Thursday, May 27, 2021

All Around the House - Loft Edition



I have no idea what has been wrong with Blogger but I couldn't write my post because I kept getting error messages about not loading pictures! So frustrating!! Finally, it is working again!!

I love our loft space. It is a nice "extra" living space and it has worked well as a place for us to keep toys and for the granddaughters to play. My recumbent bike is in this space, too, so I use it every single day!

When you come up to the top of our stairs, you enter a wide open space. The picture below is actually from the other side of the stairwell.


We purchased the little camel back sofa and wing chairs after we bought our first house. They are quality pieces of furniture so we've had them recovered many times in 37 years of marriage. I knew that we were going to use them in this bright space so I picked fun fabrics. I love that these "old fancy" pieces of furniture are covered in whimsical fabric.



The space is actually a "U" shape because there is a hall on each side. We have several antiques in the room which were purchased at family/friends estate sales. The little desk above is one of those pieces as is the little bookcase.



I want to buy some big metal garden gates to hang on the wall of the stairwell but I have NO IDEA how you would hang them. The sofa is covered in yellow, the club chair is covered in denim.


The  little cabinet at the end of the sofa and the chest under the TV both came from Southeastern Salvage. The lamp on the cabinet was shiny brass (which wasn't in style when we bought the house 7 years ago) and I spray painted it.


Our cat loves the footstool above and I'm continually using the lint roller on it!


The barrister's bookcase above is a piece we both love. It sits right at the top of the stairs. It was in Mark's office until just recently. We have an assortment  of books, pictures, and a couple of pieces of old china inside. At the top of the stairs if you turn right you and in the loft space. If you turn left, you are in the hall below.


The hall leads into the actual guest room.


One one wall we have pictures from our daughter's wedding. I need to print some like those from our son's wedding.


On the other side of the hall, we have a gallery wall of family and friends.

If you walk back through the loft area, there is a door that leads out to the top front porch. If you walk through the loft, there is a small hall on the other side that leads to the other two guest rooms.

I love how the sun shines into this room. Back at the beginning of the pandemic, I set up a table in front of the door to the porch and made my office in this space. I think all of those windows helped save my sanity. The room is comfy and colorful. Of course, I can't sit on any of the furniture because I'm allergic to cats (yes, we have a cat) and I can't sit on the upholstered furniture where he has been. We've played Barbies and colored and read books with the granddaughters in this room.

Do you have an alternate living space - another place to hang out? Do you have a room that is flooded with sunshine?




 

Wednesday, May 26, 2021

That's A Fact Jack Hodgepodge

 From this Side of the Pond

Join us as we answer the questions Joyce has written for us and link up at From This Side of the Pond.

 


1. We're approaching Memorial Day Weekend in the US of A...will you mark this in some way? If so tell us how. According to a list found here some things you might do in honor of Memorial Day would be-shop in a Veteran owned business, learn to play a patriotic song, watch the Memorial Day concert, take a virtual tour of the White House, write a letter to a soldier or a soldier's family, fly a flag, attend a Memorial Day parade, donate flowers for a soldier's grave, put together a care package for a soldier, and take a moment of silence at 3 PM (the National Moment of Remembrance)....of the ideas mentioned are there any you will try? 

We fly a flag from our front porch as do many of the residents in our neighborhood. I hadn't planned to do anything else but I love some of your ideas!


2. What's something recently that made you 'come to attention'? 

I think the past 15 months have made us all "come to attention" in lots of ways - it has made me realize some of the things that are really important to me such as interaction with other people. . .especially people I love.

3. In what area of your life do you need to 'soldier on'? 

Weight Watchers - plain and simple. This is going to be a life long journey for me. I've lost a lot of weight and still have weight to go in order for my BMI to be in the healthy range. I'm soldiering on with my exercise, too - every single day for 417 straight days.

4. As a long weekend approaches and summer draws near, what's a favorite food from your childhood you think about adding to the menu? 

Hotdogs cooked on the grill - we actually didn't own a grill when I was growing up but we did eat hotdogs. I love a good picnic with hotdogs, baked beans, and potato salad. We always ate tomato sandwiches when I was growing up and I love those. We had a peach tree in the backyard and ate peaches straight from the tree with the juice running down our chins. I remember eating ice cold watermelon, too! I think I'll have some of all of those this summer!

