Tag: comforts of home

The Letter Opener

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The coffee bar was loved by my daughter and me. We know a variety of ways to create a cup of the magical brew, so beans and gadgets deserved a dedicated space. When she moved out, I sent half of it with her. She took her favorite parts and left mine with me, so there was a lot of empty space.

Sitting in my corner, I look at the table to my right, and its contents describe me. It’s where I sit most mornings after my walk to enjoy that first cup of the day. I’ve been trying to take a picture of this item lying in place, but it’s so shiny it confuses the camera. My corner is also where I sit to read letters from friends, so that’s where the letter opener resides. I never knew I needed a letter opener until I met Dawn.

Dawn mentioned in one of her letters that she sat down with her letter opener and a nice cup of tea to read mine. “That’s the proper way,” she said. I didn’t have a letter opener, but Google could locate one for purchase. An online search revealed one made by Reed & Barton, and that seemed proper to me. The box it came in was so elegant it was difficult to leave it out of the box. Every time I’d use it, which took time to learn the proper way, I’d put it back in the box. Once I started receiving letters more frequently, the box found its home in a drawer, and the letter opener became a tool of everyday life. My daughter told me not to leave it laying by the front door. “If someone broke in, it would be like handing them the weapon,” she said.

The camera wasn’t sure what to focus on.

My gratitude is overwhelming for the souls who add light to my path with letter’s written and received. The love shines as brightly as the letter opener.

The Writing Robe

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I changed my WordPress theme again. My daughter was surprised to see a dark background, but it’s intriguing. What really snagged my interest is what it does to the photos. At first glance they look aged, similar to the old black and white, but hover your mouse, or finger over one and it refills with color.

It was cool in the house this morning, and I was thrilled to slide on my writing robe. Oh, I have lots of robes, but this one has been worn for years and well loved. It’s heavier than the other ones, but doesn’t weigh you down. The cooler temperatures in Texas are disappearing, so this was a treat.

I get most of my writing done in the morning while wearing this robe. Neighbors see me step outside to feed the birds, or walk to the mailbox to retrieve yesterday’s mail in pajama pants, house shoes, a t-shirt and the robe. A stranger may think I’m a meth head, but in my minds eye, I look like a Writer. Before they painted the house next-door, the builder came over and asked that I move my truck. It was a considerate ask, but I remember being disappointed that I had to put on real clothes and give up the robe.

You see, once it’s removed, I don’t put it back on that day.

It’s the same look every morning in the cooler months, but I recently realized I don’t have a writing robe for summer. I have a spa-like robe to use when stepping out of the shower, but it’s not a writing robe.

I began thinking of what feels good to wear in the warmer months, and I have this one jacket I could wear all day. It was designed by Honest Cotton for a friend of mine named Jordan, so it’s rightfully called, The Jordan Jacket. I bought mine last year while visiting with her, and it’s navy in color.

The Honest Cotton website shows they make a robe. I see two designed similarly, but different weights, so one’s for Fall, and the other for Spring. I wonder what it feels like to slip it on and if Jordan has one in her shop?

Let’s find out, shall we?

The Cotton Robe

To be continued…

PS. I’m not alone in my love for Robes. My friend LA, over at ‘Waking Up on the Wrong Side of 50‘, shares her love for robes that you can read by clicking here.

Grace and Space

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I was texting with a friend while she was getting ready for work, and wanted to wish her a good day. The words clicked along the tiny keyboard as, “I hope your day is filled with grace and space.” Those words reminded me of my friend Dawn, who uses them as her tagline when signing off.

Today hasn’t gone as planned. My landlord scheduled his handyman for today to make some much needed repairs. I don’t know if you remember our dog Winnie, but I’ve mentioned how people make her anxious, especially if they enter her house. I placed her on a lead, walking her with me around the house, but she knows that means someone’s coming in.

I wasn’t able to get much work done sitting at the kitchen table. The handyman was walking from room to room, in and out of the front door, and his power tools made unfamiliar noises. I decided to step into my bedroom just to have some space to breathe, with Winnie in tow. She relaxed and immediately hopped up on my bed which is a treat for her.

I grabbed my laptop and sat down with her. As I’m typing there’s a lot of loud noises coming from the other room, but from where I sit, you can hear the rain coming to a halt. There’s a Cardinal eating birdseed outside the window and heat is coming through the vent to ensure we stay warm. I’m suddenly not worried about what’s not getting done and instead realizing what this day has to offer.

It seems all we really needed was to step into some grace and space.

Connectedness

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It’s a word often used and I’ve been thinking about it all year. I’m practicing ways to be more intentional with connectedness. Case in point, my friend Dawn over at Aging with Grace.

