My Solitude

Reminding you again of my Pinterest page. I now have over 9,100 pins of the loveliest photos you've ever seen. I scour the internet regularly for these images. There are only images, no funny sayings or anything like that, just beauty you'll love to see. I promise! So click on the logo on my side bar or the link here. I've made it super easy for you. I just want to share the eye candy I find. It's become a passion of mine.

Also, don't forget Google Reader is going the way of the dinosaur in another month or so, so be sure and get another reader if you're a blogger or if you like to keep track of your favorite blogs. A lot of us have chosen Bloglovin' and you can follow me by clicking on the logo on my sidebar at the very top.
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I love my solitude. (Some may call it free time, but to me it's solitude that's important.) Our house is very quiet and that's my choice. No radio or television (don't have one) blaring, ever. Just quiet with the ticks of a normal house—clocks, heating/cooling, creaks at a certain place in the living room, the fountain and the wind chimes tinkling through the security camera on the front of the house, which plays on the small television I have here in my office for that purpose only, things like that.

Many mornings I awake before hubby. Sometimes, it's 4 or 5 am and I'll either read or come in here and prepare posts—one of my favorite things to do. But I let him sleep. I shut the bedroom door, don't turn on many lights and walk softly. I need the solitude as much as he needs the sleep. I don't need as much sleep as he does, I think. He works much harder than I do. He volunteers at our Family History center one day a week, another day he's in the Temple all day volunteering. Then he has the VFW, Marine Corps League, teaches classes at a career institute several times a month and is a leader in our Church, which means he gets called out a lot to help others who may need it. At 72 years of age, I don't know how he does it. I'm going to post this photo of him as he wouldn't mind at all. Does this look like a 72 year-old man to you? Not to me, he doesn't. He was giving me the evil-eye when I took this photo. He's also very funny sometimes and will tell people the biggest lies about me! They're sometimes surprised when they meet me.

I think he needs his solitude also, but he's gotten this huge desire to help people in any way he can lately. But his favorite thing to do is play cribbage on his computer or iPhone. He can do that for hours.

Anyway, he'll give me this look sometimes. He's a big ham also. And he's quite attached to his great granddaughters. I've never seen him so happy as when those munchkins were born or when we visit with them.

Back to solitude. I think we all need some of it just to get centered or get our lives in order where we can function. I know myself well and am very honest to myself about myself. If I don't balance myself I will lose the feeling of being centered. We all need some time to ourselves at least once a day, even busy moms. Sometimes, it's bathroom time. Sometimes, it's garden time. Sometimes, it's shopping for yourself time. But there's always a need for me time for everyone. Try and find what yours is. Mine is reading. I read voraciously. That's what I need to be taken out of this frenzied world sometimes. Remember: water cannot be drawn from an empty well. Give yourself the gift of time.

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Another lovely setting for some me time.

I'm partial to the rusticity of this wood and gate. Beautiful elements together.

Tiny vase of roses sitting on the floor.

Gorgeous white and very pale pink roses.

Not particularly elegant, but a beautiful bedroom nonetheless.

Donut holes in an elegant cup with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. I'd have put 3 scoops on there though. ;-)

What a beautiful closet and what beautiful things the homeowner has put in there. Love the shutter doors also.

Do I even need to say anything about this kitchen?!?! I'd love to have this one. Even though I hate the grind of daily cooking, I could just show it off. Right?

Can you imagine the amount of roses it took to make this tieback? Those definitely look real and not fake, too. Gorgeous! I doubt I'll be trying this one in my home though.

A stunning small dining room. Very elegant.

I like this idea also. You can hang anything you want on a chandelier.

I've been trying to find this Washi tape to use but haven't found the flower kind yet. I'm still looking.

And this is a chandelier!!! I've never seen one like it but it's fantastic.

One of the prettiest tablecloths I've ever seen. I have many tablecloths that I've given away to granddaughter but have a few left that I think I'll start layering on our dining table. I love that look.

Probably Italy, but I just love the quaintness of the streets and houses close together.