5. Your favorite patriotic movie? 

I'm going in a totally different direction with this one . . .please don't yell at me. When I read this question, I immediately thought of the movie, "Stripes." I'm almost positive no one else will have this same answer. I truly love the scene toward the end of the movie where they do their formation. It is awesome. Bill Murray stars in this movie. I was just talking about this movie to Mark and he is now quoting lines such as, "That's a fact, Jack." I'm sure there are some things in this movie that I wouldn't agree with if I watched it today but I have fond memories of watching it.


6. Insert your own random thought here. 

We had friends over for dinner on Saturday night and I made a giant charcuterie board . . .actually, I sort of made a charcuterie island! One friend brought marinated shrimp to add to the menu and our other friend brought dessert. We talked and grazed around the island and then we went for a golf cart ride (girls) and then we sat on our porch and in our courtyard and talked and talked. It was a perfect evening EXCEPT we missed the other two couples who would normally be with us.




yes . . .that is a yellow paper cup
cut to size for mustard -- sometimes
you improvise



yes, this is yellow paper cup #2 with
dijon mustard . . .like I said, sometimes
you improvise. Our friends are
good friends and they didn't mind!



Sunday, May 23, 2021

100 Years Old

 If my daddy were still alive, we would have celebrated his 100th birthday this past week. I would love to be able to sit down and have a heart to heart conversation with him. There are so many things I would ask him. In our family, there are three "girls" - my oldest sister, Glenine, who is 13 years older than I; my middle sister, Becky, who is 8 years older; and then me -- the baby. I asked my sisters to tell me a few things they remember about daddy because they got to be with him far longer than I did. I was in my mid-twenties when he died.

1. We all three remember his pocket knife. Now this pocket knife could do magical things - it could peel a peach from the tree in our backyard or an apple from the grocery store. He could peel the apple in one long piece - that ALWAYS fascinated me! Now here is the weirdly gross part - he always cut our toenails with that pocket knife. We sat on our back steps where the light was good and we had the prettiest toenails every. Yes - same pocket knife. Yes - I am a germaphobe. Yes - I can't think about the fact that maybe he didn't wash it between those things. Glenine said he wiped it on his pants leg! I'm glad I was just a kid and didn't realize this! Becky said that she didn't realize when she was young that he was using the time he sat with us on the back steps as "teaching us with his talks." She is right. He tried to teach us to be good and kind people.

2. He was an honest man and he valued honesty in others. This honesty ties in with the fact that he was a man of integrity and he valued a good reputation.

3. Our daddy had a sense of humor and we loved to hear him laugh.

4. He could grow the most amazing big boy tomatoes - in hind sight, they were probably heirloom tomatoes because he and our grandpa saved the seeds from year to year. We grew up eating tomatoes for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I married a man who doesn't like tomatoes and he thinks it is so weird when I eat a sliced tomato at breakfast! He always had a garden. Becky pointed out that daddy had a green thumb and it skipped a generation. Becky's son has the green thumb. He works with plants every day and knows all about them.

5. I asked my sisters to text me some things they remembered and Glenine remembers his white white feet. When I read that text, I laughed out loud because I do remember being at the beach and how he always had a farmer's tan! 

6. I had also forgotten his snores! They were LOUD!!

7. I remember being sick one time as a little girl and we had a freestanding heater in our kitchen. He pulled the rocking chair close to the heater and rocked me and sang "Get along home Cindy Cindy, Get along home" . . .or I think those were a few of the words from the song.

8. Our daddy was in the Navy and then he was a carpenter for Bryce Building Company and then he was an engineer for the L & N railroad. The phone would ring in the middle of the night and they would be calling him to come in to drive the train. There were some other jobs thrown in there but I don't know what they were. They lived in Illinois at one time and they lived in Linden at one time. He was a hard worker. 



9. Speaking of the train makes me remember when I was in the 6th grade. Our daddy was in a horrible train wreck and broke both of his legs. We had a hospital bed brought into our kitchen and we borrowed a wooden wheelchair from the church.


10. Our daddy built the house we lived in. It was small - a living room, an eat in kitchen and two bedrooms and one bath. When I was a kid, he added on a third bedroom to the back of the house for he and our mom. He also built a sandbox for me that was the best sandbox ever! By the way, I still like to play in the sand.

yep - that is what I looked like
as a little girl - proud of my
brand new sandbox!!


