The Season of Miracles

Easter is, of course, about the resurrection of Christ, a celebration of miracles. That said, I also associate it with new birth, and rebirth....a dying-down, and a rising-up...reaching the depths of dispair, and finding that one can rise above dispair. The harbinger of Spring and new life ahead.My dear Marty, of "A Stroll Though Life", is having a cloche party...I tried to leave a comment, but, of course, it didn't take...Not sure how to join the party, but Marty (hey, we're rhyming here!), this one's for you. I gathered all my bunnies, and had my own "Easter Bunnies on Parade".

I painted this painting years ago, and didn't finish it...finally, it is finished...It represents my garden in Wisconsin...It's planting time here in Texas, and the plants in the foreground are: dill, tomatoes, and basil. The deer won't eat the basil, I know, but I have to figure out how to protect the tomatoes..probably tpees. Anyway, it's raining today, so I won't be planting...

Here is our miracle girl, Gussie, who loves to sun herself in the master bathroom. We have a glass-block window, and both our orchid and Gussie love it there. Having lost her sight and regained it is truly a miracle (thanks to God and modern medicine). I am going to be driving to Wisconsin in a few weeks (all by myself...to see my dentist..the one's here scare me)..anyway, I am the one who administers her meds..and it is a battle. The next miracle is that my husband can do it instead. She's fourteen, and it's just this year that she allows him to even pet her...we are going to have to get very creative about this. My husband used to be a scientist, and worked with lab animals all the time (he left the labs because he couldn't stand having to experiment and "sacrifice" so many animals)...so, he can do the administering just fine - it's catching her that will be the miracle. Without a dosage every day, she would go blind again. So, we will start practicing soon.

So, to all of you, please never stop believing in miracles, they have and do happen...sometimes, we forget that - Happy Easter!!

Our Guest Bedroom

Since it is such a beautiful, spring morning, I went in to the guest bedroom, and opened the windows to let in fresh air. It is especially pretty in the mornings, as it gets Eastern light. The curtains are auburgene, and completely block the light, but the valences (which need to be adjusted in this photo), are trimmed with crystal beads, that act as prisms, bouncing light all over the room...like fireflies. I decided since the lighting was so good, to photograph it and share it... Here's my secret confession....my husband uses this room more than our bedroom (we snore), but we do start out together, as reading in bed is our favorite way to go to sleep. Usually, one of us bales right after the snoring commences.....The "puff" at the end of the bed is for when the nights get chilly...it's about time to store it away. I had it covered with a duvet cover, but it made it too heavy, as the duvet under it is covered already.

Many of you know that in another life, I was a photographer...I specialized in hand-painted, black-and-white photography...literally painted them with special oil paints. The photograph is "porch feet", as I was photographing a lovely, young girl, and was drawn to the position of her feet, along with the dress draping so well (and, no, I do not have a foot fetish..shoe fetish, yes)..

I love the doors in our home...it was a spec house, not even halfway finished, but I could tell that the builder was "upgrading"..no hollow-core doors here, and I loved the way he framed them...I was in time to select my hardware, which is oil-rubbed bronze, and I do love the curve of the levers..(so does our Gussie, who is able to open them-she also can open pocket doors)...

The angel on the bedside table was the infamous musical angel that belonged to our dear, departed, Aunt Lily...she reaches out to us through it (really). Today is our 27th anniversary, and when I walked into the room, it begain to play...the only other time was the night before her funeral...it plays "sleep in heavenly peace" from Silent Night. Thank you, dear, sweet Lily.

We have "pillowtops" over the mattress, which gives it a bit of a "lumpy, dippy" feeling in the photo, but snuggling into it is heavenly. I made the pillows, along with the duvet cover. I found the fabric years ago at a shop that was going out of business. I had no idea when I bought it (along with the stripe) what I would do with it, but the fern pattern is so lovely-and it was on sale at $10 a yard...I bought all that she had!

