a hibernating weekend

We're under a winter storm warning. I can feel it. I can feel the pressure in the air because my head is heavy and stuffy. The snow is supposed to hit us anytime now and go all through the night and into Saturday morning. Depending on how this storm tracks, our area could get up to 10-12" of snow. Or half that amount. Only time will tell. Then will come the high winds, which mean blowing and drifting snow.  On top of it, the temperatures will plummet after the snowstorm, leaving us with wind chills below zero. Welcome to January, I suppose.

Not that I embrace winter; I prefer warm weather and lots of sunshine. But I have to say that there's something about cold, dark days that have me actually liking the solitude, the peacefulness, the snuggly hibernation of being inside, all warm and comfy.

Nancy over at Clearing the Space wrote on January 10 about hometending and creativity. I love that word, hometending. Technically, I don't think it's a real word, but I envision slowing down and taking the time to nurture your home and make it into a place where you want to spend time. A home where you feel safe, warm, and nurtured. Where you are surrounded by things you love and that bring you comfort. I think winter tends to bring on more of that nesting and hometending feeling.

That might mean puttering with different arrangements (that's where the creativity part comes in), taking the time to dust your furniture, putting fresh sheets on your bed, watering and misting your houseplants...freshening up the bathroom with a small vase of flowers on the vanity and clean towels hung on the towel rack. Try a delightful combination of essential oils in your diffuser...add a few drops of orange, lemon or grapefruit oil to a spicy blend of cinnamon and clove. Orange and patchouli is another lovely combination for winter. 

Turn on music of your choice and some little fairy lights. Heck, sing at the top of your lungs or even dance around the house while you're hometending, if that's your groove.

 When you're finished tending your home and the snow is falling, or it's just too damn cold to go anywhere, wrap yourself up in one of your favorite warm throws and listen to a Podcast, delve into a good book or magazine, knit or crochet, write in your journal, look through a cookbook and plan to make a delicious dish, binge watch something worthy (or not) on Netflix. 

 

"A little house ~ a house of my own ~ out of the winds and the rain's (I interrupt this quote to insert snow's) way." (Padraic Colum)

I know two things for certain tomorrow: between rounds of helping Brian shovel, I'm going to build a fire in the fireplace and try a new chocolate chip cookie recipe. It's a Jacques Torres (pastry chef and chocolatier) recipe and uses both bread flour and cake flour. Different and interesting, right?

If you're in the winter storm's path, stay safe, warm and snuggly! 

Practice some hometending..and tend to yourself, too. 💓

this and that on thursday

 It's always wonderful to have the snow melted from your yard (finally!) but it

does leave behind the ugly truth. As you can see from this photo, we not only live
close to the road and have a teeny patch of front yard, but the ground

is just gross. It's muddy and full of dead leaves and wood chips and rocks all flown

from the street and garden beds while shoveling. Unfortunately, I can't even start

raking this spring due to my shoulder injury.

When I was just outside taking the above photo (and I nearly froze - it's only 31 degrees!),

I noticed green shoots coming out of the ground on this prairie grass plant. Hooray!

Always exciting to see the first signs and promises of spring renewal.

Did some puttering in my office...this little bunny found a home amongst the plants.

The top of the dresser got touches of spring with yellow and green.

 A project that was on my to-do list got done: touching up all the white baseboards and

door moldings in the house. I'll let you in on a little secret. You don't know how dirty

your house really is until you're on your hands and knees looking at baseboards.

 Tim's room/the guest room is coming along...the hardwood floors that were installed and

had some damage were repaired. We're finishing some touch-up painting, I ordered a

Roman shade from blinds.com and purchased organic cotton bedding at Target. I have

an antique twin headboard in the basement ~ Brian will bring that upstairs and we can

set up the bed.

 I saw the orthopedic doctor again this week and he determined my range of

motion and strength were greatly diminished. I'm also in pain pretty much 24/7.

