Home – Page 17 – Letters from Home

Color

This was a quick phone shot on our way home from school one day last month. I love the reds, but those yellow aspens up high on the mountains are spectacular.

I get to see this view of the mountain every day as I drive home. When we drove to the house for the first time, the realtor mentioned that it felt like we were driving right into the mountain. It still holds my wonder each time I approach it. Right now it’s blanketed in some white. It’s always beautiful.

Tonight the street lights are reflecting off the black pavement after a day of slushy rain. The sunset was blue and deep gray. I spend a lot of time marveling over sunsets, leaves, and snow, don’t I?

Two Updated Rooms

This month we focused on the piano room and the craft room.

I bought a few chairs so we have a little bit of seating in the piano room.

For the craft room, Richard and Daniel installed new outlets and I put fresh paint on the walls, trim, and door. I moved in a sewing desk (free from a neighbor). There is also a handle on the door now!

There is an open closet with shelves near my sewing desk. I like to keep those shelves hidden behind a curtain.

One end of the craft room stores my sewing stuff and the other end of the craft room is for Legos and craft supplies. Mark and Timothy always seem to have a Lego project going on in this room.

I love the warm look from the paint and the clean white trim. It’s a nice space to work and have ongoing projects.

Canning Tomatoes & Old Fashion

Richard and Timothy canned 25 pounds of our garden tomatoes this weekend. I did the dishes and listened for the cans to seal.

Those metal lids making that satisfying popping sound is an old fashioned sound.

I’m an old fashioned person.

I wish I could still wear barrettes and not look outdated. I don’t have a smart phone. I don’t own a maxi skirt in a chevron pattern. I hate the name “maxi skirt”. I don’t have any throw pillows in chevron fabrics. I stopped watching television years ago. I’m not on Pinterest or Instragram. I still write letters. Am I the only person who still does this? It seems like it.

It’s funny to joke how women tend to halt in their fashion at some point. They find something they like and they don’t move on. Maybe I’m there because I can’t get excited about maxi skirts.

Framing the Kids’ Art

This summer we had a few friends walk through our house and our framed children’s artwork drew a lot of positive comments. For years I have displayed their art in simple frames around the house because I love it, but it felt good to hear that other people loved it, too.

Today I framed Paige’s poppy painting and a couple of the boys’ Eric Carle inspired art projects from years ago. I like the shadow box frame for the beach scene. Maybe it would be pretty with a few shells inside.

There are many more to go, but I’m loving how this project is coming together. I also think that I might frame some of their piano compositions in the music room. The frames are from my first trip to Ikea. I truly thought that I would never find the exit in that store.

Texas

I missed a recent Austin reunion with friends because I had some car problems. How disappointed I was to miss some of my favorite people who had come to town.

I’m in the middle of painting the craft room. It’s not good blogging material. It’s lonely work, but Elphaba and Glinda have been singing to keep me company. I’ve thought a lot about Texas lately… the memories, the friends, the family.

Because I knew you, I have been changed for good.

My latest wedding gift idea

Wedding gifts put me in a quandary and I’m not good at them, but I have decided to fix that. I think it’s a good idea to have a stash of gifts handy for weddings. Certainly family wedding gifts require a little more thought and love.

Over the years I have been slowly typing up my recipes and putting them in a binder so they are all accessible in one place. When the kids move out I can print out the recipes that they want and send them off with their own recipe books. It occurred to me that I could share these recipes with my niece who is getting married next month.

I bought a small binder and small sheet protectors from an office supply store and some pretty scrapbook paper on clearance. I have used a normal sized binder for recipes for years, but it is bulky and wastes counter space, so I think the smaller binder is better. I printed out each recipe on a half sheet of paper and assembled the binder with lots of pretty paper dividers. I took pictures because I will miss it when I give it away. I still need to make one for myself.

What is it about recipes and memories? Every time I use a recipe from a friend from Texas or Arizona, memories of them surround me as I cook. My aunt compiled family recipes a few years ago into small binders and I experience the same thing when I use them. Suddenly I’m back in Grandma’s kitchen.

I know the recipes won’t mean much to my niece for sentimental reasons, but hopefully she can make some great memories of her own as she prepares these. I wasn’t much of a cook when I got married, so cook books were some of my favorite wedding gifts.

