A Summer Of Figuring Things Out

We are into the early days of AUTUMN.  Mums are sitting on the porch and more will arrive in a week.  Can't wait.  I found my two scarecrow people that will be placed in the Box Bay Window as if they are waving to the peeps passing by.

I want to enjoy LIFE as best I can.

Deliberately COUNTING MY BLESSINGS.

Another one of my cousins is dying from cancer.

She's so young and I am praying.

Many don't want to talk about this, 

but eventually we all will take our last breath and enter into eternity.

As eternal beings we will spend an eternity with or without God.

Through the Lord Jesus Christ as my personal saviour,

I have salvation for an eternity in the presence of a loving God.

You know your heart may be really heavy from all the turmoil in the world.  Maybe you are having difficulty enjoying LIFE cause there are too many bills to pay.  

Maybe LIFE is so busy you can't think straight.

Maybe this and maybe that.

I have to take time to get quiet before God and pray for HIS blessings.  Remembering HIS Benefits. 

The Summer months flew as I was completely submerged in de - cluttering the house, clearing out a cellar full of dishes in vinyl storage boxes, washing and cleaning up the items that took on a musty smell, swapping the Family room into a Dining room and making the Formal Parlour MORE casual, remodeling the Master Bedroom, and FIGURING OUT what to keep and what to get rid of.

The GETTING RID OF has gotten easier for me as I had to detach myself from being emotionally attached to so many THINGS.   

IT'S A MIRACLE FOR SURE.

DOWN SIZING is a must as I grow older 
and do not want to be bound by stuff.

I'm praying that God will allow us to recoup some of the money back that I have spent over the years on my treasures.  

In HOPES that the Bedroom will be sleep-able again by the end of OCTOBER.  Another coat of paint will be put on the ceiling within the next week.  Plastering the curved walls that flow into the window that my Husband replaced will happen then the walls will be patched and painted along with the shutters and trim.  If Thanksgiving HAPPENS before we return to our Bedroom, I will need to be THANKFUL we still have a roof over our heads.  Praying we are finished by CHRISTMAS.  I will have to put my painting clothes on to help out around here.  I will be a paintin' FOOL.

This week-end we rummaged through tubs that came out of the cellar.  I figure by SPRING this will be completely empty and I will rejoice that we accomplished DOWN SIZING in this part of the house.

AUTUMN PUMPKINS were among the goodies in the cellar so now I can decorate the Dining room Table after I get it cleared of all those dishes I am going through and remembering when and where I bought them.  It will be a nice touch to see AUTUMN items on the table before OCTOBER is here.

Praise the LORD.  The tubs are filled with glassware that I forgot about....kind of like a huge Christmas surprise.

The walnuts are falling to the ground and into the street from the mature Black Walnut trees that are this property.  When vehicles run over the walnuts there is a distinct crunching sound of when they pop under the pressure.

Like the crushed walnut I don't want to go pop under the pressure.

Now I've got to run to the store and get some supplies.  I will enjoy this milder weather and look out upon the fields and pastures that are sprawled across the countryside.

God bless,

d

Thursday Tears

Holding a box of old photographs when negatives were developed into a physical picture to hold in your hands.  I sat in the overstuffed green wing chair and wept.

I couldn't remember my childrens' lives when we were living in  Marion, Kansas in 1992 in a rental after we left TEXAS because of a lay-off.  The pictures are neatly stashed in some photo boxes.

It felt like it were just yesterday as I looked at the snap shots.  I couldn't remember all of my children's activities that they busied themselves with.  They've changed so much in their looks they seemed like strangers to me.  AND that woman in there that was me was so very young I don't remember looking like this.  Where are my wrinkles?  Where's the grey hair?

Our little rental house wasn't so awful after we wallpapered.  It actually looked pretty nice for a tiny rental that we moved into one cold 1992 January night.  Renting from relatives that let us move in when the place was a wreck because we needed a place to call HOME.  They had been working on the house when my dear Uncle got extremely ill with lung cancer.  They were gracious to us and allowed us to rent this little house.  We stayed for three year and a half years.    

My HUSBAND had hair.  I was skinnier.  There were Christmas mornings, birthdays, Holidays, activities.  

My tallest son was in plays, blew out birthday candles, ran in cross country meets, participated in track, basketball games, vocal concerts, learned to drive a car, got his first car, played video games, got his first job, went to Proms, made great grades, graduated from High School, went off to college and Bible School.  

My second born son marched in parades wearing full marching uniforms, played trumpet, ran cross country, celebrated birthdays with friends, got his first job, learned to drive a car, got his first car, went to Proms, played video games, made great grades, designed t-shirts, played basketball and golf.  

Daughter got her braces and told me that I had ruined her life, birthdays with friends, danced, made great grades, played volleyball, played the flute, sang in choirs, led the band as a drum majorette and got two American Girl Dolls.  

So many memories and so many thoughts about the time so long ago.  I wish I could travel back in time and just sit to watch my children be children all over again.  To see them as kids that are learning about life and how to make decisions.  I wish I hadn't worried so much about making ends meet.  I wish I could have relaxed a whole lot more and TRUST in GOD that all was going to work out for the best,

I cried then laughed and remembered as best I could.  My Parents were so young then.  My children were almost babies.  The little house we called HOME for 3 and a half years was small, was full of activities, pets and flowers.  The floors were clean enough to eat off of.  We had little furniture and the living room looked pretty nice.  So did the little kitchen and dining room combo.

I hope my children remember that we ate well, they had clean clothes and were so loved.  It was a whirl wind of a time that I hold dear in my memory banks.  I'm not bankrupt in what I call up in my memories.  The photographs helped to bring up memories that had been asleep.

Happy thoughts and tears,
d

Mystery Window

~Home Haven Getting A New Window Installed~

See that upstairs middle window?  

Well, it use to be closed off.  
A window was there, but so was a plaster wall behind that window.  

It's been that way for... gosh only knows 
how many years.

1950s wallpaper was found 
inside the mystery wall.

Found on internet.  Close to what was there.

When looking at the house you can see light shining from the window like it was before it was ever sealed off.  Somebody along life's way sealed it off to make one large room into two smaller ones.

Husband visited with neighbor man that has lived across the street 58 years of his life and said that he thought the room was made into two rooms back in the 50s for a couple of boys.

When we bought our rock palace the wall was already gone making the room a large one again, but they left the old window still covered by an interior plaster wall.

Grins....there were vines inside this little mystery window area.  We looked at old pictures of the house to see what was going on with that window.  

The window was covered with green, ivy vines 

so you couldn't see the fake middle window 

all. those. years.

 

Hubby has been wanting to install a newer window and repair the plaster wall in our bedroom.

We're making headway!

~PHASE ONE OF BEFORE AND AFTER~

BEFORE:  Window not there in the room.

AFTER:  Window there in the room.

Not in three easy steps.....

On a beautiful Kansas day where the wind wasn't blowing 
and the temp was about 85 degrees.  A beautiful day to do this task.

Can you find a man in this picture?
When you find the man in this picture....
whistle out loud then twirl three times in place 
then post about it on Facebook.  
Just kidding.

ALL in a days work.
More to follow.

God bless and all the best,
d