My Mother-in-law turned 90. I couldn't bake a cake. My carpal tunnel problems hindered me with all the stirring and mixing (no, I do not own a cool mixer). So I went to Wall-mart and bought a funky cake, because my 90-year-old mother-in-law is a fashionista who wears royal blue nail polish and has a penchant for "funky" stuff. Just any old plain cake would not do.
I started with the funky teal and purple iced cake and had them add her Happy Birthday Gloria salutation.
Then went to the Dollar Tree and bought a package of three little netted butterflies and added them to that giant purple bizarre silk dahlia that was plopped on top of the cake. Those darling little butterflies created the perfect picture for a lady who loves blitzy bling and sequined, beaded purses that match her colorful sandals.
Then I found some pearlized aqua gumballs to add to the top of the cupcakes. No, she didn't chew on a gumball...but her great-grandchildren loved those for treats.
It was a sweet time for all and was totally surprised to have us celebrate her 90th as we gathered at the Assisted Living Home.
She's all dolled-up in the new top her daughter sent her from Florida. The beaded necklace was the perfect match from her great-granddaughter.
And of course, what could be better than having her eldest son, doing the honors of lighting her candles?
We should all live to be ninety and have such fun... don't ya think?
She's my husband's mom. She's 89. She didn't want to go to a nursing home or an assisted living community. She said, "I'm not ready to give up family". In truth, she'd lived by herself with her husband for decades. Her children had lived on their own, too. Even though her youngest son had taken her in a few years back, he'd pretty much had his own home with his own wife, also. Her daughter, also lived alone in her own home. So, it's not like mom was giving up any family to live in an assisted living situation. She just refused to make that transition. So her adult children, set aside their own interests, lifestyles and futures to make room for her in their homes.
With my husband and I, we let go of our retirement situation and offered to purchase a home to accommodate her needs. Unfortunately, that meant a drastic change for everyone. She had to move from Florida to Oklahoma. And we had to give up our financially secure situation and invest in a less secure situation that more than tripled our cost of living. It meant letting go of the dream I had of my husband finally quitting his full-time job and staying home with me. We'd need everything we were making and more to be able to provide a home for his mom so she didn't have to go to an assisted living facility.
I wanted her to have as pretty, happy, and colorful space we could find. We bought a house that met most of our needs but would have to be drastically renovated for her limitations.
We enlarged the 24-inch bathroom door opening to 32 inches to make room for a walker. We took out the tub, changed the drain, and put in new fixtures to make it more accessible to her.
She wanted turquoise for her bedroom, so we painted her bedroom in turquoise and aqua. I carried that color into her bathroom as an accent so she'd feel happy in every way I knew to help ascetically.
As we looked for a home to purchase, I spent a lot of time looking for one that had a flat driveway with as few steps as possible into the front entrance. I wanted a treed lot with a fenced backyard so she could go outside and walk her dog. We looked for one with a porch so she could sit outside and enjoy fresh air and watch the birds and squirrels at play. It took some doing, but we found one.
Below is the bedroom I decorated for her in hopes of making her latter years as happy and comfortable as possible.
I bought mom a digital clock with huge numbers so she'd be able to see the time without having to ask. Her Macular degeneration limits her sight. We purchased a full-size adjustable bed so she could move it up and down and also accommodate her little Chihuahua that she insists must sleep with her. We got her a 50-inch television set so she could see it as best as she can (mostly she listens to it).
Mom has been quite homesick for Florida and her daughter. But we are doing our best to try and make a comfortable situation for her. I left most of her walls blank in case she wanted to choose some things for herself to decorate with. Transitions are not easy. But I'm learning. Each day has its own challenges and changes and adjustments. For everyone.
Whoever thought up contact paper should have been locked up forever in a psyche ward. Seriously.
I just spent hours upon hours trying to chisel that stuff off my linen closet and vanity shelves and drawers. It was disgusting. I even enlisted my husband after he'd worked all day to help me get at the floor-level shelves which I can't get down to because of my feeble weak muscles.
