Dear Reader:
The only “unhappy” spot in my house is the location of my kitchen sink…my window-less kitchen sink.
I need to go to some contractors’ meeting one day and tell every contractor around that no one should ever build a house with a kitchen sink that doesn’t have a window in front of it to look out of… (Of course I realize that having two units in one house pose some problems but with a little creative thinking…I do believe my house could have been rearranged to accommodate this situation.)
Call me crazy…true confession time…but I have been lugging dishes, pots and pans and silverware from my kitchen to the B&B side to wash over there so I can look out the window at my garden and watch the butterflies and bees flitter throughout my sanctuary.
I, also, watch the grandchildren’s trees grow…inch by inch and change colors. I see the moon flower vines finally climbing up the magic moon gate and the passion flower vine adding more buds each morning.
I get so caught up in God’s “Playground” outside the kitchen window I forget I am even washing dishes…if I finish too soon…I grab some dirty dishes out of the loaded dishwasher and wash some more. See…I told you I was nuts!
Actually there is another and more logical reason for lugging the dirty plates and utensils over to the other side beside nature….as much as I love it…my hot water heater died a few weeks ago.
Since I am blessed to have two sides (within one house) with different units and appliances…I have been showering and washing dishes on the other side. This has led me to the conclusion that no one should ever have to load a dishwasher or wash a few dishes in a kitchen sink without a window…there is something really aesthetically incorrect with that situation.
Monday I finally broke down and called SCE&G to come put in a tank-less hot water heater…because the heat got to me. ( I don’t run any electricity on the other side unless someone is staying over there…and it was getting too hot…even in the early mornings to stay over there for very long.)
So now I am the proud owner (scratch that…the proud “indebtee”to SCE&G for the next several months) of a tank-less hot water heater…sure hoping that it saves as much on monthly bills as I have heard from numerous people.
So now that I am no longer ping-ponging back and forth with towels, washcloths, extra clothes, and dishes…I decided to add some new sayings to the shelves on my side so, at least, I have something fresh to think about….like:
“Once in a while…right in the middle of an ordinary life…Love gives us a fairy tale.”
and “Live the Life You Imagined.”
I think I will change the messages periodically to keep me pondering new thoughts and ideas.
My summer readings (you might remember) started out with Karen White’ s latest novel: The Sound of Glass...to date it is still my favorite and most memorable summer read.
Part of the reason has to do with the story behind sea glass and the beautiful light and sound it makes when mounted as chimes.
I got so caught up in the story…that I ordered a sea glass chime and hung it from the moon gate…now in the early mornings and late evenings…I sit on the deck or in the garden and listen to the chimes and remember some of the memorable quotes from the larger-than-life character… Loralee in the book.
Scroll down this website and you will see the trailer to “Loralee’s Journal of Truths“- *You will get to hear some of the funny and wise thoughts of Loralee that she wishes to leave for her ten year old son one day.
New York Times Bestselling Author Karen White: Official …
From the novel I, now, like to think about sea glass (called the mermaid’s tears) …pounded and battered at the bottom of the sea… until one day the glass rides a wave onto the shore…(and though mishapen and discolored)…it still shines and bring joy to the world through its beautiful light and music… if transformed into a chime.
So until tomorrow…let us remember that light does shines on brokeness, like the sea glass, but it also reveals the perseverance, strength, and beauty within each of us.
“Today is my favorite day” Winnie the Pooh
* Anne returned from Oregon so it was time to replace Boo’s Garden jar with more flowers…and I took a “pot luck” dinner over…(which might put me in the Guinness Book of Records for going the longest period of time without cooking…it was a pot roast with all the fixings/potatoes/carrots….rice, butterbeans and mac and cheese.)
(The way I see it…if you are going to cook…make a lot of it!)
Anne said a package had arrived from Lucy, her sister, (who came to see the garden while here and we shared dessert together) and the package was for me….
*This is what was in the message and envelope…too funny. (Decided to wear it like a pin!)
It was a miniature “Tinker Bell” fairy for the garden…Lucy was so funny…she said the little fairy had been in a planter on her window sill…and had asked to “relocate” from Ct. to SC….so here she is….will introduce her to all the other garden fairies tomorrow. Thanks so much Lucy!!!
Anne picked some more daisies for me to return home with and then went over & kissed her morning glories….Oregon was beautiful, she said, but there is nothing like home…the lowcountry and her morning glories.
