PONDERING MY INTERIORS…TO MOVE OR NOT TO MOVE?

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote Meandering Through My Interiors, when I moved some stacking boxes to another part of the room.  In the photo above, see lower center, with a dark birdhouse sitting in for those boxes.  Previously, it was by the hearth, halfway hidden.  So now it gets to show off a little more, while those stacking boxes “rock” their new space (below).

 

 

***

I am glad that I constantly move my things around and reshape my spaces…a reminder that I can still make this nest cozy.

In the past week or so, I’ve been obsessed with looking at new homes, exploring new possibilities.  Moving?  Should I?  Could I?  Even the thought of it makes me so anxious that I can’t sleep some nights.

Why?  Well, the rent went up and I panicked.  But as I looked at new places, much more expensive and not really “home” to me, I had to rethink that.  I’m not ready, is what I concluded.  Plus the hassle and expense would defeat the purpose, and my rent is manageable here.  I will sign a short-term lease, just in case I change my mind.

Maybe I will be ready in a few months…or longer.  The appeal of a place with lots of security and other people in a clubhouse setting sounds tempting.  But then I recall that I’m basically a loner, loving doing my own thing.  I’m not the Bingo-playing person who lives in those places.  lol.

 

 

***

Sometimes we have to look around at other spaces to appreciate what we have.  My place has interesting shapes to some of the rooms, and it has become just what I need for now.  Note the angle of the fireplace, and how the bookcase fits into a nook by the love seat.

 

 

***

High ceilings, nice angles, and more space than I really need…all here, after almost ten years, and now I’m still re-imagining ways to make it truly mine.

So what if the kitchen is tiny?  I manage to make it work with a rolling cart that stands in for extra counter space.

 

 

***

Seriously, though, the thought of packing up and trying to fit everything into a tinier space (the ones I looked at were smaller, though more expensive!), makes the decision easier for me.

Who knows what I will find if I just wait a while?  I might even decide that this little place, with its quirks and its flaws, is truly my home.

Do you ever imagine “what if,” and even make the changes, only to discover you already had what you needed?  Or maybe you found the perfect new home when you made changes.  It is definitely something to ponder.

I am linking up to West Metro Mommy Reads, for Saturday Snapshot.

***

OUTSIDE MY INTERIOR WORLD: BRANCHES OF THE FAMILY TREE

As I share my cup of coffee, I gather together some of my extended family photos.  Those that reveal the various branches of my family tree.  I’m linking today at West Metro Mommy Reads.

First, here is my younger brother with his three grandchildren, L to R:  Gavin, my brother, America, and Luc.

 

 

***

Here’s America with her 8th birthday cake, which she celebrated on September 11, 2016:

 

***

 

My niece Amy, with America:

 

***

 

Luc is getting the barbecue ready:

 

***

Luc and his dog in the woodsy surroundings:

 

***

Beautiful Pine Crest Lake:

 

***

Now let’s look at another branch, with my niece Emily, (my sister’s daughter), her husband Bryan, and baby Margaret, who had her first birthday recently:

 

***

Here’s Margaret, in the foreground: earlier in the summer, at Half Moon Bay.  I recall taking my kids there:

 

 

***

Meanwhile, I spent a recent summer Saturday with this lunch, before seeing Bridget Jones’s Baby: I had a Blushing Geisha, with Crab & Avocado delights:

 

 

***

Enjoy your weekend!

***

MEANDERING THROUGH MY INTERIORS….

***

Welcome to my ever-changing Interior World.  I am always scrutinizing my spaces, imagining them in another grouping…or pondering how I could improve them.  So…

I noticed that there was a “blank” spot in the setting above, which I had purposely created to enable the free movement of the chairs around the table….but the empty place started to bother me…

So naturally I looked around and noted something on the other side of the room, below, in the far right.  See the decorative stacking boxes?  Not really adding anything to the “vignette.”  Maybe….

 

***

So that’s what I did.  I brought the boxes over to the “blank” spot (below), and they fill in nicely, IMO, without actually preventing any chair movement.   There they are, on the left, and I’m happy.  lol.

 

***

For those who might think I haven’t really managed the “clutter” that well, I must respond that I used to have these stacked boxes everywhere…all through the house.

Now they are only occasional layers in my overall look.

***

I have featured many shots of my office nook, but here’s one not previously seen.  An “interior” shot of the nook.  See the laptop, and to the left, a cartoon drawing of three of my grandchildren that an artist created in a Lego Shop in LA.  A treasure!

 

 

***

Here is a slightly older “real life” version of those kids that I found in one of my folders.  Those kids are now all “legal adults,” ranging in age from 18-21.  How did that happen?

 

 

***

Thanks for meandering through my interiors….and check out West Metro Mommy Reads, to see what others have captured this week.

***

PINTEREST SHARING – BLOGGIESTA MINI-CHALLENGE

***

 

 

***

In the early part of the 21st Century, I wrote my first novel, An Accidental Life.  At the time, I was living in the A-frame house above, with the little guest cottage next door.

