way you will get bleached, cleaned, scrubbed and polished. Best just steer clear. The five I live with know the warning signs. Take cover.

Well, I've been in a cleaning funk. A bit blue. Introspective. I needed a nudge. There is a mess in every direction - one of those kind of moods. So I took yesterday OFF...puttering in my new desk, doing homework, snoozing, reading, watching a movie...that sort of day. It was lingering well into the evening when...

Jake started throwing up. In trying to get to the kitchen sink he managed to throw up ON and IN the cabinets. ewwwwwww. My husband is a really good first responder, so he did the major clean up because truly, I would have been barfing in all the other directions. I had a bad case of the blue funk yesterday, and I don't think I even came to the kitchen. I comforted Jake, and my husband did the mess control. (Which was fine by him, by the way. He knows I am not lazy, and that my part would come...)

Today, after church, the thought of the germs, and what my husband calls clean compared to what I call clean (voila Mrs. Perfectionist) ...well...watch out. The tornado arrived.

The entire kitchen is bleached. I wiped down every cabinet. And then I put on a mega coat of Liquid Gold cleaner and preservative. The wood is gleaming. In fact, I don't think food *could* stick to my cabinets at the moment...it would slide right off. I bleached the knife block as that was hit DEAD ON in my son's eruption. I crawled under the sink and organized and cleaned all surfaces. For some odd reason I cleaned out the pantry, even though that is no where near the target zone. Like I said...tornado.

Do you know how long it took me? About 1.5 hours. I have fretted about those cabinets for 10 hours. I have begged and bribed my girls to do them for at least 2 hours. I have been bothered by them for days at a time. 1.5 hours.

Just do it. That's today's challenge. Find something that is bugging you, and, just DO it.

Oh...I also put out the valentine placemats on the sparkly clean glass table. Why? Cuz I'm the guardian of holidays and traditions...see above.

My Daddy's Desk

Our bedroom used to be two bedrooms, but the former owner recently tore down the dividing wall and converted it to a master suite. One side has the bed and had the dressers. They moved tonight. One side has a small entertainment center, some bookshelves, and had the loveseat. That moved tonight too. The rearrangement made room for...my daddy's desk.

I'm not sure when my dad bought this desk, but I remember it as far back as Winnipeg. We moved from there in 1973. It is not fancy, but it is well made, and it is deep. On the side I'm seated at, there are three drawers to my right and four to my left. On the other side there is also a spot for a chair with bookshelves on each side. I've never seen another desk like it. Ever. Two people could sit here facing each other.

Considering how well travelled it is, it's in pretty good shape. The worn surface is my favorite part. On this side, right under where my laptop is sitting now, the finish is worn away in one 6 by 12 inch area. That is the place where my dad wrote his sermons. For years. 20 years? 30 years? He was a preacher for over 50...

That worn area and the double sided-ness of it have endeared this desk to me. Tonight it has been moved into the place where the loveseat was. I need a place to read, write, type and maintain a study center. The bedroom is the logical place - away from the hub bub of the family, allowing them free reign over the rest of the house when I'm in the homework mode.

I'll add photos to this blog post once I get the place back in order. (it's currently a bit upside down.) For now I'm going to read a bit, move in some pens and pencils, and perhaps just sit and rub the surface.

My dad would have never guessed that his baby girl would be studying for her degree in Biblical studies decades after he labored over the Word on this very surface. I'm thinking it would have made him beam ear to ear. I'm excited to tell him about it.

There's history in this desk. This feels right.

Words words words

Still working on the master bedroom. Since getting the door on the wall, we've added some pillows to match the comforter, and now some words.

Peel-off/stick-on stickers. So simple. So lovely.



-

2008 Christmas Tour of Homes

To see the other homes on tour, click on the logo above or HERE. You'll see the hostess' home (Boo Mama) followed by a LONG LONG list of links for other decor tours.

Welcome to our Wisconsin home. This is our second year in this home, and our first "tour."

When you enter our front door, you are in a spacious foyer. The wall directly in front of you holds the chalkboard. The doorway to the living room is pictured to the left, and the coffee bar is the doorway to the right. We love to add personalized greetings to the chalkboard.

The coffee bar is behind pocket doors which are always open. You can grab a cup, and make the coffee right there. The snowman mugs are perfect for cocoa.



Two double bookshelves line the foyer wall next to the living room doorway. The baskets above are lit each night by a ropelight which recesses into the top of the book case. For the holidays we nestled our village into two small shelves of one of the bookcases.

