I watch a fair amount of HGTV.
I like the fix up a house for a family kind of shows rather than the flip options or the chain sawing through Alaska sagas.
We’ve been, as you may have suspected, playing HGTV at our house lately.
We’re making progress. Quite a bit, actually.
There’s room to paint and quilt and write.
A big chunk of our kitchen is rearranged according to the way we actually eat these days.
There’s even a table for gathering our beloveds around art and food, games and stories.
Somebody asked me, the other day, how I would know when we were done.
There are two answers to that.
The first is that we probably won’t be done. It really isn’t in me. Life keeps changing.
The second is that when I can sit in my fabulous new red chair with my feet up and a cup of tea, not feeling like I need to leap up and fix something, we’ll be pretty close for now.
When Luther gets up the nerve to hang out in the new family room, we’ll be right on target.
For the moment, Container Store loves me. Amazon is enthusiastic as well.
Shelves. Little plastic drawers in every size and shape. Rug pads. A shower curtain, even.
Better yet, though, is Kudzu.
Our local vintage and collectible place. Two book cases and an awesome library cart have followed me home recently, all from the budget department.
There’s even room around here in case a miracle happens and I buy another book or two.
It being Mothers’ Day, I can’t help but wonder what my mom would think.
Horrified comes to mind.
We don’t have “living room” furniture. Or “dining room” furniture, the way I grew up.
Nothing matches.
We have drapes but I’m going to have them cut off to the same length as the bottom of the windows.
The rugs, and pads, are to make the dogs comfy. (It takes up less room than a zillion dog beds!)
Vacuuming is a whole other issue!
And yet, with a lot of help, we are getting closer and closer to what we need.
The sheets are clean.
The towels are folded into the linen closet. (Which way needs a paint job!)
Tomorrow I’ll start paint-sketching the Talisman canvas.
There’s really good left-over soup in the fridge.
And parsley to plant in the morning.
Lots of this would seem weird to Mom.
And yet, somewhere deep inside, I think she might get it.
I hope so.
For now, though, a new pair of walking shoes. It’s a paint thing!
Blessings for moms of all sorts who remember and are remembered on this day, and Happy Birthday, dear Kelly!
It all sounds so wonderful;exciting and adventuresome. It is like someplace I dream of living, always something new and surprising around the corner…captured with such a vision and painted with such creativity and love!I wish I had just a smidgen of your brain and just a hint of your talents. I too love HGTV, and would love to make a fairly large eating table out of the beautiful old wood trying to hold these dilapidated barns together. I would like to paint my room and decorate with Zen-like items and elephants and horses. I think if I were creative enough, I could make a lot of these things and not have to worry about money. But, unfortunately it does take a little money, that I just do not have. But, that does not mean that cheap, creative, and loved things can not be right around the corner…like the surprises you find around the corners at your house!:)
There are so many things, my friend, that I never dreamed I could do until I began. And all any of us can do is begin where we are. Research natural plant dyes and bring some “weeds” home from the pasture and make something that speaks to you. Take pictures of things you love. Go gently and experiment with bits of newness. It’s in you!