Sometimes life changes unexpectedly. It can be most anything. A job loss, a fractured ankle, a death of a loved one, a robbery, storm damage. Sometimes it is a good change, a new baby, a pay raise, a unexpected gift.
Every day is going to be different and what we do with that day is a choice. Many of us live with some kind of pain, physical or emotional. Sometimes we can push through and sometimes we cannot. Most important is we try.
As many of you know I have had some health setbacks this summer and I finally had to give in and rest my body and I also had to make a change. I had to heed the warnings my body was telling me and rest.
It is important to understand that if something is not working right we do not need to keep doing the same thing. We need to change to better our situation. If our diet can improve then we need to change that. If our mood can be helped then we need to do something to about that.
The main thing is to not just become stale and engulfed into this state.
I decided if I was going to have to rest more in bed I was going to make those pillow cases I have talked about since last year.
It is difficult to get something started when we don't feel well but once we start it seems to move a little easier.
I finally made those pillowcases. :) And I decided to keep the sewing machine opened.
Then I started making those curtains I have talked about.
The change of scenery motivated me to pull out the older tablecloths that needed mending and use them anyway tatters and all.
If we use a tattered tablecloth we don't have to worry so much about messing it up. :)
The curtains are not completed but they are no longer just folded fabric waiting to be made into something. I decided it was time to add more color in the house, it seems to help me feel better and Charles likes it too.:)
We have two tables now so I dressed the other table in blue. I have always enjoyed textiles as they warm the home with whimsy or expression.
Charles made breakfast this past weekend. He enjoys cooking when he has the time so he made us homemade egg on English muffins with Canadian bacon and cheese. He added homemade fries and as long as we don't eat this every day it seems to be okay and it was very delicious. I prefer we get our oatmeal and fruit and we do so this was a treat.
There was another small sewing job that needed to be done, I have been putting off making the doggies new leashes. These store bought ones have seen their day.
This one I had made many years ago has held up well but I never made another and we have three doggies, Katherine, Elizabeth and Bernadette.
So I got out some cotton fabric and cut some wide strips and sewed them together to make them long enough...
I folded the join over and sewed it down to secure it.
I pressed down some fusable web backing that white thin stiff batting I cannot recall the name. I cut it into strips.
Folded and pressed it...
Folded and pressed again...
Then sewed around all sides...
i used the same hardware that came off their other leashes.. I made one longer for Elizabeth since she is a little larger than Katherine and Bernadette.
I decided to make matching collars and I asked Bernadette to show us and she tried but was not happy about it because she does not understand what a camera is.
So Katherine took one for the team to show off their new collars and leashes. So never throw away the old leashes and collars without removing the hardware. I also suggest taking pictures of how the collars are put together before cutting them off if you have never made one before.
All three of our babies are microchipped and they always wear their collars with identification.
I think I showed you the very old Chifferobes we bought for $25.00 They were in pretty bad condition and Charles has been working on them. This one above he has cleaned up pretty good now and he is rebuilding the drawers and has the wood insert for the door and a mirror for the hat cabinet. This one is more rustic and still has a lot of work and the other one has more ornate detail work on it. I will show them to you when he is finished. We have not decided on the type of finish.
Many of our old pieces we have brought home in pieces. Our buffet we had to bungie cord it together to even get it home as it was in pieces and now a beautiful piece in our home. It was being discarded due to the poor condition.
The only other change I can think of is the oak wash stand is in the kitchen now being used as a small island to make bread on. Charles added a ledge on the back of it to hold the laundry drying rack and a very good location for it.
I keep moving things about to get the home more accessible. I like having the pots and pans out from under the cabinets. Living with vertigo, things need to be to where we don't have to bend down to look for things. I would rather walk across the kitchen than to pull things out from under the cabinets.
Sometimes we need to mend our home. Don't go back to normal if normal wasn't working well, make some kind of change. If we have a fall because we have tripped over the rug then remove the rug.
If our health is bad then we try and find the cause instead of just a cure or otherwise it may come back. Some times we cannot find a cause but we can do things to improve the quality of our lives by improving our diet and our surroundings. The health of our home is very important for the health of our body. Freshening the home with cleaning and color changes, smells from the kitchen with a pot of soup simmering on the stove and hot bread coming out of the oven can make us feel better.
I am thankful we have seasons that change as I would not want to be stuck in just winter all the time or sweltering summer. My mother would change curtains when the seasons changed. So change can be good even if we just fluff it up a bit.
Our home needs care the same as we need care and we should slow down and do both. Grandma Donna
