Being Home #1

I was recently talking on the phone to a good friend who was a bit down and lives about an hour away. She's a stay-at-home mom - 4 kids, one boy on a mission, one daughter newly married and girl, 14 and boy, 17 still at home. She's feeling the soon-to-be empty nest syndrome and fretting about it somewhat. She's one of the best moms I've ever seen. She's very diligent and one child is her trial in life! Hah..... I know that feeling. But she's trying to figure out how to make her life mean more or as I put it to her the other day: finding her passion. And that's not yet within her reach or grasp - that Passion.

I talked with her for about an hour throwing out suggestions but she kept saying "no, that's not it." She paints in watercolors and is very good but that isn't a passion. We never did hit upon it and I know her pretty well. She doesn't give herself enough credit even when her wonderful hubby DOES. He loves her being home for their kids.

I have many passions. I think the strongest passion is decorating my home to be a refuge from the world in the coming times. My second biggest passion is painting a rose. Ooooh, I'd like to paint just about anything but roses were a true passion! I've finally produced one that I can "live with" (my old english teacher would cringe at that clause - ending with a preposition!).

But that got me to thinking about a lot of things I do.

I love being home and love having my time mine. Well, I do for the most part. When hubby went to San Diego for 4 days I missed him - especially at night. But my days were free from having to stop doing something and get dinners, etc. While pondering on this today I thought I'd post a little about "being home."

I love the freedom being here gives me. I didn't realize this until I chose to stay at home when we moved to Idaho several years ago. It's absolutely a choice I'd make again! I do realize it isn't for everyone, but I absolutely love it after all those years working at a job and trying to keep up a home while hubby and I shared duties and child raising. But bear with me for a little while, my sweet chicks.

Ironing. I love the sereneness it gives me. While ironing is a chore I put off until I absolutely have to do it, it still brings me pleasure. I love the iron gliding over the white shirts and pillowcases (when I iron them), the steam rising up from the iron and the way it looks in my linen closet. And the pride I get when I look at a "job well done." And the pleasure it gives Love Bunny when he puts on a crisp white shirt. I love the look of freshly laundered clothing hanging in our closet and peeking out at me from the shelves in our armoire.

Okay okay, so it ain't so neat; live with it!!!! ;-)

He's very picky about his collars since he's a retired Marine. *Sigh*............

You can see here I'm a very "colorful" chick. :-)

Okay, truth???? His white shirts that he only wears with a suit I only iron the collar and front. He never takes off his suit jacket so no problem here and it saves me time.

Fresh sheets with fabric softener just smell so good in the closet. Mmmmmmm....

I love the blue dials on the iron. I select things for color if at all possible and was fortunate here.

I think I am going to do a series of articles on this and what I do each day so you might want to stay tuned.

Greenhurst Nursery #7

I thought about now you'd be getting bored so I decided to mix up the photos a bit and go to the outside some also. Remember there were 225 photos that day and I've deleted very few so we're not even half way through yet, but more surprises are in store. I'll say it again: it's NOT your typical plant nursery! ;-) So stay tuned - if you're interested at all.

A "room" they have set up outside with various pieces of furniture and statuary.

Farther look at it. I'll show you the koi pond next to it at another time when we travel down the pathway to a waterfall.

Lots of rather high end furniture at this nursery - NOT your typical WM stuff!

For the dog and cat lovers even collars and leashes come in pretty colors - plaids, polka dots and roses! You must enlarge photo to see them well.

More chapeaux for la bebe....even a garden tote for the wee ones.

A little hanging sailboat for a new bebe to swing peacefully....the land of - "Winken, Blinken, and Nod one night sailed off in a wooden shoe"...... as in the old nursery rhyme........

Lastly, this little girly table in the kids section. I've love to have this but I have no place to put it and no great granddaughter........yet(!)........for whom to buy it!

