Dandelions and Daydreams

Today turned into one of those days when I feel empty and stretched.  My heart feels lonely and sad like someone scraped it over with sandpaper.  It’s the kind of day where what I want to do is inhale copious amounts of chocolate in an effort to soothe my restless soul.  I find myself in front of the refrigerator often.  I keep coming back looking for something that will make me feel better.  I’m lucky that we don’t keep many sweets in the house and leftover beans and rice just doesn’t work as a salve quite the same as chocolate cake.

Then I open the refrigerator again and with that cool burst of air comes a bit of clarity.  I’m not trying to fill a physical hunger and food won’t fill a soul hunger.  The good feelings that I get from chocolate might help for a short while, but when the chocolate is gone the ache will still be there.

I turn away from the fridge and find my journal.  I open it to a blank page and pour out my heart to the Father.  I make a cup of coffee and read my Bible.  While I am fellowshipping with my God who is Love, I find the ache disappearing and being replaced with a peace and trust.  Everything will be okay.

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Wildflowers are always the first, hopeful signals of spring. In Georgia, the first flowers of spring are usually the daffodils and the peaches. A walk through the woods in late March will reveal and abundance of blossoms. The beauty pageant of wildflowers will continue through the summer and into the fall with each new week trying to outdo the week before in both color and fragrance.

One of my favorite haunts is the periwinkle farm. At some point in history. this place had a cabin with a fireplace at each end. I can almost hear the echoes of children’s laughter ringing off the hilltops. The keeper of this homestead loving planted her garden (you can actually still see the level spot where a vegetable garden once stood). To add a bit more beauty she planted a few daffodil bulb here and some periwinkle there. There was a pink flower bush over near the well (I’ve only caught it in bloom once). The hillside was terraced for farming, but it’s been so long that the farm has grown over with pine trees.

Most of the time, old house sites make me sad. The fallen down houses are forgotten, ignored. Even if I leave an old falling down house, I want my mark on this world to be flowers that bloom every spring reminding everyone that winter is over. Whoever planted the periwinkle at this home site definitely left her mark on the world. The periwinkle continues to spread and cover more area. Some day the whole area will be covered.

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Apartment dwellers live with the unique challenge of creating a personal style when you can’t do a major renovation. In addition to that, apartments are often just a place you are passing through on the way to home ownership. In every apartment I have lived I had to create a welcoming refuge with stark white walls, a minimal number of holes added to the wall, and a minuscule budget.

There are a few basic guidelines for creating a personal space in an apartment. Creating a home in someone else’s house begins with acceptance of the things that you have no control over, and then decorate around the things you can control. The goal of apartment decorating is to display your favorite things, add your favorite colors, and generally create a space that says “you.” The benefit of apartment decorating is that you can take all the stuff with you when you move to create a personal space in your next home too.

Accept the Things I cannot Change

The first step in creating a home in an apartment is to accept all the things that you cannot change. In my apartment, it’s white walls, dirty carpet, evidence of shoddy paint jobs inside, and peeling paint outside. There is nothing that I can do about it. I’ve done what I can (cleaned the carpet), and let the rest go because I can’t change it.

Change the Things I can.

Eliminate Clutter This is the where good home decoration begins. It’s probably the most difficult part, but remember the first step in creating a welcoming refuge is creating order. For decluttering help, check out FLYlady.net.

Incorporate Color. There are lots of places where you can incorporate color to counteract those white walls: Fresh flowers, slip covers, pillows, throw blankest, rugs, posters, art work, etc.

Full Spectrum Lighting. I recommend using full spectrum bulbs throughout your house, especially during the daylight-deprived winter. I saw full spectrum compact fluorescent lights (CFL ). Use floor lamps wherever possible. Floor lamps are easier on the eyes than overhead. Get a dimmer switch for your bedside lamp to help you wind down at the end of the day. Whenever possible, take advantage of natural light.

Window Coverings. This is another great place to add color to your house. I like having double layer curtains. The inner layer is sheer curtains to let the light through while maintaining privacy. The second layer is a coordinating color, but is solid fabric. The solid curtains can be closed at night to hold in heat in your house (in the winter) and to add to your privacy at night.

These are just a few ways to turn a house or an apartment into your home. Home is a condition of the heart, more than a condition of the home.

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In my last post, I wrote about how I decided to create a stained “glass” window cling for the front door to my apartment. The pattern I created looked like this:

The first step involved Windex and papertowels to get rid of a winters worth of dirt and create a clean canvas.

 

Using a sharpie marker and a ruler, I drew the pattern on the window. These lines would become a grid for placing the leading strips.

 

 

I did the drawing on the same side that I pated because it was cold outside. If I were to do this project again, I would wait for warmer weather and draw on the outside of the window where the marker could be washed off later. As it is, I can still see the marker under the leading lines when I am outside looking in.

