Month: April 2016

A Bit of Progress

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Since I shared my starting points for my home back in January, I have made a little progress.  I thought I would share an update with photos and also share some of the upstairs bedrooms.  Very little is complete but there has been a little bit done to every room that moved it toward the goal.  Some boxes have been put away and some still remain.  I still don’t have a dining room table and don’t expect to for quite some time.  I know what I want but can’t find the right one at the right price.  Isn’t that always the way it is?  AND I just bought a patio set to be able to enjoy this beautiful spring weather so the dining table will have to wait again.

The family room is mostly complete but I change little every now and then.  I love decorating with old books and I have them in several places all over the house.

I finally got a foyer table from World Market and this is the entry way at the front door.  I created sort of a collage wall above it and added some photos, old books and items, and favorite family pieces.  The angel on the right is one from my mom and I have always loved it.  She sits on old family bibles, two from my 3 times great grandmother.  I treasure old family heirlooms and these are very special to me.

The living room is a little more organized and, although I loved all of this in my old house, this is not what my vision looked like here.  I think I am going to have to take it all out and start over!  But that’s another day!  The table between the two chairs holds a lamp from my great grandparents, a box full of old letters and photos, some antique reading glasses, a medical kit from my 3 times great grandfather who was a Dr., some small books of antique maps and a diary from my 4 times great grandfather.  There is also a photo of my great grandparent’s house, later my grandparent’s, in Clarksville, TN before it was renovated.  Many of the old things in my house were in that house.

.The pantry is much more organized now and I have painted one of the barstools for the kitchen, although it is not the color I want and I will have to figure that out before I paint the others.  The upper left photo is my great, great grandmother’s cook books and my grandmother’s and mom’s rolling pins and large crock.

The one room that is finished – the powder room downstairs.

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Let’s go upstairs.  I have not shared any photos yet of the “before” because they were just empty rooms full of boxes.  I have cleared out the boxes and started to put together some “decor” but it is bare minimum.  In fact, one of the mattresses is still on the floor.  One day . . . there will be bed frames and headboards and curtains and dressers.  🙂

Kayson’s room is the only one complete but he is still not used to the house so he doesn’t sleep in it.  When he spends the night, he sleeps with Nana, of course.

The unfinished upstairs – the bonus room, the master bedroom, master bath, master closet, and laundry room.  They are in my plan for the next year and will require new furniture for the bonus room so they are off the radar right now.  And I am the only person that spends any time in the master area and laundry room so I plan on taking my time and really thinking about what I want.  I am VERY lucky that I have a lot of space in these rooms so I can do something fun and creative.

So that’s the progress report.  I would love to hear your creative suggestions for any of the rooms.  Leave a comment with suggestions!

 

Be Still, and Listen

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I have a really hard time being still.   I always seem to need something to do to keep me busy.  On this beautiful spring day, one could hope I could sit out on the patio and just enjoy it.  But no, that was not going to happen.  I tried.  I prepared a drink – brown liquor.  I am, after all, a Southern girl, even on a Sunday.  I brought out my iPad.  Nope.  Not happening.  I squirmed, tired of Facebook surfing and then felt a little guilty that I could not just sit and enjoy this amazing gift that the universe had provided me.

As they do every day, the birds were dipping and soaring around the trees and bushes, having noisy conversations amongst themselves.  I thought about my camera.  I don’t have a lens fast enough or powerful enough to get pictures of moving birds but I decided to bring out the camera and maybe take a few shots, just so I could enjoy nature and my favorite season of spring but have still something to keep me engaged.

I sat on the covered patio with my elbows propped on the table and the camera resting in my hands.  Of course the stubborn birds were nowhere to be seen.  A large yellow butterfly floated by.  Butterflies always remind me of my mom.  I became very still and watched the butterfly as it travelled on it’s winding path, pausing only briefly on the edge of a bush, then moving on.

Birds-4483I became aware of the gentle breeze.  I began to smell the trees.  That fresh, earthy but sweet smell I remembered from childhood.  I sometimes wonder if I have lost my sense of smell but it was there today and it smelled like a memory.

I listened.  The variety of chirps and tweets from the different types of birds felt like a lullaby.  I could hear what sounded like a cricket every now and then.  And then they came.  Birds of all colors – red, blue, yellow, brown, and black.  They landed in the trees around me.  They paused on small bushes that were just beginning to bloom after what I hope was the last gasp of winter’s breath.  Birds-4447

I have never been that interested in the types of birds outside my windows, only that they were there.  I caught a few shots of playful birds that dared to come close, close enough that I could capture a few shots as they danced on the closest, low hanging branches.

I was still.  And quiet.  I listened.  And it calmed my soul.