11. When I was a young adult, my daddy went to visit his friend AA Munsell (sp?). Double A had a condo at the beach and they invited me to come down for the weekend. Double A had a dune buggy and he took daddy and me for a ride that I will never forget. There were still undeveloped areas of beach back then and we rode and rode and rode. It was exhilarating and it is such a fun memory of something special I did with daddy.

12. We ALWAYS had a swing in our front yard and I remember sitting in the swing with daddy.

Daddy and Lisa swinging


13. Eastwood Mall was one of the first malls in the area and daddy would drive us to the mall and sit near one of the fountains. He loved to watch people!!

14. After our mom died, daddy bought an older Spanish style stucco house in our town and redid it. He made the door using pegs instead of nails. 

15. Our daddy and momma saved enough for us to take a vacation almost every year to the beach. We went to Laguna Beach (near Panama City) and we stayed in several different cabins. We ate most of our meals in the cabin but we would usually go out to eat seafood one night and it was a big treat.

daddy and the three of us


16. By the time I came along, I guess finances were a little better because we went to Walker's restaurant almost every Friday night for dinner. Daddy would let me drink the creamer from the little tiny glass holder. Remember - I was the baby!

17. Daddy loved his coffee. He always had a big thermos and momma would make a pot of coffee and pour it up for him to take to work. He also always carried his lunch - probably a bologna sandwich. He could make a great fried bologna sandwich.

18. Daddy built a one car garage in our back yard and he had a workbench out there. At one time, he also grew mealy worms. He loved to fish but I think we were probably pretty whiney when he tried to go fishing. I remember crawling around on the rocks at Lake Guntersville one time while daddy tried to fish. I'm pretty sure either Becky or I had to go to the bathroom and he had to cut his fishing short.

19. Our mom died of cancer. I was probably a freshman in high school when she was diagnosed. She never learned to drive so daddy had to take her to UAB for her appointments and for her chemo treatments. He took care of her when she was so sick from chemo. Her iron would be low and he got the butcher at the grocery store to save a steak back for him. The butcher would then charge daddy the "day old" price - the mark down price. I don't think I realized what good care he took of her until just recently. I was a self-absorbed teenager.

20. Our daddy didn't have a middle name. He wrote "none" on one of his forms -- maybe for the military -- and that middle name of "none" followed him for years!

21. Daddy was so proud of us -- all three of us. He was proud when we made good grades. He was proud when we got good jobs. He was proud of me because I worked hard and took classes at UAB at night after working all day. He was proud of us and just typing those words makes me remember how I felt when he would say those words.

22. Daddy was not a big church goer. Our mom was but daddy saw some dishonesty and disingenuous behavior (see above about honesty and integrity - he valued both) in some church member at some time and he stopped going to church. He always believed in God. After our mom was diagnosed with cancer, I think she was afraid to die because daddy had never been baptized and she wanted to be reunited with him some day. We were in a Baptist church and daddy asked our pastor to baptize him. It meant so much to our mom. I'm so glad that God is God and his grace is truly amazing.

I could probably think of more things to write but the important thing is that even though our daddy could "cuss" like a sailor, had a temper, was grumpy when we had to wake him in the night, he LOVED us. Oh my goodness - he truly loved us.

Thursday, May 20, 2021

Show Us Your Guest Room(s)

 

We have the main bedroom downstairs and then we have 3 bedrooms upstairs. Since just the two of us live here, I guess that means all three are guest rooms.



I call the room above "the girl's room." On the left, you can see the corner of the pack and play where granddaughter #2 sleeps when she and her mommy and daddy come to visit. The blue "chair" is actually a twin sleeper sofa and someday we hope granddaughter #1 will sleep there. she sleeps. At this stage in her life, when she comes to visit she sleeps on a baby bed mattress on the floor beside our bed. The funky blue velvet chair to the right of the bookcase came from our old office. I have loved those chairs for years and when we built the new office suite, I snagged them! The white glass front cabinet is from Target! All of the crosses on the wall have been gifted to me over the years.


The room above is our true "guest room" where our guests sleep. This bedroom shares a Jack and Jill bathroom with the "girl's room" above. We ordered this bed years ago and I think it is such a beautiful bed. Both of these bedrooms have big walk in closets which we use for storage. Comforter and pillow shams are from Pottery Barn.

The picture over the bed is very special. It is a colored pencil drawing of boys fishing. One of our mission churches in town provided art supplies for folks to stop in and paint or draw and then they sold them through the church. I bought this picture and had it framed and gave it to Mark for some occasion or another. I love that picture and it reminds me to never take things for granted.