My most requested recipes over the years have been our whole wheat bread, decadent brownies, chocolate chip cookies, butternut bisque, Mexicali pie, and black bean salsa.

Things I need to face

My paint project: I’m whitening up the the basement doors and trim with semi-gloss enamel paint. It’s a bigger project than I expected, but I am loving the results so far.

My quilt project: the squares are complete. I *just* need to assemble them, do a border, select a backing, sew the backing, quilt and bind it. Quilters, do you really find this enjoyable? My mom says that it helps to have a good machine, which I don’t have, and I’m not asking for one. I am not sure I want to be a seamstress. Maybe I will change my mind when I fall in love with my completed Strawberry Shortcake quilt.

Someone said that it’s a good exercise to find out the activities that you can “get lost” doing. You lose track of the time and other thoughts when you are busy doing your special thing. For me, it’s writing and reading, but I also love to develop new skills. I want to be capable and well-read. This is how I will accomplish this today: I get up from the computer, walk downstairs and keep painting. Later, when my arm is tired, I will wash up and maybe sew a row of squares. If I do these things, I will reward myself with a little theology reading. Wish me luck.

Home Celebration

A year ago we made an offer on this house. What a wonderful house it is.

The kitchen is bright in the mornings and I love the shelves in the kitchen.

I love it when sweet neighbors stop by.

The basement is the perfect place to find a quiet corner or to build a fort that your mom won’t make you take down right away.

The boys got some new bed coverings from Grandma. Such happy, patriotic colors.

We continue with our home improvement projects:

A water softener,…paint, electrical work…

… and a paint re-think. I don’t like this parchment color as much as I thought I would.

The flowers out front are taking off. I love my snapdragons. The petunias thrive in their sunny spot. Our garden is coming along nicely. Richard’s irrigation project and sprinkler repairs have made the yard just beautiful.

Timothy takes special care of our garden and brings us ripe raspberries each day.

I’m thankful that we found this neighborhood and this house. I knew that this was the house I wanted the minute I walked inside.

In June we had a neighborhood party and the previous owners came by. The children who lived here asked if they could come back inside. We had the mother join us. It wasn’t as awkward as I thought it would be. I wanted them to know that their old place is still loved and cared for. I think they saw that.

They shared some of the home’s secrets and the children’s delightful name for the grove of trees with the stone pathway through the periwinkle in our front yard.

The boys hang hammocks from the trees in the backyard and the little boys have found their climbing tree. I look outside and see feet dangling from limbs all of the time.

Trees, grass, flowers, sweet neighbors, a mountain view, four seasons, proximity to extended family and temples are a blessing. The silent air of winter, the mountains clothed in all of their variety, and the familiar honeysuckle summer evenings of my childhood seem to call out to me, “You’re home.”

Happy Independence Day weekend to you!

Blooms of the week

Our yard is an Eden.

The pink tree in front of our house bloomed for our anniversary. It looks like the tree is covered in pink crepe paper flowers. It seems we’re always meant to have pink blossoming trees in our yard. This plum tree is a beautiful substitute for the crape myrtle trees like we had in Texas and Arizona.

We planted some tulip bulbs last fall, not knowing what the previous owners of the home had planted. It’s been a delight to see what has emerged. For me, the anticipation has felt almost like Christmas. What shade of pink will those buds be? WHEN will our tulips come through the ground? Wow, the previous owners loved tulips!

First we had a long row of purple and white crocuses peek through the snow. Next came the daffodils, some petite and some large. Next came the small tulips, red, yellow, and peach colored. Next came our large tulips (shown above) which during the afternoon open up as wide as wild poppies.

I have a dilemma about what to do with these blooms which are growing everywhere, in the bushes, through the periwinkle… everywhere. By the time fall comes around and I can transplant them, there will be little evidence of where the bulbs are located. I don’t want to pull them up now. They bring me a lot of joy.

Some of today’s beautiful things

Tomorrow is our 18th anniversary. We went out to dinner last night to celebrate and Richard bought me roses.

Paige is working on a painting this weekend at home. It’s from a photograph taken at Pines Ranch when the poppies were in bloom. The little boys and their friends have been avid observers. When she started painting the poppies, celebrations ensued for Mark. One of Timothy’s friends said to me, “Your daughter is a REAL artist.”

When I look out any window, I see blossoms on trees. Wow, what a beautiful place, inside and out.

Here are some photos of a few of the fruit trees in our yard.