He thinks I now either have frozen shoulder or a tear. I had a MRI last night and

will meet back with the doctor next Tuesday to discuss results and next coarse of

action. Always a good time in the Middle Age Kingdom.

procrastination central

 I didn't sleep well last night. I went to bed late because I wanted to finish reading

a book. And then I was wide awake at 5:30. I think it's the slant of the light coming

in through my blinds this time of year. I need total darkness to sleep. I think I'm

going to look into getting some room darkening shades. Then I went and looked

out the front door and saw this. Another few inches of snow. Really, Mother Nature?

Look how high the snow is now in my front yard. Two feet, at least. The drifts

are even higher.

 I had an acupuncture appointment at 10:00 a.m. but I rescheduled it for later this

afternoon. I usually don't mind driving in a little bit of snow, but this place is a 1/2

hour drive in normal traffic and I heard the roads were terrible. There are so many

important things I could've been getting done at home today, but I just feel so blah

and tired. I guess it's the combination of a lack of sleep and being tired of this

yucky weather. So in-between doing the usual cleaning and laundry, I did what

I do best: I puttered and rearranged. I took all the plants out of Tim's room, since

he'll be home next week and I need to get that room cleared out. At first it was hard

to find room for more plants in the rest of the house, but I figured it out.

 I moved this print from the bathroom into the living room...

Took the brown basket off the bottom shelf...

And put a cheery, springy splash of yellow there instead.

Added monogrammed vintage hankies to the top of the secretary desk

in my bedroom and made a new vignette...

I really must go shovel the porch and front sidewalk before I leave for

my appointment. The snow is not going to go away by itself. And it's not fair
 for Brian to have to do all the shoveling when he gets home from work. I can

at least help out a bit with that. I promised a friend a phone call too, so off

I go. Please tell me you sometimes have "off" days, too. Do you give in

to them or do you fight it?

the zen of puttering

There's just something about puttering around the house that's both relaxing

 and rejuvenating all at the same time. I find myself losing track of time, rearranging

 things and creating new displays and vignettes. I move from one project and room 

to another, like a moving meditation. Maybe this is why I was never really good at 

crafts. It's very hard for me to sit still and concentrate on one thing. 

So here's a few things I did today. I saw this easy, clever idea on Pinterest.

Take a metal baking rack and hang it behind the stove or on the backsplash,

add some small s-hooks, and use to hang cooking utensils.

There were just a few summer clearance items (75 - 80% off!) left at Michaels.

I found this polka dot planter that ended up costing $1.50. I love how it looks

in the kitchen with the succulents in it.

 

Remember the watercolor of the Golden Gate Bridge that I found at Secret

Treasures last week? I was saving it for when we re-do Tim's room after he

moves out, but I love it so much that I wanted to use it now. I played around

with staging it in different places, and finally settled on the ladder bookcase in

the living room. The vivid blue in the painting goes perfectly with all the other

pops of blue in this room. The glass and silver bowl in front of the painting is

filled with rocks, shells, and little pieces of wood that we found on the beaches

when we took our trip to San Francisco and the surrounding area back in 2009.

I found this old wax sealer last month when thrifting at Goodwill. It's obviously

painted over, but I did like the red. I love how it goes with the red wall at the

end of the hallway. PS - see the top book, The Riley Reader? Found this at

an antique shop years ago and couldn't resist since our last name is Riley.

Since then, I've found Riley Farm Rhymes and Riley Love Lyrics, both beneath

The Riley Reader.

Moving on to the main bath, I changed out the bottom shelf with a framed print

that used to be in the living room (where the Golden Gate Bridge painting now is),

a pink hydrangea, and stacked green and pink candles.

On to "my" room/office/quiet space/TV room - we still call it "Phil's room" - 

I made a new vignette on top of the dresser. I used an old letter sorter that belongs

to my hubby...he had it on his desk as a kid. I filled it with some note cards, an old

children's Bible (Brian's), some little dishes...and a Goebel bird sits on top with 

Brian's childhood rosary hanging from it. Stacked some books, a plant from the living

 room, a couple of small, colorful picture frames - and voila.