The third bedroom could be used for guests but we call it "Harvey's room." Yes - Harvey is our 15 pound cat. This bedroom has an en suite bathroom and we have Harvey's litter box in that bathroom. Several years ago my sister stayed with us for about a month and she had to stay in Harvey's room at the end of her visit because we used ALL the spaces. She loves Harvey so I don't think she minded too much! The problem is that he tracks cat litter onto the floor so if you don't have on shoes . . .not too pleasant.

We have an antique chest of drawers in this room. There is also an antique chair in one corner of the room (not pictured). Mark's sister painted the deer hanging above the chest of drawers. We have plantation shutters throughout the house and love them. I can't remember if I wrote this in another post but we don't have curtains due to my allergies -- the less fabric to collect dust, the better.

I would like to put either hardwood upstairs or Luxury Vinyl that looks like hardwood. Looking at the pictures makes me realize that I need to do some accessorizing in these rooms and the lamps are way too small! The walls upstairs are all the same neutral that we used downstairs - Khaki Shade SW7533. 

I'm not adding a linky this week but I would love to hear about your guest rooms! Do you have a guest room or rooms? Do you have guests very often? What would you change?


Wednesday, May 19, 2021

Today is a Great Day Hodgepodge

Link up with Joyce at From This Side of the Pond!

 From this Side of the Pond 

1. Realist, idealist, optimist, pessimist...which one are you? Elaborate. 

I'm an optimist! The glass is always at least half full. I actually irritate my family at times because of my optimism. Today is a great day - full of possibilities, right??  I do have a touch of realism, too. . .maybe!

2. What's something currently on your wish list? New lights over my island . . .which then leads to a new light in the entry hall . . .which then leads to a new light over the dining room table.

3. Three things on this week's shopping list? Bananas are always on our shopping list. Mark is going to go to Sprouts for me and get some Turkish figs. I'm making a charcuterie board this weekend and I need figs and Turkish figs are the best!! If you like Fig Newtons, you would like these figs! I just bought groceries so we are pretty well stocked. I buy Diet Pepsis and diet Canada Dry Ginger Ale every week, too, so they are always on the list.

4. According to Trip Advisor here's a list of the top ten things to do in the US this summer-

Chicago Architecture River CruiseSkip the Line Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island Tour, New York In A Day  guided sightseeing tour, Charleston's Old South Historic Horse and Carriage tourGrand Canyon helicopter tourFull day iconic sights of LA, Beverly Hills, Beaches and more, D.C. at Dusk guided night tour, Beneath the Streets Underground History tour (Seattle)New Orleans Swamp and Bayou Boat tour, Gangsters and Ghosts tour in Chicago...read more about each excursion in the link here. 

Of the ten attractions listed which do you find most appealing? Have you already experienced anything on this list? 

I would love to go to Chicago. I've spent hours in the Chicago airport - the layover in February 2020 was brutal. I've also never been to New York (except airport!!). A trip to New York is on my bucket list. I've done a trolley tour in Charleston (but not the horse and carriage). I've only flown over the Grand Canyon in an airplane and I've never been to California at all (except LAX). I've been to D.C. but not on a guided night tour. I've never been to Seattle but that sounds like a really cool tour!!! YES - I've been on a New Orleans Swamp and Bayou Boat tour and we had so much fun!!!! I would recommend it and I would do it again in a heart beat! I wanted to show y'all a picture but I can't find the "bucket" of pictures with New Orleans on the side!!!

5. Besides home and work where do you spend the most time? I started to type "church" but since I work there, too, I'm not sure it is a fair answer. I spend the most time at home and at Trinity UMC. 

6. Insert your own random thought here. We have painters here at our house for a few days painting the outside trim. They had a painting accident on Tuesday afternoon and spilled a bunch of paint (and the paint is $84 a gallon!!!). I told Mark that I remember when paint was $25 a gallon - I guess I'm really old. See that window way at the top? That is in one of our attic spaces. I came outside to check on the progress yesterday and they had the extension ladder sitting on top of two five gallon paint buckets in order for the painter to reach the window - oh my goodness! There are two painters - brother-in-laws - and they are so nice and they are doing a wonderful job!



Thursday, May 13, 2021

Show Us Your Living Space


Show Us Your Living Space

When you enter our front door you are in our "entry hall" which leads straight into our family room. I love the chest which we purchased from Overstock.com when we moved into the house. My sister bought the fisherman's basket for me and yes . . .that is our Roomba sitting right when you walk in the door! I do move it around so it doesn't stay there all of the time. We bought our Roomba a couple of years ago at Costco. 