We buy our roses right from this grouping of Jackson Perkins roses. In early summer this place is absolutely stunning, but you'd probably have guessed that already.

Looking back at the small shrubs and trees. I absolutely love to walk their pathways.

In the bitter throes of its existence, it is still exquisite.

This lovely pink rose is still struggling for life even after a snap freeze the night before I went to photograph the nursery. We all cling to this wonderful life, don't we?

Sewing/Craft Room Before and During

You've seen the before of this room. It's beige walls are now pink. See the transition below.

Jason, my sweet painter. Ain't he adorable?!?!

Getting better but still needs new pink toile curtains, pretty shelving put on wall you cannot see and tidying up and more frou frou stuff. My sewing table is another old school desk that has been green, blue and will be white soon. Probably last on list since it's getting colder now and can't paint outside. I can paint in garage still though, but it'll be several days before I can do this desk.

You can start to see some of the roses I've put on the wall near the ceiling - a frieze. I got up early this day and put all the roses on there. I had to measure for some and just "eyeballed" the rest. Turned out pretty good I think. But more to do, of course.

A Story of True Love!

I post pictures because I love eye candy mostly, but today I post pictures to familiarize you with the people in the story.

My son and his 2 boys several years ago. Boys are now 19 and 11.
Son and hubby last summer in southern California.

Son, wife and boys at thanksgiving 5 or 6 years ago.

I'll try to get through this without sobbing but, alas, that seems to be the "mood of the day" since my son told me this story 2 days ago. Let me start from the beginning a few years back.



My son and daughter have both done very well. Neither one needs to work anymore and they're in their mid 40s. They worked diligently to get where they are and simply love to work. They are both very loving kids and treat their parents very well emotionally and financially, although, we ask them to stop giving us stuff! Hubby and I are very proud of both of them. This story is about our son, who I'll just refer to at "K" since I don't often give out their names publicly. This is absolutely NOT to brag but it makes a difference when you know the whole story.



K, my son, and his wife own care homes in southern California. She is the business manager for them because if she depended on K they'd be toast! LOL She has the head for business and he has the heart. ;-) So after golfing, which is the love of his life after wife and 2 boys - now 19 and 11 - K decided to go back to school and get a nursing degree this time. You wouldn't believe what they pay out each month in nursing fees for their care homes. If K had an RN degree they could keep that money and start a side business to complement their care home business. So he got the RN degree last year and wanted to work for the VA hospital. He has always been a tender-hearted kid and just wanted to give back to his country since he was in the Marines as a 21 year old young man. He was hired. This is where the story I'm about to tell you begins. You needed that background.



Several days ago he had 4 days off. Well, he works the night shift so it can give him time to golf (Heaven forbid, he can't golf every single day, but he honors the Sabbath and does not golf on sunday). There's a man in a bed on his floor in the VA Hospital named M, affectionately known as Big M. He has cancer. He and his wife talked it over and prayed about it and they decided to be aggressive in their pursuit of the cancer. K and he bonded because he's a former Marine also. When K came back on duty that night after 4 days off Big M started sobbing. Now this is a 6' 5", 240 lb. man. He sobbed and hugged Keith because he was so glad to see him. K is the only one there that takes such good care of him that he really missed him. His wife has also befriended my son. K went out from the curtain around M's bed to get to the other side and the patient in another bed called his name "K"!! K turned and looked and the other patient had a big smile on his face and told him also that he was soooo glad K was back. All the patients on K's floor say he is the one who cares about them. He will drop whatever he's doing to get them their pain meds. He says that is the most important thing in the world to him - making sure they have their pain medications. They absolutely adore and love him and K loves them much also. He just wants to make a difference in the lives of those who have fought for our country.



