Sometimes you have to keep the lovely for the sake of a memory. That is how it is with me and roses. I love roses. I love fresh roses. I love roses that bloom on the bushes and even enjoy watching them fade away and drop their petals leaving rosehips to gather for tea.
But on the very special occasion when I receive long-stem roses from my husband, there is something absolutely timeless about drying those roses to keep the memory of that day alive forever. That is why I do what I do at the end of the fresh-life of my roses. JUST AT THE MOMENT ...
I notice them start to droop, I rescue them from their vase, wrap a rubber band around the stems, turn them upside down and hang them on a nail or hook. They look so country chic as they dry. Afterwards, I can use them for various displays, dried arrangements, or leave them hanging on a hook in honor of the day they came to me.
Nearly fifty years ago my husband's sweet grandmother Bartlett gave me an antique Torque pottery milk-pitcher. Written on one side is this epithet: "A thing of beauty is a joy forever." I sometimes read that little sentence and consider all the beauty around me: the sunrises, and sunsets, the Spring meadows bursting into life with every conceivable color and blossom. Yet, even with the most beautiful sight I'll ever see, I know I cannot fathom the beauty of what God has prepared for me in heaven.
I see the beauty in a stranger's single random act of kindness and cradle the memory and joy it brought to me and others. I realize afresh why Jesus said we store our treasures in heaven when we give joy to family, friends, and strangers. Joy of this kind is the "forever" beauty to which my little pitcher is speaking. That beauty and joy we will carry into our eternity with Him. It's being stored there for us.
After I dried my roses, I took the red ones and put them in a simple clay vase and tied a string around it and made a table vignette for my kitchen table (see above). The white roses still hang grouped together and rest happily on my white bookcase in my bedroom... to be a joy for as long as their presence allows me.
Got up this a.m. and hubby didn't have any coffee made. Horrors!!!
"What happened? Where's the java?"
"Pot is broke. It was making all kinds of noises."
Bummer. What's a gal to do when the coffee pot breaks down? Well, if one's daughter is up, you can run next door and borrow her extra pot or make a cup in her Kuerig. However, when it is 6 a.m., ya don't wanna wake that little bear. No, no, no.
So, I just poured some coffee in a coffee filter, gathered it shut, and clipped it with a paper clip. You know. One of those big chrome and black ones? Worked like a charm. Then I placed my coffee-ball-bag in a pot of water, brought it to a boil, waited a few minutes and "TA DAH!" Coffee, my way. A whole pot. All I had to do is warm it a bit in the microwave to the temp my dainty little tongue tolerates. Ahhh... the joy of being me. Sometimes I amaze myself.
and have a spot like this or this in my back yard. I'd fill it up with paints, and a lovely stuffed chaise, and hanging plants.
I would add on a little porch with a swing, and I would be in heaven. I could have tea parties on the porch and sit and dream or scream, create or deflate. I could write or not and simply be me.
ahhhhh
ABSOLUTE heaven on earth. OKAY. Now I know I am dreaming... fat chance of this ever becoming a reality. At my age, I am afraid that treehouses in the forest are stuck inside the fairytale books I read as a child. Sweet, sweet prince, where art thou, oh prince??? THIS IS ALL A PART OF BEING FEMALE. AT LEAST FOR ME, IT IS. selahV
chaotic complexity. Not total chaos, mind you. I like calm. I like serene and simple. I long to be the still stream that slowly moves its current beneath the surface graced with driftwood and debris.
I look at decorating styles-- the classic grouping of 3, 5, or odd numbered items. I like the balance. But for some reason I am always adding just a little bit more to the simple vinette I create with primitive bowls, copper chargers and raku pottery. I can't seem to help myself. One day I am content with my arrangement, then the next I am adding a bit more color, or removing an object to another space in an effort to quiet the mood.
I truly am a simple kinda gal. I love the country elegance and calm ambiance I see some ladies create with monochromatic colors. I want to be that simple-- that chic, that sleek. Unfortunately, that desire is overrided by my overactive creative imagination. I'm always changing things. Always seeing a better way, another emphasis I want to make. I really should have an extra bedroom, bath, and living area so I could redecorate it every other week or so.
One day I love country primitive and rustic. Then next I wallow in the romantic schemes of lace and ribbon. I'm constantly trying to create that balance between raw masculine stability, and soft feminine grace. Am I the only one like me?
In a sense, I believe you are, too; in your own way, you are exactly like me. You are you and because you are, you are unique--just as I am unique. In our uniqueness, we each find our comfort zone from the depths of our own individuality. Just as one friend is content to live without changing the placement of traditional accents with an occasional addition of new items, another friend is at peace with total minimalism. Then there is me. See something we love and then try to figure out how we can work it into our eclectic decor.