 

My sweet husband stepped in to help with getting the leading lines down straight. Having extra hands really helped the job go much faster.

This is what it looked like before painting:

 

After the leading had been applied, I used the paint to fill in the space. With the “crystal Clear” I swireled the tip as I painted so that end the result would be bumpy. The wet paint was opaque white, but dried clear.

 

When all the blocks were fill in, it was just a waiting game. The paint takes 24 hours to dry and 7 days to cure completely. If you are going to use this in an area with high moisture and condensation (such as a bathroom) you would probably want to do the design on a separate sheet of plastic or glass, let the project dry and apply the protective sealer (also in the gallery glass line).

 

In this final picture, it is a cloudy day and the paint is a little foggy because of condensation. I will be applying the protective sealant after my next trip to the craft store. Either way, this project has afforded me the privacy that I need while still allowing the sunlight through to my living room sanctuary.

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The window in my front door let in lots of glorious sunshine but also left me feeling like I was living in a fishbowl. Anyone driving by could peer into my living room. If my living room was ever going to be a private sanctuary, something had to change.

I’ve always loved houses with decorative leaded glass windows. Since we are renting, swapping out the window isn’t really an option. After three day sof pondering, I decided to design my own “stained glass” window cling.

My original idea was to create seasonal patters and change the design through the year. I browsed free stained glass pattern sites and picked out a daffodil pattern for spring. Okay, I admit the pattern may be a bit over the top, but I just love daffodils.

My trip to Michaels revealed a paint called Gallery Glass by Plaid. It is a translucent, water-based formula for creating your own unique vinyl window clings.

The seasonal window cling idea had to get rethought when I started checking prices. In the end, I got Gallery Crystal Clear 8 oz. and 24′ Redi-Lead Strips. The cost came to about $14 after tax.

I got home and went to work with graph paper and a ruler. This was the design inspiration:

Check back Monday for Pictures from the project.

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Aside from nurturing your family, a home should be a place to nurture and entertain others. When you invite someone into your home, you have the opportunity to nurture their spirit and share your life. The best way to develop lasting friendships is to open your heart and share your life.

When you open your home, in hopes of creating a welcoming refuge, your front door and entry create the first impression, and we all know,“You only get one chance to make a good first impression.”

As someone drives up to your house or walks to your front door, will they feel welcome and cared for? Does your front door bless all who enter?

When I was growing up, my mom would send me to clean my room. Whenever I didn’t know where to start, or got bogged down with the little stuff at the end, my mom would suggest that I walk in my bedroom and pretend that I was company seeing it for the first time.

After reading The Spirit of Loveliness (Review Here), I started thinking about first impressions. I walked outside and looked at our apartment with the eyes of a guest.

What an eye opening experience that was! The first thing I noticed was the mountain of winter stuff propped against the house (snow shovels, pots waiting for spring planting, etc.). One by one, these things had collected. The mountain grew so gradually that I never noticed. There was some wood scraps from a building project that didn’t get completely cleaned up after. When I got a little nit-picky, I noticed that the sidewalk and stairs need to be swept.

The thing that struck me the most came when I walked up to the front door. The top half of the front door is a window. We live in a basement apartment, so we need all the light we can get into our little cave space. Our door is south facing, and I have loved that window, but when I walked up looking through the eyes of a guest, I was struck with a feeling of invasion of privacy. Looking in that window, I was peering into a private sanctuary that I hadn’t yet been invited to see.

I had always been somewhat uncomfortable with having the window wide open for everyone to see in, but I had never been able to put my words to my feelings. I coveted the light from the door window, so I just ignored the discomfort as best I could.

I pondered this problem for three days before I figured out a solution that suited my need for light and beauty in the entrance to my home. I searched for window cling paint and created a “leaded glass” window cling for my front window. Now I have light, privacy, and a beautiful decorative window.

Watch for a front-door project post tomorrow.  In the mean time, go look at your front door through the eyes of a guest.  What can you do to welcome your family and friends into your home with open arms?

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photos: Amy March CC-By-SA, ButterflySha CC-By

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This is the first in a series of articles inspired by the book, The Spirit of Loveliness: Bringing Beauty, Creativity, and Order to Your Life by Emilie Barnes. Check out my review of this book here.

Home is like snuggling in a soft blanket or being embraced in a welcoming hug. A home is a refuge to all who enter. It is a place to nurture and be nourished. Home is a place to rest, fellowship, and entertain.

As much as I would like to think that creating a home comes effortlessly, my house and my spirit tell a different story. Creating that welcoming refuge does not come naturally, instead it requires some determination to bring beauty and usefulness into harmony with one another.

Creating a home begins with creating order throughout your life. Order is a beautiful tapestry woven with the threads of goal setting, time management, and home organization. Each of these areas work together to make your life easier and put you in control of your stuff rather than having your stuff control you.