This room is connected to (a part of?) our kitchen which I highlighted last week. Our four chairs, sofa, floor lamp, and coffee table (chest) are all from Pottery Barn. I LOVE my recliner and am actually sitting in it as I write this post! The two little glass fronted cabinets on either side of the fireplace were purchased at Target as were the glass jars on the mantle.


If I were to change anything in this room, I would reface the fireplace. I don't know if we need to whitewash the bricks or cover the brinks with marble tiles?? We are also going to have to purchase another sofa - this one has had a lot of people sit on it! We are going to get a new TV soon. There is nothing wrong with ours EXCEPT it is a Smart TV and it is 7 years old. I guess it is like our computers -- they get old fast.
I love how much light this room receives. The plant box on the mantle was made by my "boss" who also happens to be the senior pastor at my church!
There are two pictures -- you can see one in the photo above -- that we purchased in Charleston. The pictures are of homes in Charleston that look similar to homes in our neighborhood!
Also in the photo above (and below) you can see the little table right by my recliner -- it is an antique from someone in Mark's family and it is the perfect size!!
The rug is from NaturalAreaRugs.com. I've purchased several rugs from them and have been very pleased. Our plantation shutters are Mirasol and we have them throughout our house. 


On the trunk, we have a tray made by our brother-in-law, Bob. The bottom of the tray is made from a panel of an old door from the farm (the farm is a post for another day!). This tray is great for keeping up with remotes. The book standing up is a Snapfish book I made of our 2020 trip to Israel. One of our young adults gave us the book about bees. Fun fact to know and tell -- Mark and his daddy used to have bees!!
I'll tell you something about the trunk . . . anytime I can't find something . . .odds are Mark has stashed it in the trunk!!


In June we will have lived in this house 7 years and we've spent a lot of time in this room. We've hosted the young professional group on Tuesday nights - almost every single Tuesday night until the shut down. That is a lot of Tuesday nights! We've hosted our supper club and have sat in this room as we talked. We've attempted to make it to midnight several years on New Year's Eve and we've even played a few games in this room. Over the last year, we've watched Chuck and Bosch and Alias. We've laughed at Big Bang Theory. We've opened Christmas gifts as a family and I've hosted baby and wedding showers in this room.

Tell us about your living space and show us some photos!! 



Wednesday, May 12, 2021

Mama Said Hodgepodge

Here are the questions to this week's Wednesday Hodgepodge. Answer on your own blog, then hop back here tomorrow to add your link to the party. See you there!

1. It's like my mama always said, "There will be days like this!" -- Old song!! I wonder if anyone else will have this same answer? Actually, one thing I remember my mama saying is "you need to sweep your own doorstep before you sweep mine."

2. May 11th is National Eat What You Want Day. What will you be having by way of celebration? I won't be eating "what I want" because that would be something sinful like a mega order of French fries - the ones that are really fried . . .not air fried." 

3. Describe your idea of a perfect spring day. A perfect spring day would be blue skies, sunshine, temp of 73 (or so - warm enough where you don't need a jacket and it feels great sitting in the sun), NO POLLEN, surrounded by laughter and the people I love.

4. Success, fulfillment, growth, achievement...pick one and tell us how it relates to your life in some way, either currently or in days gone by. I have grown so much over my adult life, as I'm sure many of you have, too. I'm not talking about size here - I'm talking about my spiritual life; the way I see the world and the people in it; the way I live each day.

5. I saw this going around on various social media sites and thought it would be fun to answer here. The last thing you bought on Amazon is your weapon in battle. How will you wield it?  (if you're not an Amazon shopper, then the last thing you bought online anywhere) - I ordered a bronze lamp for our back porch. I guess I could swing it and hit someone over the head with it!



6. Insert your own random thought here. I have a few thoughts:

We had dinner in a restaurant with friends on Friday night and we went to another friend's house for pizza and salad on Saturday night and it felt NORMAL (and wonderful!!). 

Today, I thought of two blog posts I want to write about meaningful (to me) things. I wish I were as eloquent a writer as some people I know but if I'm writing from the heart . . .why in the world would I even compare myself to others???

