Dear Reader:

I never cease to be amazed how just one different thought can be a catalyst to so many other happenings.

Yesterday I stopped by Tuesday Morning to really just pass some time away before meeting a friend for lunch. I picked up a few more white wash cloths while I was there. (What is it with wash cloths…they are like socks…except instead of losing one in a pair…I just lose the whole wash cloth.)

It goes into the washer and I assume into the dryer… but by the time they are folded and put away…another one has disappeared. (I really must stop and write a short story titled:  “The Missing Wash Cloth.“)

But I digress….back to Tuesday Morning…after picking up the wash cloths… I strove over to the bed ensembles…and saw it…a light quilt with two shams marked for sale which put it in the forty-something range….I made a quick decision…I grabbed it and took it home. It inspired me to strip the bed clothing and  wash all the sheets and pillow cases.

While I was waiting on them to dry I threw the quilt on the bed and was instantly disappointed…it was fine by itself but too busy with my beautiful floral painting I got from Kaitlyn after her last move.

As I was (disappointedly) chastising myself for this impulsive purchase I happened to look on the back side and it was reversible. A golden yellow background with little red flowers….oh my goodness…perfect I thought.

I could hardly wait to go to bed last light with fresh, clean sheets and my new bed covers. See for yourself how it turned out.

It had been a fast purchase but now the line to check out had doubled since I entered the store. I turned on my Iphone to check the time and started doing my nervous shuffle dance….rocking back and forth…while waiting my turn to check out.

There was a pretty young woman right ahead of me who was nervously swaying too…but not because of any time factor (as I later learned) but indecision over her purchase of a new bed ensemble she had just chosen.

I told her how pretty it was (light blue/gold strands running through the material) and she thanked me profusely because she was having second thoughts. She explained to me that her husband was in real estate and someone (from up north) had recently purchased a beautiful old house for her winter retreat, only to discover that her grandchildren weren’t interested in visiting her in the lowcountry…they preferred staying in the cold and going to ski resorts.

So now the lady was trying to sell the house, without a loss. All the furniture had been taken and my new “friend” and her husband looked into the costs of “staging” the house but it was astronomical. She said that she agreed to  give it a shot (at decorating) with the budget her husband gave her to enhance the house and, hopefully, potential buyers.

She said they would only have basic pieces (minimalism at its best) but houses always looked better with some furniture in them….especially old houses.

I told her I thought this was wise…to give the prospective buyer a hint at the kind of home they could create while letting them add their own touches of imagination and creativity.

She immediately brightened and said that made her feel less stressful over this project. She went on to share with me other pieces she had bought and some ideas she had for the house…they all sounded spectacular.

I suppose I watch too much HGTV (this thought unexpectedly popped out…maybe through some kind of osmosis) but when she started talking about the time restrictions before the Open House…I said (from out of no where) …why don’t you call it an Open Home showing. After all aren’t you and your husband in the business of selling homes…not just houses? Aren’t you really in the business of selling dreams?

She loved the idea and wanted to get home to share it with her husband…

It is true, though, isn’t it….that when we buy a house…it should be a home for the “now” and “here-after”….no matter where we are along our own time-line in life.

As the afternoon wore on yesterday…my home started getting warmer and warmer so I went around opening up my new windows. In my happy room I  raised all the windows but kept my plantation shutters in place and just opened the slants.

Suddenly I decided to literally throw back the shutters and leave the windows wide open….it was so liberating….the sun shone through and the breezes billowed in ….why had it taken me so long to do this? We are creatures of habit.

When we bring the outside in…there is an added degree of harmony…a balance that can be felt within the walls of our homes.

It reminds me of the “balance” bracelet Libby gave me for my birthday.

The black bead symbolizes hopefulness. It holds mud from The Dead Sea…the lowest point on earth-signifying the difficult moments we experience throughout life and how we should all remain hopeful through them.

The white bead reminds us to stay humble. It carries water from Mt. Everest, the highest point on earth….so the white bead represents life’s highest moments. It is important to remember when we are feeling on top of the world … to remain humble.

So until tomorrow…Let our open homes and windows symbolize our own open-ness to all we meet as we go through life…understanding there is a reason for everyone who comes into our lives.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

*I finally was able to get out in the garden yesterday for the first time in about a week and not bog down in the mud. Despite all the excess rain…my garden continues to bloom in all its beauty. Two gorgeous moon flower blooms awaited me, another fresh gerber daisy was emerging from the ground, a flourishing rose bush, and even a dainty little striped morning glory smiled up at me!