A 'Few Good Things' This Week

A few good things that brought me joy this past week:

This shrub in my front yard, 'Fire Chief' Arborvitae, caught my eye because the cold has brought out it's most beautiful shade of rust red.  I was trying to get a picture of it with my coat and the wood, because it was the most perfect winter color palette.  I took cuttings to have inside and was thinking, "How can I get this palette in my house?"  Only to realize, it's pretty much the palette I have already!

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I've been getting outside to walk Monday thru Friday for 30-60min because I think the outdoors is good for both my mental and physical health.  It's been REALLY cold this week, but when I weigh it against walking on the treadmill the outdoors wins every time, lol!  There's something about the crisp air and brilliant sunlight that begs me to come outside and play.  Plus, by the time I bundle up with this coat I have, I have yet to not sweat under all the layers.  

Speaking of walking, I usually walk my hood, but took it to the park one day last week, and it did not disappoint!  It's a county park with your standard trails and a disc golf course.  But, if you frame the view right, there are moments where you can imagine that you're tucked away in the English countryside, which makes it look so beautiful even on a cloudy day.

And as I was ending my walk, the sun broke thru and gave the most brilliant cloudscape that I don't think I would have been able to see quite as well if I was at home.  What a gift!

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And finally, I ended last year, and began this year being sick, so last weekend was the first weekend we were able to go do something fun as a family.  And I had been wanting to get back to the High Museum on their Second Sunday which is free for the family.  So we did!

It was nice to get out on the town, and while I was there I remembered that there was a piece of art that I had been really wanting to see in person.  It's a piece by the artist Donald Martiny.  I came across him and his work on Instagram a few years ago, and have wished I lived near a gallery that has his work.  Well, a while back he posted that a piece was hanging in a building here in Atlanta, and I realized when we were at The High that it was only a five minute walk away. It was amazing! I know absolutely nothing about art, but his work speaks to me. I think because, to me, he takes the purest form of art...the brushstroke, and creates sculpture out of that.   

You guys, he creates this BY HAND!  And the color striations, the texture, the bubbles that you would see in a dab of paint that had been brushed thru...he gets all of that to show up in this sculpture.  And I just love that! 

That was my week...I hope that we're all are able to find a 'few good things' in the week to come!

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Life in COVID-19 as a Homebody

We asked ourselves at the beginning of the month, how many days has it been since we began actively staying at home.  As of today, Monday July 6th its been 115 days for us.  We began this period strictly staying home...literally only going out for groceries once per week.  We slowly added a in a few restaurant meal pick ups, and some runs to Home Depot/Lowes.  I think last month my husband, GB, went to his office a few days.  But not venturing out beyond that.  Now that cases are on the uptick here in our area, we have wound back down again to literally groceries.  And even that I am attempting to just pick up.

My heart and appreciation goes out to so many who work the front lines, in hospitals, grocery and drug stores, gas stations, and so many other areas.  Even more so to those who've lost jobs and especially those who have lost loved ones.  I don't take for granted that I have been incredibly fortunate thus far.  I do wonder sometimes if this will be our generation's equivalent to the Great Depression.  Not in terms of unemployement per se, though there have been high numbers, but to the sharp disruptions to life as we knew it.  You read stories of how people from that generation didn't believe in waste... they never wanted to go without like they had to during that time. What would be our great takeaway?  What would be your great takeaway?

I took this thing seriously when we were asked to stay home, but I honestly thought we would all go home for two weeks + the week of spring break at the end of March, and it would all be over.  I couldn't understand why people were panicking about losing their jobs over a two week shutdown.  But here we are.  

So here's something I've personally learned/confirmed so far. I am a homebody.  I already knew this about myself.  I like being home, taking care of home, having my people at home...knowing they are safe.  I sorta secretly relished being able to be home and have nowhere I was required to be or do.   I know this isn't everybody, it probably isn't most people, lol!  But in this moment in life, it has been an advantage.  

