I ♡ Antique Malls

I think I've mentioned before that I do not enjoy shopping.  Recently I rediscovered that isn't exactly true. I had forgotten how much I enjoy antique malls.

One lovely fall day, we spent 3 hours walking around, looking at and remembering things we had long ago. Oh, if only I knew way back then that my unwanted junk would be worth so much now!

We did bring home a few treasures. We found an upholstered ottoman,  4 mugs to match our 70's Correll,  and a couple Christmas tree ornaments. My 12 year old son used birthday money to buy a knife. And, many of the vendors gave a 30% discount for cash!

 This particular mall is 40 minutes away, near a favoriye park, making it a good day trip stop. We will be back! I have my eye on a Pyrex bowl set!

Contentment in Nature

My cousin took this photo while out on a walk with her dog one morning.  When I look at it, I feel such contentment, so I thought I'd share it here.

When Dreams Are Put on Hold

Our recent move seemed like the perfect opportunity to realize some dreams, but alas, that was not in the budget.  Our new home, while lovely and very cozy, sits in the middle of a typical newer neighborhood, something I thought I would never do again.

The bottom line was this is what we could afford.  There were no homes on land in our price range that were inhabitable.  Either you had a nice house on no land or land with a house that needed tearing down.  So, in the spirit of this blog, I am truly content to be where I am.

I am thankful we can own a home again, something I did not dare think about too much.  I am thankful to have all that I need and a lot of what I wanted.  I will work to make this home, home.  And truly, if this home were on 5 acres, I would not be any more content.  The 5 acres would just require more effort and perhaps right now a quarter of an acre is plenty.

September Garden Update

My little wild garden is in its final stages of glory.  We got 5 fat, juicy cherry tomatoes this week from the volunteer tomato plant.  The Morning Glory is so pretty.  Those seeds were given to me and frankly, I did not expect them to do so well.  It has taken over.  The herbs are all going crazy.  Bees buzz around constantly.  This has to be my favorite year with this garden.  Of course it is now my last year here at this house.  That's OK.  I have made the most of what I had here.  Next year, I will have a new garden to tame, Lord willing.  There will be new ideas to try.

Even a Good Change Can Be Hard

Will the Morning Glory bloom? 

There are some big changes on my horizon, and as with many people, change is hard for me.  All of a sudden, it seems, I am asked to leave my comfort zone, and I struggle to embrace this as an opportunity for growth.  I had in my mind that we'd be moving when our lease is up, in a year and a half.  I am doing better now than when the idea to move first appeared.  But to be truthful, I would love to just hide away right now and not deal with all the stuff.  (I need a moving fairy to come!)

I am excited to be possibly buying a house instead of renting, although, this huge debt scares me.  I have grown fond of not having any debt!  I know a house will be different than consumer debt, of course.  I will have to work hard at not wanting more house than we can afford.  This will not be my dream house.  It will be the house we finish our family.  Perhaps the dream house will come later.  Perhaps it will not.  I am at peace with that part of myself, the part that dreams.

Most likely, we will be moving into a slightly smaller house, still spacious, I am sure.  But, we will still need to take a hard look at every object in our possession before we move.  Every.  Last.  Item.

I have made several trips to Good Will.  I have another load to take soon.  Depending on the house, we will purge furniture, too.  I am happy to let it all go.  The more the better, I say!  My kids are trying to go through their stuff as well.  We may be having the boys share a bedroom.  It could get tight.  But I know it will be OK.  Plenty of siblings share rooms.

I am looking forward to making a new place our home, our refuge.  I will be looking for a sunny backyard in which to grow a real garden.  I am looking forward to painting my daughter's room blue, a dream of hers.  If the loan all happens, I will call myself blessed for sure!  Until then, I purge on!!!

A Simple Summer

The herb garden is quite lush right now.  

What makes up a successful day?  Recently, this question has often been on my mind.  You see, this summer, unlike any other that I can recall, has been rather simple.  There have been more quiet days at home than usual.  We have not ran around very much.  We have spent whole afternoons reading, building with Legos, watching old movies, or playing board games.  Not a lot of heavy housework has been done either.  And recently, the heatwave has kept us inside more than I would care to be.  All this downtime has been wonderfully restoring to me personally.  We did spend a crazy week at VBS last week, but other than that we have stayed mostly quiet.

I have fought the temptation to feel as if we are being unproductive.  Quite  the opposite is true.  I think we are being wise.  A busy school year is fast approaching and we will need to be rested and ready.  We will need to be good and ready!

So, the other day, I asked myself what makes a successful summer day?  I came up with a baseline for myself.  If these things happen, then I can look back and say that I have been productive enough.

My morning routine...

• Make and have breakfast with my husband
• Enjoy my coffee 
• Read my Bible and pray
• Clean up breakfast
• Feed the wild birds, change their bird bath water
• Water the outside plants
• Take a short walk
• Shower
• Swish and swipe the bathroom (Flylady style)
• Make our bed
• Start a load of clothes
• Empty the dishwasher
• Plan dinner 
• Computer time 

The afternoon is pretty loose.  I make sure laundry is getting done, the dishes and kitchen are being kept up, and dinner is ready when my darling comes home from his hard work day.  We do spend some time cleaning in the afternoons, but we do it mostly when there are people coming over.  Otherwise, we have free afternoons to work on things we want to work on or go swimming if invited.  

These simple days of summer will be over in less than a month.  I am hanging on to each one, feeling satisfied that we are making the most of them, right here at home.  

The Dog Days Are Here

The dog days of summer are here.  I have to work harder this time of year, work harder at being content.  Hazy, humid, hot days drag me down, as much as the bitter, dreary, cold days of a long winter do.

It occurred to me yesterday that these seasons are really no different. Both must be cheerfully endured. Both must not be wished away. Both have their good points, when one searches with diligence.

After reminding myself of the many good points of this season, I discovered a renewed joy in summertime. Even on a very warm, muggy day, at the very least, I can rejoice that it is sunny and I do not have to struggle with Seasonal Affective Disorder!

Today, I am busy in an air conditioned house. Yes, I will hate the electric bill a month from now. Yes, I am feeling cooped up. But at least the sun is shining and I can enjoy this season, for it is short and soon another season will be arriving, bringing relief.