I'm still working on a couple of vignettes in the living room...the top of the buffet and

the top of the console table when you walk in the door. For some reason, these two

spots are a challenge for me. They either look too sparse or too cluttered. Oh well,

that means I get to keep on puttering ~ which is good for the soul!

 

feeling at home

I haven't ventured out of my house in two days except for going to

yoga class, and that's just fine with me. As much as I like going out and

doing fun things and being with friends or certain family members, I also like

days at home, with nothing planned except for what I feel like doing at the time.

I take pleasure in creating a home that's welcoming, beautiful and relaxing

for not only myself and my family, but for those who visit, as well. 

 I don't think puttering is a waste of time and energy; I think it's soothing and relaxing

but yet energizing at the same time. Whether it's creating a new vignette, placing

fresh flowers in a vase, fluffing the pillows on the couch, putting clean sheets on

the bed, setting a beautiful table, or even sweeping the front porch of all the storm

debris from the previous night, it's all like a moving meditation.

Don't you find that creating a home is a form of self-expression? Or, dare I say,

even an art form? 

 

There is a saying that eyes are the window to the soul, and perhaps that's true.

But I also think that our home is a window to our soul. You are the one who

made your home what it is; what it tells other people. If your home is constantly 

cluttered and messy, perhaps your mind is cluttered and bogged down. 

If you appreciate art and things of beauty, your house will show that, too.

 

 It doesn't matter if your home is a tiny cottage, a look-alike house in the suburbs,

a modern loft, or a mansion by the sea. If you nourish your home with loving energy,

you will feel it. You will walk in your front door and feel at peace. 

 You should have objects of beauty and interest in your home; things that make

you smile. They don't have to cost much money; for example, everything you

see in the vignette below was from a thrift store ~ except for the "beautiful" picture, 

which I made ~ and the bottles of perfume.

 Even something as simple as a little plant by a sunny window can add

interest and cheer to your home.

 So, tell me...what does your home say about you?

 I hope that your home is your safe haven. I am praying for those who have

tragically lost their home in the Oklahoma tornadoes. 

Linking up to Cozy Little House Tweak it Tuesday

plan b ~ life

 Life doesn't always go as planned.

When the phone rang at almost midnight on Monday, I knew it was bad news.

No one calls that late unless something is wrong.

In this case, it was the news that one of my sisters-in-law had passed away.

Granted, she had been very ill the past few years with complications from diabetes.

But still.

 My sister-in-law was a very private person and didn't want a wake or any kind of

memorial service, so of course, we are respecting her wishes.

So, I had to cancel my plans with meeting Jane from Blondie's Journal and 

Penny from At Home in English Valley this week. Of course, they were very

understanding. We will meet another time.

It's been quiet here, just puttering around the house, running a few needed errands,

and dealing with the stress of making plans for cremation with Brian's family.

Keeping busy ~ even just puttering, rearranging, and creating ~ is good for the

soul. I took some pretty dishes and glued them to simple candlesticks. You could

use these in so many ways: in the bathroom to hold soap or cotton balls; by the

kitchen sink to hold a sponge; in a display on the kitchen table to hold candles;

or, in this case, on a dresser top to hold jewelry.

A simple rearranging ~ took the crocheted aqua garland (bought from
 Claudia of Mockingbird Hill Cottage's etsy shop) that I had hanging

across the ladder bookcase in the living room, and moved it to the dresser

in my office. Love it here!

I need to get out of the house now and get some fresh air and sunshine ~

yay for sunshine! After a few cloudy days and sad news, it's good to see the sun.

I'm heading up to TJ Maxx to see if I can find a rug for the front entrance,

a small blue pillow for a chair, and possibly some art work for both the bathrooms.

Linking the plated jewelry holders over at Cozy Little House.