An Organizer For The Bed

Need a place to tuck your glasses after having read a good book or magazine in bed? Or even a pocket to put the TV remote, that is if you have a TV in your bedroom. A few moons ago I had a request from my dear friend Kathy Sue (Miss Tina’s sister)to make her a bed organizer. Knowing that Miss Kathy loves red and ticking stripes, I fashioned one for her with fabrics I thought would go in her bedroom.

I did not have a pattern, only a picture for reference. I made a pleated pocket in the front…

added some vintage lace to the top…

..and the bottom.

I think my favorite thing about the piece is the beautiful handmade crochet edging at the bottom. The organizer is long enough to tuck up under a mattress and the pockets large enough to hold a book or magazine.

Thank you, Miss Kathy, for inspiring me to make you something!

xxoo

See y’all later!

Buds of Beauty

This time of year holds promises of wonderfully full bunches of hydrangeas to spread in different containers around the house. Very easy to dry by just clipping them and placing them into a vase with NO water. Their colors are so serene and each bloom is special in its own little way. Just love them……

plumpalicious

LOVE fresh peaches! So plump, juicy and sweet as pie! And for a great Peach Long Cake recipe, please go to THIS post! It is REALLY, really good! I promise!

Pretty French Linens

I love my small collection of French linens that are…

….beautiful crisp cottons with gorgeous fringes and lace…

…and pretty little personalized monograms….

…that are simply displayed over an old iron ladder.

Sweet little luxuries of days gone by.

schtuffkies

When life gives you busy, then turn to the schtuffkies. So what is schtuffkies? (pronounciation: Shh-tuff-kies – definition: stuff, fodder, cuteness, whimsical junk). You know when you are so busy and have no time to take pictures of something new and wonderful? What do you do?

You just simply flip through the endless pages in your picture folder (y'all know what I am talking about....???), pull out the stuff that makes you smile….

…or inspires you to create again…

…and then SHAZAM!!! (and use your best Gomer Pyle Shaaaazam voice..) There you have it, a post! Lalalalala!!!! Singing like a song bird!

Now speaking of creating…..

…I do need to make another quilt out of vintage sheets! Maybe even some ruffled tote bags…and the good Lord knows I have enough sheets to sew with for days and days – maybe even years and years.

**sigh**

There you have it…a schtuffkies post. So tell me about your schtuffkies….

Revisiting

Hello morning and HELLO little yellow farmhouse. You have been on my mind the past few months. We only met once last year, but your imprint is still fresh on my mind as though it was just yesterday that I walked through your front gate and along the lovely path to the front porch.

From your dark wood porch, bright red front door and the freshly painted white porch swing..

…to the gorgeous flowers that you overlook out in the front. Tranquility at best. The only thing I would do would be to tuck in some pillows on the swing and then spend hours there swinging back-and-fourth….remembering life as it once was.

Tucked on a plot of land that nestles up against a forested hill with cool ocean breezes prevailing in the morning mist. A place to call HOME SWEET HOME……

Charming.

Beautiful.

Peaceful.

How I wish I could have called you my own.

Just thinking of you and hoping that your new owners are loving on you and respecting your bones and nurturing the vast abundance of fresh garden blooms.

That is all…..

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dear friends….I thank you from the depth of my heart and soul for the love and comfort through your words left in the comments from my last post. Knowing my mother, she is smiling big as I read each comment out loud. She was loved by so many and this past week has been full of mother stories from her friends and our family. Heaven has another sweet angel…my dear momma. I love you so…..

angel wings…….

Today I write this post through tears and with a heavy heart. My dear and sweet mother, Carol Sue, passed away last night. Though I am hurting inside, I do know that she is now in Heaven and no longer in pain.

My mother was so sweet – an artist, an incredible baker, a visionary and one of the kindest people to have walked this earth and was always smiling. She was my girl scout and 4-H leader, a Sunday school teacher, an interior designer, a loyal friend and companion, loved to camp and make meals for everyone who stopped by the campsite, and an awesome gardener. She always made sure that there were beautiful flowers in the yard and she would nurture them by handwatering each night.

She loved to send me flowers for my birthday, too. This particular bouquet was for my big 50th birthday last year. I remember how gorgeous the pink roses were and how fresh they stayed for so long.

Momma was the big sister who loved her little brother, Butch, and sister, Saundra. Blonde hair, big blue eyes and the biggest smile ever.

My cousin reminded me this morning of story: My grandmother told mom to go out and pick a tree branch for her spanking. (I don't think there is anything worse than to have to bring in your own switch for an attitude adjustment!) Mom, being the little instigator that she was, came back into the kitchen carrying a whole tree branch. Grandma could only laugh and momma was spared from being spanked.

My sweet momma……

I love you so, so much.

I wish I could have said goodbye, but I will say Hello next time I see you.

Stretch your wings now…you have earned them. God has a big canvas for you to paint on and you won’t be in pain doing so. Now you can paint till your heart is content. Be free…angel face…be free…….

Ps 34:18 The Lord is near to those who are broken hearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit!

I love you, Momma.

Always and Forever your baby I will be….

Momma, your favorite song now plays for YOU....Bridge Over Troubled Waters. See, I do listen!

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To my friends, I will be back later. I just do not know when, but till then, I love you, too.

melancholy

 

My thoughts today are on the words to the lyrics of this song.  If you don’t wish to read a melancholy post, then just click on out.  I understand.

However, life is life and these words struck a personal chord with me – and I know that others who read my blog can relate. 

 

I am the third woman in our family to have lost a child – my grandmother lost her daughter at the age of 28 and my aunt lost her daughter at the age of 17.  If only they were still here so I could spill my heart out to them….I know they would understand. 

   Though I am at peace knowing my son entered the gates of Heaven wearing white, I still miss him.  Not a day goes by that I don’t think of him or pray for him.   Some people say that “life gets easier” after losing a loved one, however I do not agree with this at all.  Life is just a different normal, if you will – never the same as when our family was a complete family.

Life’s roads are never easy – nor seldom seem fair, but there is peace knowing that God shines on us and loves us so much.  It is about having my favorite word of all time: FAITH.

“He has engraved us on the palms of his hands and will never forget us.”  Isaiah 49:16

 “Blessed are the Peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.”  Matthew 5:9

Last week I met a woman at the cemetary.  Her son was in the Navy and passed away last year at the age of 25.  I did not ask why…I do not need to know why.  The simple fact is that her beloved son is gone.  Seeing the pain on her face was like looking into a mirror.  All that I could do was hug her and listen to her telling me about her beloved Christopher.

 Life is a precious gift that at any given time can be swept away from us.  Our daily mantras of doing the usual and customary things can be halted with a quick jolt of the unexpected.  That phone call, that knock at the door…..the unavoidable bad dream, if you will.  Wishing I could turn back the hands on the clock to start over…wishing I could somehow change everything back to normal.  To be able to hear him laugh, to see his smile, to share chicken fried steak at Chili’s or just simply hug him.  God I miss this!

Though each day has its peeks and valleys,

…I know my son is always with me.  He is now my guardian angel and I feel thankful for that.  We used to watch sunsets from his bedroom window….

 …but now I look up to the night’s dark sky and say goodnight….I love you, son…sleep with the angels and give everyone a hug from me.

I thank God for the double rainbow over the cemetary the day that Jordan was layed to rest under military colors…  And as the song says:

“Lord make me a rainbow, I'll shine down on my mother
She'll know I'm safe with you when she stands under my colors, oh and
Life ain't always what you think it ought to be, no
Ain't even grey, but she buries her baby"…”

Just melancholy today…that’s all.

*peace out*