Sunday, May 15, 2011

This and That

The Easter lily has finally succumbed, but it brought us so much joy!


This year's plant was loaded with buds . . .


It bloomed and bloomed and bloomed . . .


Seventeen blooms!


We went to NIU to see our son and his work at an installation art exhibit.  The subject of his work was color and how humans make judgments based on cultural connections to color.  I told him that this picture of him reminded me a little of Che Guevara.  He said:  “Who's that?”  Goodness, I'm getting old!


We finished painting our bedroom!  The room went from Havana Cream yellow to Mountain Air blue . . . and we now have a lovely, smooth ceiling . . . the popcorn is gone!


The bedroom has a tall ceiling and it would be perfect for a beautiful chandelier, but then I'd have to give up the ceiling fan . . . I like having a ceiling fan, it really helps to circulate the air. It's nice when both form and function can be combined, but, for me, function has to come first . . .  We have wall controls for the fan, but I couldn't resist these swirly fan pulls.  It's like jewelry for the ceiling!


Today, for the first time, I pulled out the beautiful quilt my sons gave me for Mother's Day last year.  It has a muted palette that makes the room feel so restful!


Here's a shot of the little corner I call mine.  It has all the essentials:  Good reading light, my iPod, the Kindle, lots of pillows, an old, faded, comfortable chair . . . However, it's lacking . . . je ne sais quoi . . . style?


Once when I was a teenager, I became ill while visiting a friend of my mother's.  She took me into her bedroom to lie down and forever changed how I felt about bedrooms.  Her bed was soft and the scent of lilacs perfumed the air.  Her sheets were impeccably white and crisp.  The decorations were sparse, but she had just enough touches in the room to make it a pretty and very personal space.  I fell asleep and when I woke up, I felt better.  I've never forgotten that wonderful room. 

In recent years, we've gotten sidetracked with other projects, but seeing the freshly painted room and the lovely quilt has reminded me of how important it is to have a welcoming haven in which to read, pray, meditate and relax.  Now I'd like to try and recreate the feelings evoked by that calm and inviting room of long ago, and I hope you'll come along for the journey . . . stay tuned!

4 comments:

Nicki said...

You did well with your Easter Lily. The Firehouse in my home town used to sell Lilies each year at Easter as a fundraiser and they would have 100s - a Lily overload. Your son's art project does liken to Che Guevara (and no, your not getting old, my daughter immediately made the connection). I also like your memory of your friend's parent's bedroom. Isn't it funny how little memories like that can surface and be instrumental in how we approach something in our lives years later. I can't wait to see where you go with the transformation.

Oh, and tell Ms. Angela to {please}come back to the blog side. Greatly missing the adventures of Ruby. And Doug and Angela. :)

Barb said...

Your Easter Lily bloomed abundantly! Ours only had three flowers but they were very pretty. The blue room is very calming and it all looks very nice.

Maria@BubblegumandDuctTape said...

I can just smell the lilies, so pretty.
love the color of the room, so peaceful. Your son is quite the artist and it does have a che guevarra quality to it.

Linda (More Fun Less Laundry) said...

Hi Maria, I am always shocked by some of the people my kids don't recognize and which ones they do! For instance, they did not know who Kirstie Allie was or that she was on Cheers. "On what show? they said."
Your son's topic sounds so interesting! I wonder what your new bedroom color says? I will be looking for your future updates on your peaceful room. I am thinking of doing my walls in off white so I can change the linens with the seasons more easily. The room is stuck in 1987 right now--chintz draperies with tassels.... Linda