What we do for fun

We must be the most boring people on the planet. Whenever W and I have time off, we read, go to tech or book stores, and browse info online. We don't play or cheer sports. We loathe the mall and prefer to watch movies at home rather than in those messy theatres. (Still not reconciled to the garbage and sticky floors, after 25 years here.)

Currently, I'm trying to talk my husband into taking a survey that compares our inclinations and giftings with those of Bible characters. It offers advice on maximizing gifts. I'm thinking he'll come out like Paul in understanding theology, like John in love for Jesus, and like Solomon as a scholar.

Surveys must be one of W's least favorite activities. After a few marriage conferences our first year (the only time we had more than an hour or two together that year?), he put his foot down. "You know I hate taking surveys and answering personal questions. No more." We haven't been to such a conference since, and I know few surveys he willingly takes.

Maybe this time, this one, will be different. Smiles. Maybe not.

I was surprised by the accuracy of parts of the survey for myself. It affirmed that I love changing up my surroundings, enjoy finding out new things, and learn best by interaction with others. That would be me. "Learn to be grateful for what you already have, instead of always looking for the next thing." Yeah, that would indeed be rough spiritual discipline, mostly the not-looking. (I'm focusing on "gratitude" as my motto-of-2012.)

Actually, there is another thing that I do for fun and relaxation. I look forward to the changing of the seasons. I dislike autumn and winter and long for summer all year. That's not the kind of season I mean. I'm referring to changing around decor, by season. Yesterday we had a group of friends over. I wanted to keep the bright decor until they'd visited.

But whoo hoo! This morning I was thrilled to change our LR slipcovers from Christmas pink and red to winter black. Plain black. During my half-hour study break, I folded and put away the old colors, whipped out and replaced with the new. I swapped out cushions and moved things around in the LR, DR, and kitchen to stage the rooms for my own pleasure. I feel absolutely refreshed.

Sure, I still have to ignore Kinsey's PakNPlay, sitting in browns and pastel pinks in the corner. And I'm in the mood to buy 4 more pillows. (No time, luckily for the dear-man-who-budgets-for-us.) Every time I pass the room for a cup of tea, I feel rested and happy. It's amazing what we do for fun.

One of the most blessed gifts from God is our distinctiveness, in personality, experience, and training. What brings you happiness, when a few minutes or an empty half hour wedges itself into your schedule?

Read more:

*I will praise the LORD at all times. I will constantly speak his praises. I will boast only in the LORD; let all who are helpless take heart. Come, let us tell of the LORD's greatness; let us exalt his name together.

I prayed to the LORD, and he answered me. He freed me from all my fears."Taste and see that the LORD is good. Oh, the joys of those who take refuge in him! Fear the LORD, you his godly people, for those who fear him will have all they need. Even strong young lions sometimes go hungry, but those who trust in the LORD will lack no good thing." Psalm 34: 1-4, 8-10 NLT

*This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all[ sin. If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:5-9 NIV

Memories of home, ever-changing home

What are your memories of home? Are they sweet? Sad? Do you ever get nostalgic for the surroundings in which you grew up?

Life is not simple or straightforward. I've read a lot of books and articles on simplifying life and uncluttering spaces. In our twenties, thirties, and forties, we accumulated dishes, gadgets, furniture, and tools. We had so much company that I used nearly everything... maybe once or twice a year.

I began giving away and selling off things when we returned from living in a two-bedroom apartment in England. 

W couldn't believe it. "You're really selling the Victorian sofa?" 

You betcha! It made someone happy to get it, and still makes me smile to think that I don't have to vacuum the 101 buttonholes. (Really, I counted.) It's back in style and similar ones appear in trendy magazines. Stylists are using apricot, the sofa's color. (ORANGE! my husband groaned. Nah, I coordinated the room around so it looked golden.) And no, I don't miss it.

This Christmas, though I was writing articles for school, our fake 10' tree went in its usual window. We strung lights and hung 8 ornaments, 8 more than I originally planned (and many hundreds less than usual.) 

One of the ornaments, the birdhouse (photo above), was a cheery piece bought on a whim at Molbaks. When the tree was stashed away Sunday, the teeny aviary settled on our LR "coffee table," a board from a Chinese shipping crate that rests on a ruin of a piano bench. It felt great to renew the room for the coming season... and took about a half hour.

Instead of buying new furniture, I swap slipcovers. Cool black winter covers after Valentines Day, purple and pink life for spring, white freshness for summer, subdued greys for fall, and celebratory pink and red for Christmas. The classics seem to find their spot, too - a Corbusier pony-skin lounger, African zebra footstools, a Chinese carved horse, and ghost armchairs.

A few times a year, I move the furniture around. Thankfully the current group is relatively light. Yes, that's a baby pack-and-play in one corner, inelegant but useful.

The boys shook their heads when I shifted sofas Sunday. "One of my least favorite things about growing up here was that you'd move stuff around," said T. (His father once remarked, "If I were blind, I'd be dead," after seeing a new arrangement.)

We still have the ebony elephant given us for a wedding present, though the tusks got lost in a move and we have bone replacements. W brought a candle stone in MT at an art fair. I can't remember where the fossil was found. Currently they grace a drum table, its Freecycle beveled glass topper resting on five Thai wooden massage knuckles.

I'm always surprised at how much I like the new arrangements. "Looks like it's always been this way," said a friend when we added 12'X7' bookshelves to the LR last year. Another friend said something similar when we shoehorned in a second piano (we're piano-sitting).

I love spaces and enjoying rearranging rooms for other people, too. We use furniture and accessories they already have or things that fall into my hands at the right moment. Someone is giving us a 3X5' glass dining table exactly like the one in our house. We like the way ours brings light into the room without blocking the view. Any takers? If not, I think I'll be rearranging the cabin this summer...

Our kids may not have static memories of home, of pictures hung, or furniture placement. But we hope, going into the New Year, that they boldly arrange their own spaces to please their lifestyles. Some day they may find a red surveyor's tripod for their lamp base like I did. Or they may buy one they like at WalMart!

Our daughter K has the visual and tactile gift for decor. She livens her apartment, regardless of shape or size. In Austin, her concrete floors are painted green, brown, and black by the landlords. But everything -- including a roommate's art and furnishing -- fits. It makes me smile to see that gift transferred to the next generation :-).

"A gift you say?" my son shakes his head.

What are your memories of home as you start 2012? I'd love to see Before & Afters of your place, too. I post an ongoing FB album called "We love our house."


Read more:

*Isaiah 61:1-4,8-11; Psalm 126 1 Thessalonians 5:16-24; John 1:6-8,19-28

*My times are in your hand. Psalm 31:15

*May the God of peace sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be kept sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Thessalonians 5:23

*God saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works but according to his own purpose and grace. This grace was given to us in Christ Jesus before the ages began. 2 Timothy 1:9

Moravian Prayer: Lord and Savior, our times are truly in your hands. Though we cannot say where it is you will call us, we pray you will lead us lovingly and boldly wherever you will us to go. Amen.