At the corner of the bookshelves is a 4 foot tree, covered with snowmen. Before snowmen were all the rage I began collecting them, and they have multiplied. Smiling snowmen are tucked onto shelves throughout the house. The snowman lamp is always on to welcome you in from the cold.

Across the foyer from the wall of bookshelves is an open staircase to the lower level. This red tin punch mirror is adorned with a hand needlepoint wreath ornament that I made my mother in junior high. She treasured it, and it hung on her dressing mirror year round.


The doorway to the left of the snowman lamp takes you into the kitchen. Greenery on the plate rack holds "teacups and gingerbread" ornaments. All kitchen themed ornaments hang here.


Adding these lights and ornaments above the kitchen sink makes clean up a little more fun. And our dear neighbors actually moved their tree in front of their family room window so that I could see it out my kitchen window. Can you see it in the distance? It's a cheery scene.

Our kitchen Advent Candle is lit each Sunday. This candelabra is more than 15 years old, and is one of many family traditions that we have maintained with our four children.


The living room and dining room are one long room. One end is flanked with a three part china cabinet. The two end units are pictured below. The center unit has frosted, beveled glass doors, and that is where the "Happy Birthday Jesus" is hanging. The Christmas china, on the top shelf of one unit, was a wedding gift some 24 years ago...





The creche, on the bottom shelf, belonged to my husband's grandmother. His father brought back various animals for the scene, hand carved from olive wood, when he traveled to Bethlehem.


The dining room table is often aglow with candle light.


Jingling Bells hang from the chandelier.


Our fireplace is two sided - the mantle on the dining room side holds a large hand painted nativity set.


The tree is always the center of attention. Each of the four kids have an ornament collection in addition to our family ones. Frasier firs are my favorite, but their thin branches are weighed down by December 25!



The tiny plastic nativity scene was purchased when our youngest was 2. (1997) We spent many hours looking for those animals and that baby over the years. This plastic set was well enjoyed by Jake's little hands.

The family room is snowman headquarters. And of course the stockings are hung by that chimney with care.



This Charles Wysocki print is entitled "Pie for the Parson." It was a gift to my father, a retired minister, from a couple in his church - given in 1993. I love commemorating his 50 plus years of ministry with it.

Thank you for visiting! Merry Christmas!

Savoring Sunday

Yes, Sunday should have been blogged BEFORE Monday... sorry.
After church I was blue. Mainly tired, but blue. The sun was bright, so I decided to just snug in a sun puddle and read and nap the afternoon away. It's been a rough week, so that seemed a good plan.

I brought the "Queen Chair" in to our bedroom to the wall of south facing windows that overlook a garden path area and the woods beyond (an amazing view to which to awaken) . It's a slingback folding chair that I used to take camping; it reclines at just the right angle, has a perfect pillow...it fits me just right. Somewhere along the way my buddies named it the Queen chair as they'd see me relaxing in style at the campfire. Ha.

So as I sat basking in the sun and pretending to read, I saw a few birds swooping about. Since I have not baked more seed for the feeders, I thought I should at least clean out the bird bath. I went out and scrubbed it, hosed it and filled it. Having spent a good chunk of Saturday pulling out annuals and putting away garden decor, the bird bath was all that called me on Sunday. Back to the queen chair.

What happened next can only be described as a God given pocket of joy. Over a dozen birds arrived. A couple robins, a couple woodpeckers, one ruby red cardinal, and a mixture of sparrows: some brown, some with reddish heads and chests, and some with blue. The bird world must be thirsty because my little bird bath was THE place to be. For a good 40 minutes I rested while being mesmerized by the shenanigans of my feathered friends. The sparrows had the most fun: they hopped right in, fluffing their feathers and taking full baths. In 5 years of owning this birdbath (my mother loved it so...I had to keep it when I cleaned out her home) I have occasionally seen a bird take a sip. Yesterday it was a veritable bird spa.

The whole experience energized me, and I ended up washing the bedroom windows inside and out, and also the master bath window. I hung three little beaded snowflakes in the bathroom window where they will catch the light all winter. Tiny things, really, but part of my refreshment. The tiny little details in a room bring me such pleasure. Today, Monday, I've literally been "lifted" by seeing those sparkling clean windows with tiny beaded ornaments. Details. Pockets of Joy.

Thank you Father for lifting my spirits. Thank you for health, for relative wealth, for a home, for the gift of time. I am so blessed. Even on a bluish day.