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Tidbit:

In 2011 the French actor, Gerard Depardieu, was on a CityJet flight on his way to Dublin to film a movie. The plane was delayed on the tarmac at the Paris airport. Nature called and Depardieu got up to use the bathroom. Flight attendants told him he'd have to wait until the plane was in the air. Depardieu, who suffers from prostate problems, couldn't wait—so he relieved himself on the carpet of the airplane, in the aisle, in front of other passengers. [I think he was well within his rights if they refused to let him do it the proper way—in the toilet. Especially with prostrate problems, you cannot wait.]
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Linking up with NMH Open House Party and Pink Saturday.

Conversation on Laundry

While our granddaughter and her family were here in March, she had to wash some clothes. I have a white Maytag top loader that is 18 years old and looks brand new as I wipe it down after every laundry day. Before that I had a Kenmore that was 30 years old in coppertone and was still washing, but we figured it was so old that it could give out any time so we replaced it before it did. The guy who bought it from us was thrilled to get it in such beautiful shape. We take excellent care of our belongings. She has a front loader on a pedestal and I think it's dark blue.

Anyway, she stuffed so many clothes in there that it could barely rotate and there was undissolved soap when I went in to put them in the dryer—in 2 loads. Top loaders don't take as much as front loaders as we had one just after we got married. They were much smaller then then they are today. So one day while talking to her on the phone, I mentioned about top vs. front. She said the top loaders today have a problem with the rubber seal/gasket or whatever it's called. The seal mildews. I've heard this from a few people. We never had that problem.

This led to a discussion about how to do laundry. I gave her some tips and she was grateful. Since she lived part time with her dad and part time with her mom growing up, I don't think anyone taught her the specifics of laundry. In fact, I had told her we thought about buying a front loader next time maybe. She doesn't particularly like the front loader and had never thought about them not being sold much before the craze hit recently. So I gave her a few tips on how to add detergent, whites only, darks only, baby clothes needing extra care, etc. She was grateful. She didn't really know how to do laundry properly. I do!

When the rubber gasket went out, they called a repair man. It was almost cheaper to buy a complete new washer. She about fell over at the cost. Her hubby went online, purchased the gasket, found out online how to install it and saved a great deal of money. He's very handy for a computer science major in college. ;-) I think she'll purchase a top loader next time though. She learns a lot from her Nana (grandmother).
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I remember these bowl covers from when I was a kid. I don't know if they make them anymore but they sure do jazz up a bowl when going to a potluck dinner or picnic.

I do lust after these kinds of tablecloths covering a table. Hmmmm. I may be able to make a longer tablecloth to mimic this effect. Just give me enough time!

It looks to me that this is either photoshopped or the sun had a wonderful glint to it the day the photo was taken. Love the pink surrounding the pool though. The pool reminds me of the one we had in Puerto Vallarta at Los Tules condos. Many days we had the pool all to ourselves. It was heaven.

This room is one—of many—of my favorites. I pretty much love everything about it, but I'd paint my walls pink.

I rarely can pass up a pretty rose without grabbing it for my Pinterest or blog. This looks like a wall hanging of some sort but not a painting for a wall.

Simplistic room but cleverly and graciously done.

I simply cannot pass up a cute small laundry room. They are just so darling most of the time, which just proves you don't need lots of cabinets or countertops to have a functional area for washing clothes. This homeowner has given it lots of cuteness with the blue check curtains and red check tieback and hanging laundry and a clothespin holder on pegs.

It's the little crock holding the bouquet that drew me in.

A simple little cove to sit in with a friend or hubby. Garden handy for them with chairs and a stool as a table.

I swoon over vignettes like this. And that cover on the arm of the sofa looks exquisite also.

A thick old vintage door, an old-fashioned mailbox, vines over the door of a stone house and moss or lichen growing on the stone path.

If blue is your favorite color, you have it here, especially with the pottery.

A very colorful house and steps with a handmade pond and table, chairs and bench to relax.

While I love that pink chair, notice the lamp. Very different and beautiful.

Two of my favorite flowers: roses and hydrangeas.

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Tidbit:

Hotel owners in Hastings, Nebraska, are required by law to provide a clean, white cotton nightshirt to each guest. According to the law, no couple may have sex unless they are wearing the nightshirt.
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Linking up with Transformed Tuesday.

