Tag Archives: HGTV

Be Jesus, With Skin On…

Chicken soup is a common classic comfort food ...

I’m still not feeling 100% back to my normal self. I really detest being sick. It gets in the way of so much! Today finds me wearing my black, yoga pants and a favorite turquoise colored T-shirt. This ensemble does nothing for me, really…..but, it is comfortable. Isn’t that what we all want when we’re not feeling our best?

Sometimes we might feel better with some chicken noodle soup, HGTV and a box of tissues for our stuffy noses. Other times it is not that easy. There are times in life when what we have to go through is hard, rough, or painful. Comfort is difficult to see, much less, feel. We find ourselves searching in vain for what can make the hurts of life, better.

And for some…the road can be rough, and the journey a test of endurance.

Too tired to see, and too exhausted to take another step…. she stops. And waits in the darkness. For someone. For anyone. To care.

Recently, I read the quote by Henry David Thoreau….”The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation.”  Something haunts me about that line. It always has. How many people live their lives in that way?

God didn’t create us to be alone……and that is good. Sometimes we go through things in life, and at the time, those things are difficult. The problems seem to loom large and one wonders if they will ever be over with? Will there ever be a “normal” again? And then, the only thing that is really needed and wanted is someone to hold your hand. Wipe a tear. Give a hug. Be present.

Be that person for someone.

Be Jesus, with skin on.

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.

2 Corinthians 1:3-4 NIV

 

Related articles

Is It Autumn Yet?

I haven’t blogged for the past couple of days. That is unusual for me, I know. Some days are just that way. I decided not to fight it. Instead I took a short break and a deep breath. The past few weeks I’ve been living life, and quite frankly I was tired.

Over the past couple of days I’ve been looking through all my back issues of Country Living, This Old House, and my plethora of decorating books. I have also been watching hours of HGTV, while I do the daily, “must do” chores around the house. I guess one could say I have been taking a summer “staycation”.

I know that Autumn is still a couple of months away but, I am already anxious for the cooler days and crisp nights of October and November. I’m also looking forward to autumn decorating. Candles, hot chocolate mix out on the counter, fluffy floor pillows in warm colors, blankets and throws, and pretty rugs to keep tootsies warm.

I can’t wait…

 

Related articles

Take Me Home–Windows Version

 

My family moved into our house (that we built, along with dozens of other men) in Ohio, two years ago this month. My husband and I had decided that our windows would have the grill work that snaps on and makes the windows look like they have small panes of glass. (I’m all about aesthetics, you know.) I stained all the grill work by hand, by myself, thank you very much. I did that and it sat in the attic…..until yesterday. You see the casings of all the windows are natural wood and did not match the dark wood in the house. Staining all the window casings would be a big job and I didn’t feel up to it. Until this week. I am grabbing the bull by the horns, so to speak. Maybe I should say I’m grabbing the brush by the handle. I think HGTV has inspired me. Or not. I just want to get this task completed….and I want the trims to match, so there you go. Yesterday I worked all afternoon staining the casings in the kitchen, then I washed the windows, wiped down the grills, and snapped them in (which is much more difficult than one would think, believe me…. I have a cut thumb to prove it). Instant beautification.

The white parts on the windows are not wood, so therefore cannot be stained. It’s the tracking part thing-a-ma-bobbers, in the windows. So, that is not my fault. Just sayin’. When looking through the kitchen window, one can see the corner posts of the front porch and my still empty flower bed…although, it has been tilled. The bird feeders are also visible.

I like my faux silk curtains. I got them for $7.99 a piece at Wal-mart. One can hardly go wrong with that price. Pretty. Pretty. They add some snazziness to the windows, and are beautiful when the light filters through them.

This is the small kitchen window facing the driveway. The bottles are from Snapple‘s raspberry tea. I washed them and filled them with colored glass pieces. When the sun hits them it almost looks like stained glass. Once again, I got the glass pieces at Wal-mart and already had the glass bottles. Prettiness on the cheap.

 

Related articles

Totally Addicted To House Hunters

La Ville de Paris Gets Ready for Night

Image by Stuck in Customs via Flickr

I have been a big fan of HGTV for forever. I am especially in love with the House Hunters Show.  I love looking at other people’s houses. I also love to see what real estate is going for in various parts of the country. (or internationally, if I watch International House Hunters…which I do.)

1. I love looking at how other people live.

2. Some people have such good taste.

3. Other people, not so much.

4. Vivid, loud colors and three different types of animal print?

5. Um…whatever floats one’s boat, I guess.

6. Paint can always be changed. Thank goodness.

7. Sometimes the buyers are real pieces of work.

8. And I feel sorry for the agent.

9. She didn’t build the house. Sorry the bedrooms are smaller than you’d like.

10. She has to stay in your price range.

11. So deal with it.

12. My serious question is this—-

13. What do some of these people do for a living?

14. I was watching International HH the other day.

15. The couple was getting a vacation home in some Central American country…

16. The house was around 800,000 dollars.

17. The guy said, “We can probably swing that.”

18. Huh?!

19. For a vacation home?!

20. I suppose I live in the real world.

21. And they are from Mars.

22. I know there are people out there that make about a bazillion, quadrillion dollars a year.

23. I just don’t know any of them personally.

24. Today, a young couple (from the USA) were recently married and living in Paris.

25. They wanted to buy a nice apartment in the city.

26. Neither of them looked over, maybe 32?

27. They both worked in the fashion industry.

28. They ended up buying an apartment for $890,000. (U.S dollars)

29. Then they put another $165,000 into renovations.

30. I so must be living in another galaxy.

31. Does anybody else think that is insane, or is it just me?

32. I still like to watch.

33. Even if I think some of the people are kinda nuts…and they have to be in debt up to their eyeballs.

34. I can live vicariously.

35. And then be completely content with my lovely home in the country.

36. Because you know…

37. Home is where you make it.

38. It has a lot more to do with the people, than square footage.

39. And that…

40. Is the most valuable lesson of all.

Related Articles

I’ve Got Nothing

HGTV logo premiered on March 1, 2010

Image via Wikipedia

I’m sitting here staring at my computer this morning. I’m blank. I’ve got nothing. Boring with a capital B. I want to write, but I’ve decided that it just isn’t happening today….at least not right now. It’s frustrating when I get writers block. I guess I’ll come back later and try again.  In the meantime I think I’ll watch “Bang For Your Buck” on HGTV.  Hey, my question is this: Where do the people get an extra $100,000 to redo a basement?  I must live in a different world. A much less expensive world, for sure.

Related Articles