Double-click on the bird pillow, and you will see that I sewed crystals on it...notice the one in it's beak...You don't have to be obsessive-compulsive to be a designer, but it helps..

I found this mirror at a garage sale...$40.....my husband thought I should sand it and refinish it, but I love the patina of age.....it give such character...I often wonder what it has reflected over the years....

This is my in-laws wedding portrait...circa 1944........

This is a detail of the doorchest, topped with photos..They are of my mother-in-law, who came from such a beautiful family. That's her wedding portrait...she was a high-fashion modle in New York City, and married my father-in-law on Park Avenue...He was a hair dresser in a very "chi-chi salon"...The man is my late brother-in-law...he looks so happy in this photo, but was a tortured soul..poor man.

This side is my husband's grandmother, "Marm", and his grandparents are in the round photo..the smaller photo is of his parents..on their first date...taken in Central Park...The little carving is of kangaroos,...when you take the top of, there are little, teeny,tiny boxing gloves inside..I gave it to my husband for our anniversary...thought it was funny.

I do rotate photos in the house, but these are a permanent display..they just belong to the room.

This table was from go old "TJ Maxx", and I (again) love the aged patina. The space on that side of the bed is small, so this is fine...I have a standing, antique lamp (when my husband looked at these photos, he commented that the lamps seemed to small, but I like the standing one.)..The little chest I tucked in contains baubles and trims I've collected over the years. I truly believe our homes reflect who we are, and I've done dozens of client's bedrooms that are opulent, "over the top", but we prefer quiet, soothing, simple, and charming...I think it is..it's one of the loveliest rooms in which to awaken on a sunny morning..lying there, watching the "fireflies"

Editing is Everything

Today has been one of many stressful days of late...troubles with my health, and troubles with our Gussie Cat's health..Good news..she had dental surgery today, and has come through it just fine....(I know, this is a design blog - or it started out that way, but has become more of a blog about a designer).. Poor Raisenette Funicello Buttafuco is crying right now (he's Gussie's Bubba - that's brother in Southern Speak)..and he wants to go outside and roll around in the grass (fire ants), and or roam our woods...He is declawed (never do that again), so he is bound to the porch and his place under the live oak just beyond the porch. I have to make sure he isn't harmed...I just chased him indoors, explaining to him that I just saw some very large crows, chasing a black cat through the woods, and thought it might have been him..He was hiding behind a tree, but I saw his tail.

For those of you who haven't read before, Miss Gussie went completely blind early in the month, but with meds and a great vet, her retinas reattached, and she can see again. Now, her mouth will be fixed, and hopefully, she can live out the rest of her years pain-free and seeing. She is getting pretty tired of me coming up to her, and waving my hand around in front of her face...just to make sure she can still see.
About Editing....I am taking a short break from editing the living room...I realized that things were "stacking up"....magazines, books, cd's, family photos...all things that enrich my life, but have a way of suddenly becoming clutter...The same with my bedroom, kitchen, and my office is just still out-of-control...

Today, I took the magazines (either design, gardening, birding, cooking, or art), and cut out the articles and photographs that I wanted to save. I put them in binders in sleeves according to catagory. I must have a dozen of these by now, but I can put them in my bookcases in my studio (which have curtains on them), and access what I want when I want.

I have so many precious photographs of my family, friends, pets, and travels, that are beautifully framed, but I find that if I put them all out at once, every horizontal surface in our house would be covered. I put some away, and rotate them about every six months. There are some that are permanently on display, but again, there can just be too much.

I am also editing my thoughts...I find myself lying in bed at night, thought zinging about...about my health, my cats, my family, the recession, the sadness and anger in this world, (not necessarily in that order), and I have to tell myself, that there are things about which I can do something, and others I just have to let go.

I have posted the photograph of our lovely orchid, which is blooming again...it lives in our master bath, as it gets great light there...indirect, but just enough...It also likes the humidity our showers provide. I love the orchid, for it represents beauty and simplicity....Which is how I need to live my life....