In the end, I know why this is so...we are each created with our own package of likes and dislikes. In some cases we are conditioned by our our childhood environments. In other cases we develop our style as we fall in and out of love with various themes that feed our souls, quiet our spirits, and motivate our creative muses.
I thank God I am me:
"...because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Your works are wonderful, I know that full well." Psalm 139:14 NIV 1984
yeah, I do
like me and the way I am: Content to live with what I have, yet not so
satisfied and set in my ways that I am not flexible or willing to
change. I've moved over 30 times in my nearly 65 years. That's a lot
of moves for some folks--a lot of changes. I've tossed a lot of memorabilia out in those
moves. I've lost a lot of treasures. But I've also found joy in
searching for new ones. Yet, just as I have lost and left behind material things, I've gained a deeper appreciation for why I am here.
My number one aim in my home is to make it comfortable for my husband, my family and friends--to bring glory to God in all I do with it. I want strangers to feel as welcomed and relaxed as my family and friends. After all...
"...unless the LORD builds a house, its builders labor over it in vain; unless the LORD watches over a city, the watchman stays alert in vain." Psalm 127:1
And just who wants to labor (or decorate) in vain?
FOR A TEENSEY PEEK AT MY HOUSE TODAY....CLICK HERE.
AND FOR A BIT OF VICTORIAN FROM MY OLD HOUSE...CLICK HERE.
AND FOR A LITTLE BIT COUNTRY FROM YORE...CLICK HERE.
AND WHY? oh Why? I Blame My Stepmother... CLICK HERE.
Once in a while, you come across a junk-transformer /slash artist. And when you do, if you are a good person, you HAVE to share this genius and magic with the rest of your world. This particular transformation begs for you and me to go dumpster diving and find ourselves a homeless piece of yard-sale trash and perform decorating surgery.
Can you believe that the gorgeous shelf above came from these two items below?
Absolutely amazing creative juices flow in this artist's veins. We can all get a creative transfusion by visiting this site/HERE.
TEN STAR "feminine matters" RECOMMENDATION by hariette petersen
But you know something, this reminds me of another recommendation I was given many years ago. I, too, went through an amazing transformation when Christ took my self-centered, dirty, trash-ridden life and worked His grace-fueled power in me. I still sit amazed as I type these words to you. And whenever I see a piece of junk transformed into a work of beauty, I am reminded of what God promises:
"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away, and LOOK, new things have come," 2 Corinthians 5:17
And someday, when Christ returns to claim His own transformed creations, like me, the One who sits on the throne in Heaven above promises:
"Look! I AM making everything new." He also said, "Write because these words are faithful and true." Revelation 21:5
And when God creates a new earth, we will spend eternity with Him in all our glory as glorified creatures of love.selahV today
Mother of the Bride, Donna Reyne` made her daughter's bouquet. So very pretty. Don't you think? It's her attention to details and the little things that made this so lovely. See how she did it HERE/link.
You and I both know that a home is far more than a charming decor. However, this gal will charm the socks off you as you peruse her photos and gather ideas to implement into your own home. And why would you?
Well, shucks, it's all about making an inviting space for family and friends to feel welcome, cozy and comfortable. Then as you share your space, you grow together, encourage one another and deepen a bond you might not otherwise have in a sterile, empty room, cluttered with yesterday's newspapers, last year's magazines, and tired accents. Sherry gathers ideas from others and plops them on her space and gives us all a pleasureable peek.
Check out the charm she exudes in ONE CLICK. See if you aren't hooked by her spell.
take white balloons and white tissue
paper. blow up balloons, dip tissue in glue, cover balloons and let dry.
cut out a space for battery tea light and use in center pieces.
I am going to try this one.
found this on pinterest among a bunch of other nifty ideas. Check it out/link.
I just love Pinterest...(well, sometimes I don't like "some" stuff). However, for the most part, I seek out that which I can dwell upon that is pure, and good, and worthy of report. And I try to pass along the pleasurable photos and points of peace and goodness. This is one of the Christmas sites that is worth tip-toeing through for ideas and just plain old viewing awhs....CLICK THE LINK BELOW for a bit of ooh and a tad bit of awe.
In my book, she ranks 10 stars and pure delight. This blogger, artist, and gift-producer of ideas is beyond words. Only she could explain the beauty she creates. From coffee filters to old spoons, she creates beauty and spreads love with anything she touches.
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