The houses inspired parts of my story, and one of my characters lived there.

Today I’m doing a Pinterest Sharing Mini-Challenge for Bloggiesta, hosted by Roberta, at It’s A Mystery Blog.

Thanks for joining me to check out my images.

***

 

MY INTERIOR WORLD: VINTAGE & QUIRKY TIDBITS

Today I’ve been busily visiting blogs, and noticing that rereads of old favorites are showing up more and more.

The books pictured above are old childhood favorites I plan to reread at some point:  Anne of Green Gables; Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland & Through the Looking Glass (I already reread this one a few years ago); and the first three books in the Nancy Drew series:  The Hidden Staircase, The Bungalow Mystery, and The Secret of the Old Clock.

While I was exploring the past, I had to capture this photo of more rereads that are waiting for me:

 

Jamaica Inn, by Daphne DuMaurier; The Grapes of Wrath, by John Steinbeck; Rebecca, by Daphne DuMaurier; Uncle Tom’s Cabin, by Harriet Beecher Stowe; Memoirs of an Ex-Prom Queen, by Alix Kates Shulman; Gone with the Wind, by Margaret Mitchell; Sleeping with the Enemy, by Nancy Price; and Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott.

Some are obviously more recent than the older vintage classics: Sleeping with the Enemy and Memoirs of an Ex-Prom Queen.

Most I read in high school or early college, but others were childhood books.  My mother had an old battered copy of Uncle Tom’s Cabin that she kept on a high shelf in the kitchen.  That location always puzzled me, but obviously she didn’t want us to grab it without permission.

I wish I had copies of my own that I had brought with me from childhood, but thinking back, most of the books I read were borrowed from the library.

The Nancy Drew books were also borrowed.  I had a school friend who showed me her secret stash with almost every copy of the books in the series.  A treasure chest!

Since I didn’t have my own copies of most books I loved, my desire was to eventually own my own personal library.  And I’ve achieved that, but I did purge some of my shelves a year or so ago, removing the overflow.  And now I mostly add books to Pippa, my Kindle.

 

***

My August Monthly Wrap-Up revealed some quirky info.  I read and reviewed THIRTEEN books this past month, which on its own seems insignificant.  But THIRTEEN is an important number for our family, since my delightful daughter was born on August 13, 1976...which also happened to be a Friday the Thirteenth.

If we were ever superstitious about that date, we no longer are.  Friday the Thirteenth is now our Lucky Number.

***

What quirky or interesting facts do you find in your bookish world?  What, if any books, are you saving for reread?

Here is my Quirky Doll Named Liberty:

 

***

MY INTERIOR WORLD: BOOKS, DOLLS, ETC.

My recent posts here have focused on the world outside my “interiors”:  vacations, family things, etc.

Lately, my book buying has increased, and not only have I acquired a stupendous number of e-books, but my print stack is growing.  The stack (above) includes some recent print book purchases.

Check out my Purchased Bookshelves for 2016:

Most of these are e-books, but some of the books you see above are also included.  I’ve bought the following number of books so far this year, and listed in italics are the numbers I’ve read and reviewed:

January – 7 (Read 5 so far)

February – 6 (Read 5)

March – 12 (Read 8)

April – 12 (Read 6)

May – 15 (Read 5)

June – 12 (Read 4)

July – 10 (Read 4)

August – 15 (Read 1)

***

The Read the Books You Buy Challenge is helping me clear some books off my shelves, but I’m obviously buying more books than I read each month. (53 read so far, which includes books purchased from June 2015 on).

Of course there are review books, which are reflected on another page.  I’ve been keeping abreast of those.

***

I haven’t done any purging lately, but I have been rearranging some things on my bedroom shelves.  See below, with the Changing of the Guard (Dolls).  I switched the dolls between the two shelves below, for my quirky reasons:

 

***

 

 

 

***

The hippie dolls in the top photo were two of my earliest doll purchases.  The collection grew from there, but now my interiors showcase only some of my dolls.  The rest are residing in bins in the garage.  The Doll Graveyard, if you will.

 

 

***

What are your bookshelves like these days?  Do your interiors reflect your passion for books?

***

A JOURNEY SOUTH OF THE BORDER

The flag flying against the blue of the sky was a beacon for those on the cruise last week.

My daughter’s birthday was Saturday, the thirteenth, and two days before, she and a group of friends headed to Ensenada on a cruise ship.

Today I’m sharing some of the photos.  Below, my daughter Heather and her friend Jessica are heading down to Long Beach to catch the boat.  These two have been friends since they were teenagers, and I enjoyed watching them both grow through those challenging years.

 

 

***

The group of them in a formal shot, before all the heavy partying starts….

 

***

Catching some rays….

 

***

Hi, Kitty Kat!

 

 

***

I think the party has started….

 

 

 

***

 

On dry land for a bit….

 

 

 

***

 

A formal shot of the engaged couple, Heather and David….

 

 

***

 

An interesting view….

 

 

***

 

And here’s another….

 

 

 

***

This post is linked to West Metro Mommy Reads, for Saturday Snapshots.

***