I've ordered a couple of weeks worth of meals from Eat, Fit, Go. I heard about this company via Weight Watchers (WW) and was pleased with the first order so I've ordered again. Here is a picture of one of my meals this week. (I'm not getting paid, etc. for telling y'all about this - they don't have any idea who I am!)


Shameless plug -- come visit me on Thursday and please Link Up and show us your living space! A few writing prompts are available here. I guess I should have lined up some people (in advance) to link up with last week's post about kitchens to generate some interest. I'm new to this kind of stuff! If no one links up, I'll just keep showing "All Around the House" of my house :-).

Tuesday, May 11, 2021

All Around the House

Week Two - Show us your main “living space”! 

Some people call it a “great room.” Some people call it a “living room.” Some people call it a “family room.” You know the space – the one where you have a sofa or two and a chair or two.

Come back on Thursday and link up! I would really love for some folks to link up so I can see some rooms! I’m always open to new decorating ideas!!

Some things you might tell us. . .

1) Do you love this space in your house?

2) If you could change one thing in this room, what would it be?

3) What is your favorite item in this room?

4) Tell us about your favorite event that happens in this room – is it movie night? Is it game night? Is it simply lying around and watching TV?

 

Please feel free to share links of items purchased, etc. We might want to buy one! 


Monday, May 10, 2021

10 on the 10th

10 Things You Hate (or really dislike) to Do

Linking up with Once Upon a Time Happily Ever After!

This month’s edition of 10 on the 10th is an opportunity to vent a little about those things in life you hate doing (and I'm going to add things I dislike!).

I thought this sounded like fun and then I remembered that positivity is my #1 strength so hate is a really strong word!! I can definitely come up with 10 things I dislike to do!!

1. I really dislike crazy, rude drivers. I think we may have lost all road civility over the last year. People think they don't have to stop at stop signs. People think they should go first at a 4 way stop. People think they can drive up the shoulder in a traffic jam and duck back in at the beginning of the line.

2. I really dislike cleaning bathrooms. At this stage of my life I am very blessed to have a wonderful friend come and clean my house once a week. I am so thankful she scrubs the showers and toilets!

3. Speaking of bathrooms, I really dislike taking a cold shower. I love for the water to be HOT!

4. I dislike having most political discussions. Not only have we lost road civility (#1), we sometimes have lost the ability to have a civil discussion with another human being who might not believe the same way we do.

5. I dislike failing. Yes, I know that we often have to fail several times before we get really good at something but I still hate failing.

6. My husband would say that I dislike working outdoors and while that is somewhat true, sometimes a good outdoor project is just what I need. 

7. I dislike sweating -- not on the beach or when I'm out for a walk -- I hate sweating when I'm dressed in nicer clothes. 

8. I dislike ALWAYS having to watch my weight. I'm so jealous of people who can basically eat whatever they want and rarely gain a pound. 

9. I dislike have dental work done. I don't mean I mind going for a check up and cleaning but I hate to have a crown or a filling. Thank goodness my dentist will use "happy gas." Insurance doesn't pay for it but it so worth it. 

10. I do not enjoy going into an event/room/meeting/party where I'm the only person I know. I do it and can actually do it well, if needed, but I dislike it strongly!!

I feel like I need to write 10 things I love. It actually took two days to come up with 10 things I dislike for this post. 



Thursday, May 6, 2021

Show Us Your Kitchen!

Show us your kitchen!


I do indeed love my kitchen . . .especially when it is clean! We've been in this house 7 years next month and this kitchen is so much better than my previous kitchen. Does this kitchen have every single thing I want or maybe need? No, but there are so many things I do love. I LOVE our island and use it for cooking and crafting and serving. Since Mark and I are the only ones at home, we also eat 99% of our meals at the island. I know that in 7 years trends have changed again and people either put marble or quartz counters in. Mark says if we ever redo our counter tops, he wants to use Alabama marble. I think it is lovely but it stains so easily and I think that would drive me nuts. Pros and Cons?

I also love my gas cooktop which leads me to the one or two things I would change. My dream cooktop would be a six burner "red knob" (Wolf) cooktop. We would have to do a major kitchen overhaul for me to get that cooktop because it is bigger, etc. I would also love a double wall oven rather than one oven and microwave.

We are thinking about replacing the lights over the island. We have a friend who works in the lighting industry and she is going to help us find some new fun lights for over the island. Any suggestions?

Our garage fridge died a year or two ago so we moved the builder grade fridge from the kitchen to the garage and bought a new fridge. I love the freezer on the bottom and the "French doors."

