Sweet Somethings

Those of us who enjoy decorating know the impact and satisfaction in creating vignettes, or switching up pictures  or chairs or lamps...you know what I mean...
                                                                               

or cushions...

Lately I have enjoyed adding a bit more greenery around my home..
               

The landscape outdoors can feel bleak and lack lustre so plants indoors help to add a garden feel...
                                                           

A few weeks ago I picked up this magazine called English Homes. Every page is filled with dreamy and idyllic photographs...I can almost pretend I too am planning a trip to England like Brenda...                                                                  

my painted hutch lends a wee English ambiance :)

Speaking of dreaming a little, I've been watching the last (sniffle) season of Downton...I ordered the DVD so we could watch at our leisure. It's such a different world and also such a similar world is it not? People are people no matter when or where they live..  Humans all have idiosyncrasies it seems..
                                                                 

I have also been making granola a lot this winter. It's such a yummy snack or breakfast...
                                                     

I don't know about you but I certainly love a clean window...they get dirty quickly out here in the country,  making me appreciate when they are clean!
                                                                 

Well I wrap up my week remembering how blessed I am. Yesterday I watched a young girl walking home from school. She had two crippled feet and walking was an awkward hobble. 
I knew I was supposed to see her...
Sometimes I get wrapped up in my own worries or concerns about my children or family when suddenly I am jolted into the realization of my gifts of health, strength and all sorts of providential blessings...
With this as my focus I wish you a blessed weekend.
                                                                

                                                      Thanks for stopping by. ~ Lucy~

sharing with..http://www.whitespraypaintblog.com/ and
http://www.poofingthepillows.com/

Along For The Ride

One of the most amazing things about travelling is the opportunity to observe cultures and ways of life and living, in the places you visit.                                               

My vantage point on the back of a motor cycle gave me much to view, observe, and contemplate, as we rode through many idyllic towns and villages.
                 

I find enjoyment in some of the simplest things, from cheerful laundry stretched out on clotheslines, and friendly chairs on front porches.
                                           

There's a welcoming persona in seeing people working in their gardens and homes and offering a wave when  you pass by.
                     

Beauty comes in so many forms, and I felt it was a gift to be able to partake of a grand feast of it.
                                          

One word seemed to preside in the meandering lane ways and spectacular vistas.    Belonging. 

be·long

bəˈlôNG/

verb

gerund or present participle: belonging

1. 1.

   (of a thing) be rightly placed in a specified position.

   
   
2. 2.

   (of a person) fit in a specified place or environment.

   
   

   synonyms:

   fit in, be suited to, have a rightful place, have a home.

                                                       

Isn't this the longing in all of us?

The last time my second daughter (who is trying to figure out her life right now) was home, I hugged her long, and I told her "I am praying that you find your place you belong, and you belong where you're placed.
                                 

Belonging. I see it in the eyes of the dusty gentleman sitting in his pick up truck at night, staring across the river at low tide. We exchange a greeting and smile and something recognizable is there.
                                                  

Belonging. I see it again in the Dad and daughter laughing, chasing their dog by the waters edge.

I see it from the lady who is shaking a mat over the veranda as we pass by, and I even  catch a fleeting glimpse of it from the old woman watering her tiny garden beside the freeway.

Belonging in an earthly sense, is essential to full and rich living. Resting in what is and isn't, the power we have and don't, are key components to thriving in our belonging
                                           

As we bid au revoir to a luxurious, care free week, and return home, I do so with a grateful heart, that's steeped in my place of belonging.


the first night we were away, I received a message from my youngest...it said, "Did you reach your destination yet?"
in the last town we visited this timely reminder was in the window...

                                                               

Happy Travels to you today friend.

Weekend Corners...

Since winter tends to be the time we draw in ....

a few vignettes for you this weekend....

                                      recently I found this shelf...I fell in love with it....
I think I'll enjoy changing up my display items...for now I like this look.....

and then I found I had
  a matching tea towel :)                                         

It compliments my painted hutch quite nicely.....

I added this little detail at the top....

 an old trunk which belonged to my husband's grandmother holds photo albums in my living room...

a few of the books I'm enjoying..

my front porch view from my front door...

Thank you for visiting....I am off to conquer this Saturday....

Lucy~~

Being and Seeing

This past week has blessed us with some stellar winter weather....(and that isn't an oxymoron.:)

I have grown to love winter.....dare I say it, and the frigid temperatures which induce a slower, more comfortable pace. 
Sunshine and  crystal clear blue skies were the theme for a few days this week.

                                          

                     treetops glistening and golden...
My favourite kind of day to be home without commitments and  head out and  on my cross country skis....                                       

                  my shadow and I are inseparable...:)

                                          

our horses...Sunrise and Jetta

a look back to home...

along the forests fringe...

I see the whisk of a tail as a deer disappears with in...

to be and see; two understated blessings in life....

Welcome To My Cape Cod Inspired Bathroom

                                                           

Many years ago we decided it was time to add a bathroom to the lower level of our house.
                                                                                                                  

My two oldest had moved down there to share a bedroom, and it soon became clear that a bathroom on that floor would make life much smoother for everyone!
Five females in one home was definitely enough reason, so  hubby rose graciously to the occasion, and the tedious renovation began.....

It did not take me very long to choose the theme for this bathroom though...
                                                   

                               a few touches here and there                                                         

                       the spacious shower is built in under a porch...double sinks are wonderful...
          even though it still takes them forever to get ready for bed!
                                                 

                                               a prayer of blessing tucked into the mirror...

I have always considered it quite a novel idea to have a claw foot bath tub. So my bathroom elements were pulled together around centre stage...

                                                                        

                               "I believe in another life I lived by the sea."


It was so much fun to put this room together. I still find myself soothed and calmed here as I soak in the tub or touch my bare feet to the  heated tiles on the floor.
                                                         

             the windows are built with etched glass, completely opaque, even though it doesn't look like it here... 

It's a little bit of the beach here in our home on the farm. A whisper of the waves crashing or sea gulls soaring. A small sanctuary and ode to the sea.
                                                                         

this is a photo I took quite at random at the beach...it made the perfect artwork for in here...
                                                                  

side note; This bathroom has recently "changed hands"...with Brittany getting married and Katrina in university, the younger two saw their opportunity and moved in.

I heard my youngest say to Katrina when she was home recently...

"ummm, we kind of took over your bathroom!":)

Thanks for visiting my Cape Cod bathroom.

It was a pleasure to have you here on it's shore.

~Lucy~

Finding The Glow

                     

         (illuminate)

            

one thing I love about the fall and early evenings is

the sparkle and illumination of light...

the gentle, hopeful resolution.

it is to my heart and mind...

Yes, it's dark out there. So hard to tell where 

                                      I've been.

Here the glow and the flickers of light illuminate, 

    sending me whispers of undulating hope.