Sunday Morning

"To everything there is a season ...."

Ecclesiastes 3:1

The quote I chose for today has a special meaning to me.  When I was 28, John & I were living in Florida in our first home.  Our daughter Kati was 2-1/2 at the time.  I was a stay-at home mom & making ends meet was tough.  My days consisted of taking care of Kati & the house.  This one particular summer my 18-year-old niece decided to come for a visit for 2 weeks.  Every day she went to the beach, went shopping, met kids her own age & went to parties in the evenings, etc.  Meanwhile there I was sitting at home with Kati, taking care of her & worrying about the mortgage & all the other bills.  I was feeling somewhat sorry for myself & also somewhat jealous I guess.  I had a very good friend back then who was 10 years older than I was.  I mentioned to her how I was feeling & her response was "Remember Shirlee, to everything there is a season."  She went on to explain that not so long ago I had been 18 & it was me who was going fun places & doing fun things without any responsibilities to worry about.  I was now in a new season ... making a home & taking care of my family.  I had my season of being 18 ... it was now my niece's turn to have that season.  What my friend said really made an impression on me.  She was right!  It was light a light bulb went on in my mind & it really turned my thinking around.  Over the years there have been times that I have needed to remind myself "to everything there is a season."  Not quite in the same way as back then but it really helps to remember these words from time to time.  Many seasons are behind me but there are still many seasons ahead.  I'm sure these words will serve me in the future as well   : )    

Yesterday I woke up to rain & storms & was able to get a few much needed things done inside the house.  Wouldn't you know it ... woke up this morning to more rain & storms.  In fact, we had quite a downpour!  I'm sure the plants are loving this.  It's been so very dry here.  Looks like I'll be getting a few more inside things taken care of today.  Unfortunately there are so many of them that it's hard to choose which one to do first!  A friend (I wish I could remember who she was!) said to me not long ago "Instead of sitting & trying to decide what to do, just pick 1 thing & start doing it!"  That is what I did yesterday.  I got some dusting done & swapped out my meager spring decor & replaced it with some meager summer decor.  My decor really isn't all that meager ... it's just that, as I've mentioned before, we have been struggling with "should we stay here or should we leave" & so I still have things packed in moving boxes from 2 years ago.  I know I've got some pretty neat stuff, not that I can actually remember it all, but it's all packed away until we decide what we're doing.  Here are some photos of the few things I did get to do.  The first one is the top of my pie safe.  I added a more summery doll & the Americana sewing drawer I purchased on Etsy last year.

      

Unfortunately I still have Billy Jacobs' Spring Fever print on the wall there.  I thought I had a summer picture to swap it out with but I don't.  It will have to do until I find one   : )   The next few photos are of my dry sink.

The same Etsy artist painted the breadboard here & the sewing drawer on the pie safe.  The last I heard from her she was taking a break from painting but I hope she starts doing it again because she really has a great talent!  That little heart-shaped pillow was made for me by a dear friend in Italy.  It says "Love and Blessing for this special home."  Thank you again Laura ... I love it   : )   

I decided to give you a closer look at the dolls on top of the dry sink.  Three of these dolls were made by Trudy Honeycutt who some of you may know from Crows in the Attic Primitives.  She has a blog with links to her Etsy shop & sources for her patterns (click here) & also sells her things on Simply Primitives & Lemon Poppy Seeds.  I just love her dolls!  The little one in the plaid dress wearing a bonnet ... unfortunately I cannot remember who made that one   : (  She was an Etsy purchase quite some time ago.  

Next is a picture of my hutch.  You will probably think "I don't see any Americana decorating here."  That's true but it was pretty much covered with papers & dust so I'm proud to have it clutter free ... for a while at least   : )   I always declutter stuff & think it will stay that way but it never does   : )   

You will notice that I have a few pieces of Polish pottery.  Not prim decor, I know, but a couple years ago my husband was working in Germany & I got to be there with him for a while.  We took a bus tour to Poland where I bought most of these pieces.  My maternal grandparents came to this country from Poland so I wanted to see their homeland.  Having this pottery sort of makes me feel connected to my roots.  

Finally here is one last picture.  It's not a very good picture but do you recognize these wool apples???

They were made by my good blog friend Trace.  She had a giveaway a while back for 5 of these apples.  I really hoped I would win it.  I didn't, but I knew that I was going to try to get some for myself anyway   : )   After the winner was announced I contacted Trace & asked if I could buy some & she said yes ... & here they are   : )   My scale is not in a very decorative spot right now but don't the apples look wonderful in the little pan?  If you haven't visited Trace's blog, you really should pay her a visit (click here).  She's a delightful person with a really enjoyable blog   : )

Well, surprisingly it's not time for bed ... lol!  Seems like I've been writing this post all day!  If you've made it this far, I hope you enjoyed this little glimpse into my home & that you will have a truly blessed day!