That being said, I am human. I have still mourned the disruption and loss of normalcy.  I love my little tribe, but we all get on each others nerves.  I want to go explore parks and nature, and travel, and have friends over in person.  I miss all of that.  I miss being able to just go to the store and find toilet paper at will!  (At least that part has slightly improved!)  Having no foreseeable end in sight makes people have what I am calling 'vigilance fatigue'.  We get tired of staying on our toes of conscientiousness.

BUUT...all that being said, I still take this virus very seriously and value life.  So we trudge on, good days and bad, and do what is necessary and what is in our realm of control to keep ourselves and our neighbors safe.

What about you?  Are you a homebody or a social butterfly? What's something you've learned or confirmed about yourself since the pandemic began?  

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Embracing Change

It's October 1st, and here in Georgia, it still feels like the dead of summer.   I guess the weather feels like I do and isn't quite ready to let go of summer yet.  I imagine that is the nature of change for some of us.  But like the seasons, it's inevitable.  Whether the temps are ready for it or not, autumn is here.  Leaves are falling. days are shortening, and the light is shifting.  All of which I am not quite ready for.   I l-o-v-e  LOVE the nine pm light in height of summer.  So what's a summer lover to do?

I am working on embracing the change.  In seasons and in life.  Sometimes it feels like it would be amazing to bottle up moments and times in life and just live in them just a little longer.

But change is always inevitable.  And there's always new beauty in the change.   Even in the shift to the fall season, there is beauty in the changing of the leaves, and the way the light comes in the house, and in the recipes you get to bring back out.  And if all else fails, there's always pumpkin spice lattes!  I'm hoping you're embracing the changing of seasons--both in nature and in life!  

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Pillows, Plants, and Purging the Past

First, I wanted to thank Andrea over at The Cottage Market Blog for including me in her round-up of Ikea Hacks with Pottery Barn style.  I thought it was quite the compliment that my Tarva nightstand hack has Pottery Barn style!

I can tell spring is near because the days are getting longer, the cherry trees are blooming, and we are  having some warmer days.  Not to mention, my allergies are starting up! I can't tell you how excited I am about Daylight Saving Time approaching.

There's been a lot on my mind lately, but one thing I am aspiring to do is stop shopping.  I've sort of unintentionally stopped buying.  Lately if I go to the store and see something I like, I ask myself, "Do I need this, or do I have anywhere to put this?"  And I usually walk out without it.  One blogger that inspired me is Cait over at Blonde on a Budget.  She's on a two year shopping ban after going thru a serious purge over a year ago getting rid of things she didn't need.  She inspired me to clear out my guest room and clean out my closet.   I also started going thru things in my attic, and got rid of a lot of clothes I had put up over the years with the hope I would one day fit back into them.

I also love reading Janet over at The Gardener's Cottage.  I love that she lives in a small 970 sf home, has also cut back on her possessions, and lives simply yet beautifully.  We live in an area where it would be almost impossible to find a house that small, but she inspires me to appreciate the abundance of space that I do live in.  The conversation has come up in our home of moving, and I can honestly say, I don't want any more space.  To me it's just more to clean, heat and cool, and maintain.

With spring approaching, instead of shopping, I've been swapping.  Since we had been sick, I did a major house clean yesterday, washing all of the pillow covers and bedding, cleaning bathrooms, and mopping the floors.  It felt like a bit of spring cleaning.  In the process, I swapped out the pillow covers for my sofa back to my spring/summer set.  (I love blues for the summer and warm colors for the winter.)  I also have been picking up some houseplants that to me enliven my home.  And with just those few changes, plus the amazing sunlight we're having, things feel fresh and ready to welcome spring!

Of course, I still have quite a bit of actual spring cleaning to do, plus the outside of the house needs quite a bit of work, including some landscaping (with the tree we took down last year), and house painting.  I can't figure out which one needs to be done the most, but we are hoping to get around to both of them this year.  I'll be back to share more of what I am doing to prep for spring.

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