A Marvelous Book to Read

I read an excellent book recently called Unbroken, a book about the survival, resilience and redemption of the human soul. I recommend it highly.

It was about Louis Zamperini and his capture during WWII. Hubs asked me to buy it as he had heard about it, so I did. It was a marvelous book. He's a history and military buff and I caught him being very emotional while reading the book. He told me I should read it and I did. I was in tears a lot. Zamperini gave up going to the 1940 Olympics to join the Marines and go to fight for his country.

Louis gets shot down along with everyone else in the plane he was flying in at the beginning of the war. He and two others get into 2 lifeboats. One man eventually dies in the lifeboat but Louis and his friend spend 47 days in the Pacific Ocean and are finally caught by the Japanese and spent two and a half years in captivity under the merciless opposing forces. I couldn't and wouldn't go into all the details but I'd like to offer a few details to you.

Now, this was during the 1940s so men were a bit smaller in weight than they are now. Louis weighed about 155 lbs. when he got into that rubber raft. When he was captured he weighed 67 lbs. You'll have to read how they survived by reading the book. And he was beaten just about every single day for two and a half years. Once the man in charge of the prisoners, a sadistic man, named Watanabe, had every single POW in the camp, hit Louis in the face as hard as they could. If Watanabe didn't think they hit him hard enough, he made them hit him again—hard—in the face. The soldiers kept count and they figure Louis was hit 220 times in the face in just that one day. He wasn't even recognizable.

But at the end of the war, Louis committed himself to the Lord through Billy Graham and tried to find the man to tell him he—Louis—had forgiven him. The man was contacted but refused to see Louis. It was an amazing book of courage, resilience, tragedy and forgiveness in this man's life. I recommend it highly, just to see how our POWs were treated and going against the Geneva Convention and killing them with all kinds of tortures and humiliating them by making them even eat the excrement of the animals. It is a powerful story and an absolutely astounding account of how they survived.
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Beautiful sunset plus I love bougainvillea and its fuchsia flowers. In Mexico, they put some on your bed at night along with chocolate of course.

Another living room I like. I've always been leery of putting shelves over a chair or sofa because of falling objects. I think this comes from the earthquakes we had in California and in Hawaii when we lived there.

A beautiful view from a living room is something I've always enjoyed. We can see our roses out front but with our large porch, not much else.

I love the pink plates under that lovely pitcher.

Okay, just how many people would want a bed around their swimming pool. It would be humid and smell like chlorine, but it sure makes for a pretty photo shoot.

This looks to be in a European country, but the verdigris faucet and that lovely handle would thrill me if I had it in my backyard.

Another beautiful porch with wispy sheer curtains blowing. What a lovely porch!

This looks to be some kind of resort as not many people could afford to do this to their yards. But wouldn't it be wonderful to visit this place?

I love the little cabinet and all the cute things she has put on its shelves.

A darling clutch purse.

While I love the color and the curtains, I'm not sure I'd want to live in a three-story house. No one could steal your laundry though. Prettily done however.

All kinds of fabric and ribbons.

My favorite pink colors in the fabrics and on the hydrangeas.

I'd take that gorgeous chair!

Yeah, yeah, a gorgeous hanging bed, but I'd be afraid hubby and I would come crashing down at some point. ;-)

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Tidbit:

James Dyson has invented a vacuum cleaner that can order its own spare parts.
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Why Do Women Decorate?

For a very long time I've wondered why women decorate the way they do. Oh, I've never gotten the answer as there are many and varied answers but I have noticed that some women don't decorate. They're happy with just a sofa, chair and television. Trust me, I know this. What is in our DNA that makes most of us want to have lovely homes and some of us to be happy with just the three above items? Now, I'm not talking expensive rooms, I'm talking about pleasing rooms. Personally, I could never live in a man-cave. It just wouldn't happen. I don't think my sweetheart could either. He wants me to be happy. And making my home the way I want it makes me happy. (Actually, he told me one time during an argument that his goal in life was to make me happy.) And, I absolutely couldn't live with my hubby telling me how or what I could put in our home (unless he was a famous designer and even then, it would be really iffy!). Okay, so he wanted a recliner once and I said, "No, absolutely not! If you want to recline, we have a $1,700 mattress on our bed for that."