When I took the picture above, I realized that I needed something on the wall above the cooktop and I've added a cute green wreath.



Our old house had stained wood cabinets and the kitchen always felt dark. These cabinets are made by Danbury and are painted Icy Mint. They look white to some folks but there is the tiniest hint of bluegreen in the color.

I also love the 3 X 6 white tiles in the herringbone pattern on the two sections. The grout is pewter colored which is a bonus!

I am the main cook in our house and the main grocery purchaser. My pantry is in the area behind the cooktop which is actually the space under our stairs. The day we were moving into the house I realized that there was NO PANTRY! I may have freaked out. For a long time, I made do with a metal shelf in that area under the stairwell. A couple of years ago, our neighbor came and measured and built beautiful shelves for me so I have an official pantry now!!

I also excel at eating so I'm always on Weight Watchers!

We spend a lot of time in the kitchen area because you will see in another post that it is a big open space with the "family/great/living" room plus the laundry room is through a door by the fridge so I'm in and out of that space. Oh! I forgot -- I also fold clothes on our island!!

One last thing -- pre-covid we hosted a dinner and Bible study every week for young professionals. We are hoping to move from zoom back to in house soon!! I love the fact that young adults, in addition to eating food, have studied the word of God at our island -- a different kind of nourishment. They've also assembled health kits for the homeless and they've bagged snacks for a group home and they've assembled kits for parents who bring their children to Children's Hospital . . .and end up staying . . .and need a toothbrush, etc.




Show us your kitchen and tell us all about your favorite parts and the things you would like to change! Link up below or feel free to post in the comment section.

Wednesday, May 5, 2021

Wednesday Hodgepodge

Thanks to Joyce for the questions to this week's Wednesday Hodgepodge. Answer on your own blog, then hop over to From This Side of the Pond to link up!!

1. What's something you 'may' do this month? 
I "may" buy some new clothes! I didn't purchase much over the last year and I could use a few new pieces. Where is your favorite place to shop for comfy and casual clothes?

2. Last time you literally or figuratively shouted mayday!

We had our first in person Sunday School class on Sunday. I've been teaching this adult class for about 25 years but due to Covid I haven't taught in person in 15 months until Sunday. In my head, I was screaming "mayday mayday" all last week. I will say that God heard my "mayday" cries and showed up. We wore our masks except for the picture. We practiced some social distancing. I did take my mask off to teach. We had a few folks on zoom and about 1/2 our normal pre-covid crowd. It felt good to be back together.


3. Let the chips fall where they may, come what may, maybe, Cape May, mayflies, devil may care, you may now kiss the bride,  much to our dismay, mayhem, mayonnaise...choose a 'may' word or phrase from the list and tell us how it relates to your life in some way right now. 

You MAY kiss the bride. A wedding in April was our debut back into the real world and we are going to another wedding in the middle of this month!

4. If someone were serving you breakfast in bed this weekend, what would you like to see on the menu? 

I'm not sure I have ever eaten breakfast in bed. We do love waffles around our house so I guess that would be nice. To be honest, I'm not sure I want to eat in bed. 

5. Tell me one true thing you believe about motherhood. 

It is one of the hardest and possibly one of the most rewarding things I have every done in my life. 

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

I was reading a blog the other day and the writer had set a goal of doing more things as a couple. We have actually made plans for both Friday and Saturday night of the upcoming weekend and we are looking forward to good conversations.

I would love for you to check out my earlier post and join us tomorrow as we begin All Around the House!

All Around the House

Week One - Show us your kitchen! 
Come back on Thursday and link up! I can't wait to see some kitchens! Are our kitchens different in Alabama vs California? Are our kitchens different in the US than elsewhere in the world? Please share pictures and feel free to use some of the prompts below.
Some things you might tell us. . .
1) Do you love your kitchen?
2) If you could change your kitchen, what would you change?
3) Do you prefer painted cabinets or natural wood cabinets?
4) Are you the "cook" in your house? If not, who is?
5) Do you excel at cooking or eating?
6) What is your favorite feature in the kitchen?
7) What is your favorite gadget in the kitchen?
8) Do you spend lots of time in your kitchen?
9) Tell us about your favorite event that happens in your kitchen (besides just eating).
10) Is there anything else you want to tell us about your kitchen?
Please feel free to share links of items purchased, etc. We might want to buy one! 
Also, are there questions about other rooms in the house that you would love to read about?