He did 3 shelves until I noticed his face had turned beet red. That's when I made him come out from under the vanity in our Master bath. His weak heart had had all it could take of the workout his arms and shoulders were giving it. I made him switch to the less strenuous job of taking off the three doorknobs in the bedroom.
I know the former owners of my house had the best of intentions when they lined their shelves with that plastic-coated shield of sticky goo. But that contact paper was nasty. I used a putty knife to pick at it. With my Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, it was not easy. Good thing my Carpal Tunnel problems aren't as pronounced in my hands as they are in my shoulders. Ibuprofen should help ease the aftershocks of my riveting and scraping.
I've got one more shelf to undress tomorrow morning-- (the one I wouldn't let hubby finish tonight). Am praying my body isn't in full rebellion when I awaken. If so, I may have the painter paint over the stinking mess and forget about it.
I wondered if I heated it with a hairdryer if it would let loose any easier. However, my hairdryer was 30 minutes away in my other house. I will find out tomorrow. Am taking it with me.
UPDATE: LUCKY ME... the hair dryer worked!!! I had to heat it up in small areas but it pulled loose and came off in chunks. After I got the bright idea of using my hair dryer, I googled how to remove contact paper and found a great technique that showed two ways of doing it. For future reference, you might want to take a peek [HERE]. Hopefully I will never have to remove contact paper ever again.
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.
I sit here in my cozy little home, drinking a hot cup of raspberry tea laced with honey (of course...it's an habitual addiction). I was going to watch a movie on television (Rudy), but became disenchanted with the leading character's love for Notre Dame football. I've seen the movie before and it is a very heartwarming story. However, I just wasn't in the mood for it . A chick-flick would be more my style, I think.
I couldn't go to church this a.m. with my hubby because my back was so bad when I awoke I had to do the Tim Conway shuffle to get to the bathroom when I got out of bed. After my excruciating scoot to the potty, I made my way to the freezer and grabbed my icepack for my back.
I listened to David Jeremiah preach on acting on our faith and was convicted by his story about "almost" helping someone who needed it. It reminded me of all the times I had the best of intentions to do something for someone and didn't. The card I almost sent to the grieving widow, the soup I almost took to a friend. The call I almost made, the encouragement I almost gave. By the time Dr. Jeremiah's sermon ended, I felt reasonably chastized and convicted of my baser selfishness and perpetual procrastination.
Charles Stanley's preaching on getting rid of guilt (good one, considering I was feeling guilty about staying home), also fed my soul as I realized that no matter how hard I try to be perfect, I can't be. Dr. Stanley reminded me that God himself paid the price to take away my sin and guilt (including selfishness and apathy)-- not to mention all the false-guilt we place upon ourselves. Jesus paid it all; all I need do is accept His grace and mercy, then move forward to a new day, with greater resolve to act upon the good intentions so that they become reality.
As I sat here toying with my computer, surfing here and there across cyberspace, I realized how cold it was outside, how blustery the wind was, how glad I was inside on the day the weatherman predicted 72 degree temperatures with wind-gusts up to 25 mph, in which reality produced tempearatures four degrees short of freezing water. After perusing a few of my favorite blogs on decor and homelife, and watching a Youtube video on the techniques of needle felting, I decided to light some candles and fool my mental state into believing I had a warm and cozy fireplace blazing before me...hey, it works for me.
I think I succeeded with the chance of warmth, however, I'm still working on the guilt of staying home from church and almost painting a landscape of trees to send a dear friend in Kentucky. I will get better. I promise myself that. With God's grace and mercy...and with Pinterest ideas and blogging sisters to stir me on toward good works, I shall prevail no matter how wild and windy it gets outside. hariette petersen
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
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.
This gal's blog stimulates almost every decorating cell in my body, not to mention the desires of my heart. I love her. You will too. If you like anything about me and country and crafts and do-it-yourself projects and eye-candy...well, then this site is for you. I signed up to receive her posts in my email. Don't want to miss a one. So for DOWN TO EARTH STYLE, CLICK HERE, my sisters. Be sure to click on her PIN and check out her pinterest pages. Delightful.
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.
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