I lived with a father who came home from work every night and fell asleep in his recliner. I determined later on in my life that wasn't going to happen in my home. Hubs rarely ever falls asleep in his chair, but if he does, I gently nudge him to go lay down on the family room sofa. He never does because he says he wasn't sleeping. Riiight! But the things we see in our parents' homes are usually something we don't want to see in our homes. That can apply to the happy things also, meaning we definitely want the happy things in our homes. Unfortunately, there wasn't much in the way of happiness in my younger life. Not bad, just not happy. Could I please get some insights as to what you do and the way you think about decorating your home? Don't be bashful, just tell me. I'm truly curious. Let's not make this about money either. That's usually the equation in most average homes. Please. I'm curious.
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I also want to tell you about an Australian woman, a fellow blogger, who has so much talent you'll want to cry. She has an e-book out. I'm giving you the URL and an image of what this book looks like. It's free to read online! You don't even have to pay for it. Just look and drool, chicks. If you don't, you'll be sorry, I promise you that. Simply click on the logo below:

This is a woman after my own heart. I love froufrou! Recently, I've had to do away with some of it as there just isn't enough room in my home to display all I want without looking cluttered. I needed more "space for my eyes", if you will. Sometimes we put so much in our rooms or on our walls that it doesn't give the eye a break. My eyes needed that break. I haven't done away with it all, just some that I thought I could part with at this times. But I have filtered a great deal of it out. ;-) Different seasons in our lives, I suppose.

There's something about this room I like but I simply can't put my finger on it. And yet, I still think it needs something, but again, I can't put my finger on that either.

If I dreamed of a cottage, this would be one of which I would dream. I think it's the huge arbor that I like so much though.

I am always, and I mean always, drawn to color and especially to pink. I insert these eye candy photos in here more for me than you; although, I think you like them also.

To have a beautiful balcony like this would be heaven if you lived in an apartment above the ground floor. You'd have flowers to view instead of nothing. I can't imagine looking out into nothing.

An English cottage would also be nice to have. I've had friends visit there and been told they keep their temperatures much cooler in their houses than we do. When we were in England, we never went into a private home. Our Mormon temples are kept at 72°. I just about roast when I go to the temple. In England, the people told the temple workers that they had to turn down the temperature in there because it was too hot for them. I'm with them! If you lived in England, you'd have much cooler temperatures in your house than you have here. Give me 65° any day and I'm happy. I've always been warm but it's affected me more as I get older. I've always wished I could be one of the old ladies who come to church in August in a winter coat! Hasn't happened yet and I'm into my seventies. Sigh.

This woman knows how to make laundry on the line look like a visual feast. For those of you who have dryers and never experienced a clothesline with white sheets and tablecloths on them, you have no idea the visual treat you miss or the audial  treat when it snaps in the breeze.

Just a peep through the door of this home can make you dream of leisurely pastimes.

Even storing linens and quilts can be a visual feast if you want it.

I had one of these hinged shutters until just a few years ago. I gave it to a friend. It had roses painted on it from a woman I purchased it from on eBay. But that's one of those things that had to go.

A friend of ours just got back from Ireland. He's a college professor and takes groups abroad in the summers. This year was Ireland, Paris and London. They loved Ireland. Even they thought it was greener that they imagined. The rain on the window reminds me of them washing their windows in the rain. Yep, they sure do. Cleanliness is very important to the Irish.

A very brave homeowner painted her house this color. It's the color of yellow I most like. And since, my favorite color combo is pink and yellow, I like this a lot.

My sewing and craft room will never look this neat. I have a plethora of stuff and can never make it look good beyond a few days. In fact, today is a day I've committed to not read. If I read, I'll not get anything done. So I'm writing this post and going back and forth into the sewing room to alter 4 pairs of linen pants I bought a few years ago and am just getting around to doing it.

They're not using wooden spools anymore for thread. It's just a plastic spool and I hate them. I loved the old wooden spools.

And here is a perfect example of a homeowner making her home suit her personality. She doesn't appear to follow the dictates of designers; she's made it her very own in the style that she loves. Definitely my kind of woman!

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Tidbit:

Rats destroy an estimated third of the world's food supply each year.
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Linking up with Pink Saturday.