Quiet Mornings Begin the Day

Mornings, for the most part, get off to a quiet and slow start, just like this post.

When the front door opens, this is the facing wall; a few things that mean something to me or make a statement about me. All photos with natural light, untouched so therefore, sometimes, difficult to make out. Just like life a lot of times, eh?

Starting at top, going clockwise..."LOVE RULES. Hold Hands ...Often. Say I Love You. Encourage Each Other. Stay on the Same Team. Remember why you fell in love. Be the first to say I'm sorry. LAUGH Everyday. Kiss Just Because. Live Happily Ever After."

A photo of an Irish cottage in a rough barn wood frame.

The Road to the house of a friend is never long.

Bless This Home brass plaque and in the center:

HAPPY IS A home THAT SHELTERS A friend.

These things bless and warm me every time I enter my home; I hope others feel the same.

Needful things...a place to hang keys that's handy but out of sight of the entrance. This is an old rake head, topped with a beautiful braided fabric...I call it a fob but there's probably a more correct name. Again, something old, given new life and future...just like me, bless His Name forever.

This photo probably shouldn't be included but as I've little reason to bow to convention now...it's under the key rake and where I perch to put on work boots in the morning. The bench is hand crafted and has been with me for twenty, or more, years. Under the bench is a boot tray to catch dirty and wet boots and the strange object to the left is the boot remover Daddy and Mom made me a few decades ago.

This metal deer is on the wall in front of the boot tray and reminds me of unicorns which I believe were hunted into existence some thousands of years ago. Did you know the Bible mentions unicorns? People say they don't exist and they are correct, they don't now but I truly believe they used to exist. This site tells the numbers of extinct animals; in 2006 it was 784 and today it's 905; it's happening too rapidly and it frightens me. We humans are given stewardship over the Earth and, for the most part, I'm thinking we're not doing a commendable job.

This old ladder is hand crafted with rope rungs and holds a small collection of rugs amassed by Dave and I while traveling the world. The wooden grain shovel is also hand crafted and has a chip due to use in days past.

Morning light cast lamp shadow against the wall; the sofa table is in the living room, behind the sofa and a favorite spot for yellow roses, a creche, a non-working antique clock and on either end, two glass lamps filled with shells. The wooden case to the left holds CD's of favorite music and a candle holder made by a WV friend.

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There are several book cases in the living room but none of them are yet put to rights. I'm still unpacking boxes, and will be unpacking boxes by Valentine Day is my guess, so I'm putting things out that bring me joy...as I unpack them. This photo of Mom and Daddy, married 66 years, rests beside my little Irish tea pot and mug. The mug wasn't made in Ireland but has a little sheep on it so compliments, I think, the tea pot. It all rests in a trugg atop a handmade book given me when I taught in Russia.

OH JOY! One thing unpacked is my collection of animals bells. A dear friend, ML, gave me a little sheep bell she purchased on a trip to London and that started the collection. There are horse, sheep, goat, cow bells from Romania, Poland, Russia, Hungary, Czech Republic...mostly Eastern Europe.

This little creche was purchased at a thrift store with figures surrounding Jesus. Some folks "stage" a creche so Mary and Joseph are on one side with Wise Men, shepherd and animals facing. That's good but I like Jesus in the middle with everyone in a circle...like He is in our hearts, you know?

Somewhere is another block with an R but who knows where?

This poster has been with me since 1989, the year Dave and I met and, for a short while, lived in Maui. Lion Coffee is my favorite brand and Kona my favorite coffee. Is it silly for a senior citizen to have a poster in her home? I surely hope not because this isn't the only poster that's going to be put on my walls!

No idea who did this stitch work of the Lord's Prayer but, again, it's not the only stitch work going on the walls. More to follow, eventually.

Over the dividing wall between living and dining room is hung this crochet piece. It's held to a couple of pieces of old barn wood and looks wonderful! (I think so anyway.)

That's it for now; don't want to bore the socks off you nor strain your eye sight -LOL-. I always feel "funny" showing photos of my home...who's interested anyway? There's a lot LOT of calm, peace, quiet, serenity with hand crafted pieces and memories galore. If you've read my blog for any time atall you know I'm big on stories and almost every single thing in this house has a story; sometimes the story goes back a few generations.

Even so, all this stuff isn't as important as the folks who visit whether for a few hours or days. It's the folks I want to make welcome, to say, "Sit a spell, relax, put down your worries for a while. We'll have some short bread and tea (hot or cold), chin wag or not and before you leave, I'll tuck you in prayer." Life is shorter than we think and probably want so take time daily to treat yourself, to remind yourself you are made in God's image. Then, when you've gotten your gumption going, share your special self with a stranger. Give them a smile, a piece of Dove chocolate, pay their toll or buy them coffee. Tis the season of giving so give to be emptied and God will fill you again.

Ponder this ~ "To have been spared in the war and seen victory, to have been given the chance to rest and to re-adjust myself, to have fallen in love completely and unreservedly, makes all one's personal and even the world's troubles seem small and petty." (In a letter written to Princess Elizabeth, around 1946, according to Philip Eade, author of Young Prince Philip: His Turbulent Early Life.)"

Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip were married 70 years on November 20, 2017.