Most importantly, when you walk into your home, it is an expression of you (and your family). Soccer, Hunting, scrapbooking, and dolly tea parties can all mingle together in harmony to create a style that is a unique and beautiful reflection of your life and your personality. When your home is a reflection of you then it will become a place to nurture, rest, fellowship, and entertain joyfully.

Check back tomorrow for an article about First Impressions and Hospitality.

Subscribe to Dandelions and Daydreams in a reader or by Email so you won’t miss any of the posts about creating a beautiful home.

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It was a busy morning, about 8:30, when an elderly gentleman in his 80’s, arrived to have stitches removed from his thumb. He said he was in a hurry as he had an appointment at 9:00 am.

I took his vital signs and had him take a seat, knowing it would be over an hour before someone would to able to see him.
I saw him looking at his watch and decided, since I was not busy with another patient, I would evaluate his wound.

On exam, it was well healed, so I talked to one of the doctors, got the needed supplies to remove his sutures and redress his wound.

While taking care of his wound, I asked him if he had another doctor’s appointment this morning, as he was in such a hurry. The gentleman told me no, that he needed to go to the nursing home to eat breakfast with his wife.

I inquired as to her health. He told me that she had been there for a while and that she was a victim of Alzheimer’s Disease. As we talked, I asked if she would be upset if he was a bit late. He replied that she no longer knew who he was, that she had not recognized him in five years now.

I was surprised, and asked him, ‘And you still go every morning, even though she doesn’t know who you are?’

He smiled as he patted my hand and said, ‘She doesn’t know me, but I still know who she is.’

I had to hold back tears as he left, I had goose bumps on my arm, and thought, ‘That is the kind of love I want in my life.’

‘Life isn’t about how to survive the storm, but how to dance in the rain.’

photo by prakhar, cc-by

I did not write this story, but I received it in an e-mail and wanted to share it with my readers on this Valentine’s day.

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In this month’s Inspired Room article from Christian Women Online, Melissa outlines some ideas for creating a Valentine’s Day “get away” in your own home.

Who says a date night has to involve consuming big bucks in a crowded restaurant? Why do we torture ourselves into thinking romance has to include over-priced handpicked chocolates, $100 worth of roses or glittering heart-shaped diamonds? Why not make the best of what we have–a roof over our head and a little ingenuity–to create a memorable evening for any occasion. A home shouldn’t just be a place to store our things. Our homes provide an opportunity to create the life we really want. Everyday life might not seem romantic, but it is all in the perspective. Life doesn’t always hand us our dreams on a silver platter, but with a little creative energy we can imagine life to be just about anything we want it to be. Work with what you have to create your dreams under your own roof.

The thing that I love about celebrating a holiday in my own home is that I can create traditions that will follow us wherever life takes us.

The first Valentine’s day after Brenton and I were married, we were overwhelmed by college and short on both time and money. Fancy gifts or an expensive date night were out of the question. I searched around the internet and found a recipe for a cheesecake that looked pretty good. I think I spend $20 on the ingredients, but the look on Brenton’s face when he took the first bite was well worth the time and money spent.

That cheesecake, White Chocolate Raspberry Truffle Cheesecake (watch for that recipe here tomorrow), is a once a year dessert, and we have made it every year for Valentine’s.

Actually, after that first Valentines, Brenton has taken over the job of making the Valentine’s Cheesecake. I spend my time on creating ambiance–votive candles, hearts cut from coffee filters and dyed with red food coloring, music playing softly in the background.

There are a few tricks to creating a romantic haven in your own home. The most important, in my opinion is to clear away the things that remind you of your “to-do.” The second trick is to work with what you have and don’t over-do it. This is your home, not a restaurant. Create a peaceful setting, but don’t get so caught up in creating the perfect setting that you spend $100 to get that romantic feel. Finally, eat off the good dishes, pull out the crystal goblets, it’s a special occasion.

Enjoy your new traditions, and always love your spouse.

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Have you ever talked to your older self? Have you ever gotten advice from the future 80 year old self? In the winter of your life, what will you see as your greatest accomplishment? When you are 90 years old, what regrets will you have? Right now is the time that you can develop those accomplishments and ease those regrets. Can you make time to listen to your older self?

About once a year, I try to evaluate my life direction. The usual advice is to write your obituary. What do you want people to say about you when you are gone? What do you want people to remember about you? It’s a nice thought, but it doesn’t help me much with planning my life out today.

I’ve had a good chance to get acquainted with my 80-year old self. She doesn’t know anything that I don’t know today, but she has the courage–in the winter of life–to tell my spring time self to act now. She knows the pain of things left undone, and only I can ease that pain for her.

She’s the one who told me to write often and write passionately. Today she told me not to waste my life on clutter. There’s not enough time to devote it to things that I don’t really love.

What does your 80-year-old self have to say to you? Stop and listen to the wisdom within your own heart.

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