He called me and told me they removed a chunk of M's colon the other night and told me specifics about it that aren't printable here but K says it's still very serious. I cried and cried. Then I thought about our religion. My son holds the Priesthood of God and can give blessings. I told him to go and give M a blessing of healing. K said mom, he isn't our religion. I said it doesn't matter. He said I'm not sure he'd accept it. I said any man or woman who is dying would accept it no matter what; you/they don't give up hope!! I was adamant about him finding another priesthood holder, perhaps even in the hospital, and asking M if he'd accept a blessing. K felt hope at that point and said he'd absolutely do it.



Well, not one to sit around and wait for things to happen and also because it touched my heart so much, I called K last night and asked for M's room and bed number. He couldn't believe I'd call M myself and just chuckled. Now, this is a man who's been raised by me his whole life and doesn't get it?!?!?!? So I rang up M and his wife answered the phone at his bedside. (K's only instruction to me was to make it short as he is on heavy pain meds. Sheeeesh!! LOL) I asked for M and she asked who I was and I told her and she handed M the phone. I introduced myself to him and he was flabbergasted that a mother of his nurse would call him in a hospital bed in Calif. all the way from Idaho. He also said I sounded like a teenager. I guess I had his wife a bit "concerned" for a few seconds wondering what chick would be calling her hubby. But I didn't keep him on the line long and I asked him what religion he was. He told me and I asked him if K could give him a blessing. He was astounded and I think he was in tears to think my son loved him so much and I loved him so much to help him live long enough to see his 6 kids get through college. M is a 30 year old black man and we're white. Color of skin has absolutely nothing to do with love in your heart. He told me that he could not believe someone who didn't even know him could care so much about him. Yes, we love M and he's touched our lives so deeply just in the past few days. K will give him a blessing and we're hoping beyond hope he is left on this earth for many years more. He and his wife sounded like sweethearts and I'm sure he and K are friends for life, however long that may be for either of them.



I've wept and sobbed my heart for 2 days on this. I can't even begin to imagine how it would be for M and his wife and their 6 children who must be young if he's only 30 years old. I've prayed so much these last 2 days for the Lord to spare this wonderful young man. I know my son will never ever forget him. I won't either. He loves my son and my son loves him. They'll have a bond that transcends this life into the next one. I'll meet M someday whether in California or heaven and when I do I'll smooch and hug that huge man for the love he has given my son and the love my son feels for him.



It's taken me hours to write this. I've sobbed and wept through a half box of tissues but I think it's important for people to truly feel this love "that knows no end." Transcends gender, color, religion, background, age, etc. Love is love. You either have it or you don't. I'm talking about that "true love of Christ."



I had to write this to get it out of my head and heart. I ask only that those reading it pray for this sweet young man and his wife that he makes it. Prayer can definitely help. If you don't believe that then there isn't much more to be said. I believe that my son and my daughter both have this kind of love in their hearts. I'm very proud of both of them!
~*~



The parents who raised this boy.......uuuuuhhhh, we were a bit younger in this picture but yep, it's us in our "yuppie" days in Mexico. Gotta laugh at those hairdos and the weird hat they made hubs put on that day. Sheeeesh........ ;-)

Pink Saturday 11/08/08

Today I'm gonna let ya look at a few pix from the Greenhurst "series" to see just a fraction of the delights in store for you. I'm working as fast as I can to get all the photos edited for you. I've been posting only 10 at a time for easier viewing but I added another 110 photos today when I went there to capture more from their Holiday Open House! Ooooohhh my blogging friends.......I swooned when looking. But for today you're gonna get just a little of what's ahead in the coming weeks. I'm going to have to post more pix on each post or it'll be next summer before we finish. The people there today were just beside themselves with the fantasy abundantly displayed. So enjoy for today.......

Cowgirl Christmas!

They even have an "Aloha Christmas" setting. Yesssss!!!! I only got a few pix there as it took me an hour and I was getting hungry for lunch. That place is beyond fantastic. Wait till I show you what you can get for a cool $1,900.00!!! I'll put that one up quickly. You ain't gonna believe this one, chicks. LOL ;-)