From the outside looking in, one might have thought, most recently, that I had confused my seasons. It's late Fall and I've been busy making lists, cleaning, sweeping, scrubbing, refinishing, arranging and rearranging, scouring, filing, folding, putting, throwing, and giving away, all in an effort to reclaim my space and all, activities one might have normally found oneself doing during the early months of Spring. However, this past Spring, I wasn't interested in completing extra tasks, landscaping, arranging furniture, creating ambiance, building new things, or making repairs to our little home. It may be a coincidence, but it has been just one year since my mother, who had lived with me for eight years, passed away and it has taken just about a year for me to pass through the times of sadness, grief, aloneness, fear, longing, guilt, and healing , and then to finally begin experiencing a desire to get back into the groove. My mother would be happy, I think, to know I'm back!
My oldest daughter, Kelli, often reminds me to share more of the things I like, or enjoy doing, seeing or visiting, when posting on Facebook. In part, this blog has been an attempt to do just that and I'm hoping she will enjoy that I am sharing a most fun project I completed last weekend.
When my brother, Douglas, and I were very young we were known, at times, to open and run through the back door of our home, forgetting to close it as we hurried on our way. Within moments, we could hear my mother's voice calling after us, "Please, close the door, you two! Do you think you were raised in a barn? I've known for a few years there was a project I wanted to tackle, but once I saw the beautiful, red cabinets and rounded stone backsplash my niece, Christine, designed for her kitchen, I was more determined than ever to create my "island in a barn" last weekend. With a desire to replicate the same elements of warmth and naturalness Christine had captured in her kitchen design, I began my project with our kitchen island, which already included a white base. Using reclaimed fencing from a section of fence I replaced summers ago, I surrounded the island on three sides with weathered wood. Within two days, the white had totally disappeared and in its place was the warmth and texture of old, worn wood. Isn't it something how one little change can make such a difference in one's spirit? Each time I look at this island, now, I see not only a long desired task, completed, but am also enjoying that sense of 'rustic' I was hoping for. Perhaps, best of all, I feel as though I'm a step closer to that overwhelmingly wonderful sensation one has each time one enters a barn-- a feeling I just happen to love. So, thank you, Kelli, and Christine, for your encouragement, direct and indirect. I really enjoy the look of this weathered wood island, that the task is complete and finally, I enjoy sharing this completed project. I may be wrong, but if my mother were to see this island, I think her first question would be, "Christine, aren't you going to paint that wood?" I'd smile and say, "Oh, no, Mom, it's just perfect! We're simply a step closer to living in that barn!"
Christine
My oldest daughter, Kelli, often reminds me to share more of the things I like, or enjoy doing, seeing or visiting, when posting on Facebook. In part, this blog has been an attempt to do just that and I'm hoping she will enjoy that I am sharing a most fun project I completed last weekend.
When my brother, Douglas, and I were very young we were known, at times, to open and run through the back door of our home, forgetting to close it as we hurried on our way. Within moments, we could hear my mother's voice calling after us, "Please, close the door, you two! Do you think you were raised in a barn? I've known for a few years there was a project I wanted to tackle, but once I saw the beautiful, red cabinets and rounded stone backsplash my niece, Christine, designed for her kitchen, I was more determined than ever to create my "island in a barn" last weekend. With a desire to replicate the same elements of warmth and naturalness Christine had captured in her kitchen design, I began my project with our kitchen island, which already included a white base. Using reclaimed fencing from a section of fence I replaced summers ago, I surrounded the island on three sides with weathered wood. Within two days, the white had totally disappeared and in its place was the warmth and texture of old, worn wood. Isn't it something how one little change can make such a difference in one's spirit? Each time I look at this island, now, I see not only a long desired task, completed, but am also enjoying that sense of 'rustic' I was hoping for. Perhaps, best of all, I feel as though I'm a step closer to that overwhelmingly wonderful sensation one has each time one enters a barn-- a feeling I just happen to love. So, thank you, Kelli, and Christine, for your encouragement, direct and indirect. I really enjoy the look of this weathered wood island, that the task is complete and finally, I enjoy sharing this completed project. I may be wrong, but if my mother were to see this island, I think her first question would be, "Christine, aren't you going to paint that wood?" I'd smile and say, "Oh, no, Mom, it's just perfect! We're simply a step closer to living in that barn!"
Christine
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