Around a month ago, she published a post about a book she came across on her bookshelf and was going to read again. The name of the book is Simple Abundance by Sarah Ban Breathnach. While reading Dawn’s blogpost, I spotted that same book on my shelf collecting dust, so I wiped it off and vowed to begin reading it as well.

It’s a daily read, so I leave it laying out in plain sight. When my world gets still, I sit down and read it, knowing she’s read the same page. I’m sure the time of day we read varies as I picture Dawn reading it first thing in the morning with a cup of tea. That would be the proper way and I learn from Dawn the proper way to do things.

But that’s in my mind’s eye, maybe she’s more like me in having to make an appointment with myself to sit down and read it.

This morning as I strolled through the house, I realized it’s a workday and the schedule for today began rolling through my mind. I pressed the pause button on it and made a cup of coffee. Once the cup was complete, I went to my corner, sat in the chair, and picked up the book. Turning to today’s page and reading it over while sipping my magical brew gave me a full sense of connectedness.

What we have on our plate can wait while we share a moment of connectedness.

Click here to enjoy Dawn’s original post entitled, “Abundance Isn’t Always Simple.” She’s a soul filled Writer. đź’–

Before and After

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There’s a chapter in my book about a pillow. The chapter is referencing how things fit into our life at just the right time, and this particular chapter reflects on yearly increments. A year is a long enough time span where changes are easily seen, but what about the month to month changes, or better yet, the daily ones?

I’ve heard, “The moment between before and after is called truth.” I took a photo of the pillow for the book and just came across it on my desktop. It revealed how much my life has changed in two months time. You know me, anything less than a year is considered brisk. Here’s a glimpse into my before and after.

Taken March 28, 2021.

Looking at this picture today, I find it interesting that I plopped the new pillow in this weathered and worn wooden chair for it’s photo shoot. My intention has always been to paint this chair, but haven’t been able to decide on a color. Even though this chair is well made, it’s not very comfortable to sit in for any length of time.

I envisioned the front porch having comfy chairs, that invite you to sit for as long as the moment requires. Like curling up in your favorite chair in the den, I wanted a similar feel for the front porch. Barb went on a mission to find two outdoor chairs at a reasonable price. Life offers a series of clues that assist in making quick decisions. When I found these chairs there were only two of them sitting on the showroom floor.

Taken May 15, 2021.

I used this photo a couple of posts ago in To Be Seen, but that pillow has taught me a lot since then. The pillow is made for outdoors, but doesn’t sit well in rain. It rained the entire month of May, and storms hit fast. I forgot the pillow was sitting outside, so it got rained on. When I stepped outside to retrieve it, the yarn that makes up the wheels on the vehicle had bled, and it looked like the wheels were crying.

I washed it and it looks better, but I can still see faint signs of it being left outside in the storm. Sometimes we have to sit through some rain, and our wheels may feel like crying, but afterwards we will see a difference in before and after.

Just Enjoy It

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Do you like the person you’ve become?

A week ago, I would have answered yes to that question, but now I have cause to pause. I am in the Colorado mountains, and there is no Internet.

It was all fine and good, riding toward our destination, looking at my phone with 4G and 5 bars. We hit a threshold in elevation and all these comforting lights on my phone just disappeared. The only light showing up was the battery charge light and this bothered me more than I wanted to admit.

I had lost all communication with civilization.

My daughter is vacationing with her Dad in Florida, but I’m pretty sure Florida has 4G, so she could text me, but I couldn’t text her. I didn’t realize how much technology had become a part of my life. I wasn’t sure I liked staring at my phone in utter sadness.

Our car transitioned from pavement onto a dirt road and made it’s way across a wooden bridge. Driving from Texas, the temperature had dropped significantly and to me it felt cold. The movie, “Deliverance’ came to mind as we made our way through the woods as the road came to an end.

There stood a lovely, Colorado style home made of wood, rock and windows, nestled alone in the forest. Stepping out of the car, I became aware of a loud, roaring noise.

Behind the house was a rushing river. It was very loud and was making itself known full force.

The river was so loud, you could hear it from inside the house with the windows shut. The house had doors that would seal shut upon closing and it blocked some of the noise, but several windows hung open.

It took me a few days to get acclimated to my new surroundings. I was amazed how this natural environment was such a contrast to what I was used to. This was how God made it to be. Cool, crisp air, and the sun pouring into the windows so brightly, you needed sunglasses to walk through the house.

Feeling the warmth from the fireplace, and sleeping under a down comforter, in August.

I had become more connected virtually than to nature. For this natural environment to seem like Twilight Zone material is not natural.

I shouldn’t feel more comfort looking at a phone screen lit up, than the night sky. The sight and sound of a raging river should not be noise, it should be a soothing sound. I find it humorous, that my first thought was to post a picture of it on Facebook, but instead I chose to just enjoy it.