"Memries, like the corners of my mind..."

When I was a little girl, I read a story in my elementary school library about a woman who wanted to make the world a prettier place. I loved the book, but promptly forgot about it, except this idea about a woman who could simply walk by a field and flowers would blossom.

Growing up, my mother's parents would come to visit, for months at a time! They would park their motorhome outside my bedroom window. I would come home from school and see granny unclipping her dry laundry from the line she put up moments after her arrival. I would drop off my bag and hop over to the motorhome for Danish cookies. Do you know the ones?

I loved these. (I wish I knew where to buy these).

I remember my mom saying that her rose bushes seemed to grow faster or bloom bigger after granny walked by. And that thought has never left me, imprinted in my heart and memories. So whenever I think of her, I would remember that story of a woman who walked by a field and flowers would bloom.

For years, I have been trying to find the title of the story that has been so much a part of my childhood and I didn't even know what it was called.

The husband and I have been living in our new home for almost a year now and we're trying to figure out how to decorate our bedroom. He had this idea to find scientific drawings for his side of the bed whether it was of sea shells, coral, something. On my side a painting of the same subject and in the middle (above our bed) a photograph of said subject. He brought up lupin. Apparently, there were lupin fields where he grew up. The name alone didn't spring to mind a picture so I googled it.

And this book was among the search results. The cover looked familiar so I clicked on it, revealing a story that I remembered but had long forgotten.

This story that had been in the recesses of my inner memories once again sprang to the forefront. I lovingly attacked the husband with thank yous pouring from my mouth. I almost cried.

Endless Possibilities

Another month has passed and my pen is a little rusty. I feel like I haven't written in ages, but I have been otherwise occupied: setting up house. As much as I looked forward to having my own home (9 years in the making) I didn't realize so many projects lay ahead of me. Thankfully, we've had in our budget the ability to hire a painter. I'd probably still be sleeping in the guest room if I was in charge of painting which would have been really awkward when my parents came to stay. At this point in time, all the rooms have a purpose and direction. The husband has his office for the tortuous week he is on-call, although the guest room isn't painted yet, I have a design scheme in mind, our bedroom makes me happy every time I walk in, the kitchen just screams vintage eclectic (I'm screaming too) the living room exudes relaxation with a pop of excitement, the loft will play a key role in creativity as well as organization (my personal office space), and the little man has a mostly functioning bedroom and dresser situation. We bought a dresser for our son at a thrift store and immediately started brainstorming on how we could re-imagine it to fit our needs. However it is still presently in the entry way until we get it painted. (So many projects!) I haven't clawed out my eyes or pulled out my hair (yet) because I haven't gone anywhere in three days. I knew that home ownership would change me. If I waited three days to go anywhere if I was still living in the rental, I would be blind and bald.

I like being home. I am grateful that I get to be a SAHM especially in this economy. I love that I get to spend time with my son and teach him what an anemone is while watching Finding Nemo. I like looking out my kitchen window and seeing the mountains. And once we get around to it, I'll like my backyard too.



Pictures soon to come!

~Lady Jane

A Lot Can Change in a Matter of Hours

Have you been enjoying the roller coaster ride as much as we have? Like I said before, I should have learned my lesson seven years ago to never work with HUD. They weren't willing to negotiate the price or allow us to get another appraisal completed. Just a bunch of back and forth, "We sent it to you," "Well we didn't get it" so we walked away. It certainly wasn't worth the headache and motion-sickness anymore.

As much as I liked the layout of the house, it was definitely built in the 90s; weird niches for giant televisions gone extinct, outdated floor plans and not enough storage. The one thing that I will miss, is the backyard. I loved that backyard! I could imagine little F playing on his newly acquired plastic jungle gym/slide and walking in and out of the playhouse, while I happily watched him, washing dishes at the kitchen sink. There is another house out there for us, that will be the right one. I have to stay positive and motivated because there is no way I'm staying in this rental until I'm 30! Not gonna happen!

We'll keep looking (I've already found a couple strong contenders) and make plans to go look at some more. But past me has to convince future me not to get too excited about anything until I've weighed all the options. Who knew that making a Pro/Con list would help? I'm a believer!