* Anne just found out (yesterday) that her sister, Nancy, has been diagnosed with breast cancer and in addition she is in the process of running tests to check out some nodules discovered in her neck. Obviously Anne and her family are quite concerned waiting to hear back from the test results and would appreciate any prayers offered for her behalf.
Wednesday night must have been “Dinner with the Princesses”…looks like Eva Cate got to meet them all! Way to go girl…work that room!
When I went out on the deck last evening…everything had started cooling down after the quick but wonderful rain yesterday afternoon…there was a nice breeze blowing, the sea glass chimes were tinkling and I just said “Thank You God” as loud as I could. Don’t you just love life?
ichaseferalcats
John Turner
Legally Ohm
Becky Dingle
Ah, Becky, another wonderful blog.
Good Friday morning from the Jersey shore again!! I loved your thoughts this morning! I totally agree on having a window above the kitchen sink! And, the thought occurred to me: although I don’t know exactly what the layout of your house is like, since you’re dragging dishes over to “the other side,” why don’t you consider just moving yourself over to the other side? Of course, as I said, I don’t know the exact layout, so it might very well be quite different from the side you actually do live on; but, if the sides are symmetrical, go for I!!! I also realize that this would require a lot of painting and so forth – I’m thinking especially in your “Happy Room.” Anyway, just a thought from a body far away!
As to the sea glass, my cousin just purchased a wall hanging that has a couple of pieces of sea glass entwined within it – it’s one of those thin starfishes with colored wire wrapped around it and holding a couple of pieces of sea glass onto it. Really quite nice for a beach house! I was looking at some of the sea glass items over in Stone Harbor (south of where we are, in Sea Isle City), and would like to get some more (bought some last summer), but haven’t found just the right item. You know how that goes!
And, as for “summer reading,” I haven’t gotten into ANY books at all during this summer b/c I’m trying to weed out old magazines first. I know if I pick up a book I won’t be able to continue with the weeding out process (which is actually a “project” that I really want to complete!). I’m definitely up for some serious reading though. And, our times on the beach haven’t really afforded me the opportunity to read – too busy chatting away!!!
And, onto your tank-less water heater: please keep us informed as to how you like it (or not); that’s something we’ve talked about, but really have no one we know, who actually has one, to whom we could talk to find out pros and cons of it. I’m interested to see how well it works for you and how you do with it. Inquiring minds want to know!
Okay, well, I’ve rambled on long enough. I’m glad I brought my computer with me so I can continue to read your musings every day – it’s a part of my day! And we leave to head back to Williamsburg (daughter) and then possibly to Fuquay (to drop bikes off), and then on back to the mountains on Monday. Long drive, but well worth it. LOVE the beach!!! (LOVE the mountains!!!) Thanks for your postings!!
Sis
Sis…you make a good point about the other side…but no way I would ever leave my Happy Room and computer room and my bedroom…Walsh and Mollie are moving into the other side in September for a few months while they make renovations of their home…river house.If my shelves weren’t built into the kitchen wall…I could get one of those window frames with a picture of some place beautiful and make it look like a window…..but life goes on….the real reason for the pilgrimage back and forth was the hot water heater…or lack of….will definitely let you know how I like it. and hopefully the savings. Have fun with all your friends and family…!!!!!
I think it would be so neat to have another “side” to go to ever once in a while. It would give you some space to step out of your home into a different environment for awhile. We need to look for something to give you the illusion of looking out a window for your sink. I never thought about how important it is to have the window and you are right. ..it does help pasd the time. I need to read that book too…sounds wondeful.
It is a good summer read because of the quotes inside…you find yourself stopping to jot them down along the way….thought about a painted window pane also..to fill in and give the illusion of another cool place but unfortunately the shelves are built into the wall.
The sink in my house doesn’t have a window either. Years ago I had read that if that was the case, then put a mirror in the space to make room seem bigger. ( I have a galley type of kitchen.). Recently I have been thinking what else I could do with that space, being tired of looking at myself LOL. I like your shelves, and changing things on them. Think I will have to pose that idea to Dennis.
Another memory just came to mind. My mom’s kitchen in her retirement place didn’t have a window either. We put a colorful picture of the Carribean there – a place she and dad enjoyed.
Thought about a “fake’ scene window pane too to fit in there but unfortunately the shelves are built into the wall and attached to the cabinets on either side…not the pull out kind…it would require major surgery…so I think I will make stick with sayings!