walking down memory lane...

i'm feeling reflective today,

brought about, in part, by the death of Annie,

mother of my dear friend, Rhoda.

 death has a way of putting a pause in life,

causing me...

to take a look back...

to take a look forward...

 to desire to leave a legacy behind that speaks...

to want to change today so my tomorrow

is better than my yesterday.

this week i found several cards that took me down memory lane,

 given by special people,

 who cared enough about me in the good and difficult moments of life

to give them to me.

this one was given to us on our 25th wedding anniversary

 from our oldest daughter, Judith.

by the way, we celebrated our forty-first last month... 

that opens like this...

and is tucked on a shelf in our bedroom.

this one was given many years ago from DIL Martha

where the inside says this...

'happy mother's day from one domestic goddess to another'

love it!

many years later the domestic goddesses still reign!

in fact...

by now we deserve the 'domestic goddess crown!'

the next two are from my friend, Rhoda,

who is compassionate and caring..

and who was really there for me when life was hard.

a hug from a faithful friend...

...making life sweet.

this one was given at a time when life was a dark, lonesome valley -

and all the billows and waves threatened to drown me...

but if you look closely,

there's a person standing at the door of the lighthouse,

calm, serene, safe,

 the waves couldn't touch him -

that was me.

Jesus is my Lighthouse...

forever and ever, amen!

thank you, dear friend!

in today's world of twitter and texting,

of e-mails and instant messaging,

have we lost a connection that keeps on giving

 long after the reason of why it was given?

...just wondering...

...blessedness!

ox

house tour/bedroom

this tour begins with a view of where

the l-o-n-g hallway was in the original design of the house...

through the door and all the way to where the mirror is.

the living room is on the left...

dinning room, office and bathroom on the right.

in its former life, the door into our bedroom had been used

between the kitchen and laundry rooms.

taking an idea from a magazine,

and with lots of sweat and some frustration,

i managed to hang the door myself.

cheers for a DIY-er!

as we enter into the bedroom,

this section is where the linen closet that jutted into the bathroom was located.

after gutting it, we moved the bedroom door

out into the hallway to create a bedroom suite for us.

straight ahead is a mirror and a glimpse of the living room.

turning to the right is the bedroom.

where the room faces east with early, bright sunshine

 and a glorious view of the backyard...

sheer bliss!

the canopy is drapery sheers with a fringe added 

and tassles hanging from the corners...

the mirror with lots of character is a thrift find...

                           on hubs' side of the bed...                                  on my side of the bed...

the two corners...

frou-frou hanging on a window shutter...

wall scapes...

an old picture of the Bibical story of Ruth and Naomi...

a very fitting place to be!

a view from opposite corners...

vintage wrought iron creating an illusionary doorway.

dressing/bath rooms coming up next!

...blessedness!

ox

house tour /linen cupboard

in my last post on the house tour, i promised a special on this

linen cupboard...

it was designed before my picture-taking, pre-blog days...

in fact, i didn't even know there was such a thing as a blog! 

incomprehesible!

  this idea came from a picture out of an old Victoria magazine

and i placed it in my dream file.

back then i had too many awake hours through the night,

and it was during that time i remembered this

rickety-paintless-without-a-back-found-at-a-yard-sale bookshelf,

sitting beside my computer, where i stashed my stuff.

it was an 'oo-la!' moment with 'oo-la!' results...

and...

 i have an enormous reward for a piece of work created by me...

and i'm pretty brazen about getting credit 

it really was a fun piece to do!

i went on a hunt for the supplies i needed...

a 'door' which in it's first life belonged to a corner cupboard,

found at a local antique store.

i bought some used door trim at another local shop

where an elderly couple are collectors of all thing old and recyclable

(is this even a word? describes them very well!).

really, if you visit this area,

they are a 'must-see' shop and are delightful people to meet!

i bought the beadboard and ornamental moulding...

and started my transformation!

i cut out half-moons for the feet with a jig saw,

using a plate for the pattern...

 scraped off the loose/flacky old paint on the trim

 and sized it to fit the opening.

behind the bottom panel is another shelf,

but i couldn't find a door for that length, 

so i improvised which is where the ornamental trim idea came from.
 

i took the door knob off of another cupboard to use on this one...

and hung this pincushion on it.

the pins are from the weddings of our children...

reminiscent perfection!

inside top shelf...

bits and pieces of a thrifting collection.

the top of the cupboard, french-themed...

and a close-up look...

...of the finished project.

the next time you see a hopeless-looking piece,

let your imagination go wild!

...blessedness!

ox

(i'm linking this to Made it Without my Hubby Monday)

and Funky Junk most favorite ever project