Autumn Decorating

Another week has passed and I am looking out the window to  lovely blue skies.  As I gaze out from my deck I can see the Dogwood is now covered in leaves of gold, but the blustery cold winds and rain from earlier days have stripped the maple of all its leafy color.  The Inspector has covered the bench to protect it from the winter rains ahead. No more sitting under the trees until next spring.   The yard is slowly being put to bed.

 Even though the leaves are falling outside, that hasn't stopped me from bringing the joy of autumn color into the house.  My husband rolls his eyes a bit when I start bringing out all the boxes, but I do love to decorate.

 

 
But then I have been blessed to have such  lovely rooms in which to do it.  Who would have thought that this old rambler, filled with spiders and mice when we moved in 31 years ago would eventually become this wonderful gem we call home?  It took us many years to get to this point, but God was and God is good.

Next time I decorate it will be the Advent and Christmas season, but I'm glad I still have another month  and the Thanksgiving Holiday in which to enjoy the colors of fall.  Blessings to you and yours.
 

A Little Bit of Nesting

It has been a busy week, taking my mother to Kirkland one day to meet with the doctor who will do her shoulder surgery later in the year, taking a meal and visiting with my new granddaughter on another day, spending two days at the school, one day substituting and one day volunteering, as well hosting the whole family for a football playoff game yesterday.  In between, I have been doing a little "spring" cleaning and working on getting the house back to normal.  

My mother and my new granddaughter, Ava Marie

Our room has a tendency to be the catch all for everything we are not sure what to do with.  At the moment one corner is filled with the boxes of flooring that will be laid in the kitchen when the weather turns warmer, as well as numerous boxes of papers and photos that need to be sorted and bags of stuff that need to be sent to the thrift shop.  Even so, I managed to put together a corner near the gas fireplace for a little reading nook.

I had organized the bookcase earlier in the year.  This old recliner is a bit ragged having gone through several children, but it's still quite comfortable so I slid it over near the fireplace and set the little folding table next to it.  The material is some I purchased from the Bali Bazaar I help with every year, and the lamp came from my old office at school.  With the fire burning, it makes a  quiet cozy spot to curl up with a book.

 I also went down to the basement and dug out this old antique table that I put down there a few years ago.  It too has become quite battered and scratched but it has good bones and can be refinished some day when I have the time.

It had belonged to an old friend of my grandmother's and all it needed for now was a little TLC.

 See how the wood came to life with some beeswax and a bit of polishing.  It fits perfectly in this empty corner.  Now, just add a piece of pretty lace to cover the scratches and allow the the richness of the wood to come through and it looks quite lovely, rather like a regal, older lady dressed in her shawl. 

For now, I used this flower arrangement from the bedroom and hung some family photos.  I think it filled in this corner quite nicely and in time I will add some other family pictures.

I feel like I had a pretty productive week.  I hope you did too.  
 

Clutter

When I got up this morning and looked around all I could see was clutter.

Overflowing bookcases

Dishes waiting to be put away and jars waiting to be filled with the fruit that is waiting to be canned

There is laundry waiting to be folded.  There is even other people's donated clutter waiting for me to organize.   I bet their book shelves are all neat and tidy.  These books are for the church library and need to be sorted and cataloged before I can put them on the shelves. I already took care of 3 dozen books yesterday.  These are what's left.

How does one's life get so cluttered?  Sometimes it's temporary other times it seems like a way of life.  Sometimes it seems like it rules me.  I don't always want to have someone over because I want my house to look perfect.  Unfortunately, it rarely does.


"Give me the discipline to get rid of the stuff that's not important, the freedom to savor the stuff that gives me joy,and patience not to worry about the stuff that's messy but not hurting anybody."  Vanita Hampton Wright

The Lake

As I continue to share the scene from my back deck I must not forget one of the most important parts....that of course is The Lake.  From the corner of the deck we can see it although the picture has shrunk a bit over the years as others have come along and built their little bits paradise.  In the beginning I would get angry and disappointed but then I realized that I didn't want to be one of those people who thinks that "as long as I have mine, no one else can come" and so I have reconciled for the most part that I have to share. 

And besides I still get to see the Cascade Mountains rising above the rooftops.

And as I drive down the hill from the front of my property I get to gaze on this every morning on my way to work.

And the closer I get to the water.....

The more my heart sings in joy at this beautiful place I get to call home.

Home

I live in this incredibly beautiful place we call "The Great Northwest."  All the earth is God's Country but his hand was particularly lavish when he created this part of the country.  Every summer morning I get to wake and take my morning coffee out on the deck to enjoy this scene.  Of course this is just a piece of it.

Although I am not passionate about it, I do like to putter around in the garden a bit and that adds to the scene.  There's the bluberries.......

And then there's my little orchard area.  I have a pear tree which will be ready for harvest in early September.

Also there are the apple trees from which I will bake apple pies and apple bread, yum!!

One of my favorite spots is this little corner of the yard which I created a number of years ago (with the help of my wonderful husband of course).  With the hedge all around it you would never know......

There is a mansion towering just behind it.  Surprise!

I