Wednesday, November 28, 2007

A Few of My Favorite Things

We recently had the hardwood on our main floor refinished (by the same gentleman who did our upstairs the SECOND time this summer). Being able to do this is in itself a great luxury, but it creates such a mess! So, once again, I found myself washing every inch of wall, every interior and exterior furniture surface and, since the fine dust from sanding penetrates every nook and cranny of the house, the contents in/on every wall, cabinet and shelf.

One of the great benefits this affords, is an opportunity to purge my house of "stuff" I no longer need or use and to re-organize those things I choose to hang on to. As I did this, I was reminded of all the material luxuries with which I am blessed as well as how much simple enjoyment I derive from beautiful things. The two cabinets below house a few of my favorite things...most of which are junk-yard or bargain store finds, wedding gifts or inheritance from my husband's family.

Among these tablecloths, is one crocheted by my great-grandmother, and one lace cloth inherited from Steve's grandmother. They are my favorites, but not long enough for my 140" table.

The cabinets themselves were bargains - FREE. The short one came from Steve's sister's garage; the tall one from the house in which my Aunt Norene grew up. Before I inherited it, it had been sitting in her father's old Victorian in Potosi, MO, which had only coal for heat. It was covered in black soot and the finish was badly worn. It, along with a gorgeous old bed from that same house, were my first re-finishing projects and they were SO incredibly beautiful underneath the soot, that I became hooked on re-finishing for about 10 years. About 5-6 years ago, I decided to paint it white. I don't really regret it yet, but am afraid I will someday. When I'm dead, some person will exclaim, "What kind of idiot covered this beautiful oak with PAINT?!! What was she thinking?!"

In the meantime, it beautifully stores a few of my favorite things!

5 comments:

jennifer h said...

I like it white. I particularly like the contrast of the white with the bluish green color inside.

Anonymous said...

I like the white, too. You did a really great job organizing all your things in an attractive way. Very nice.
--annie b

Anonymous said...

Among my favorite things: enjoying delicious food and beverage served on your favorite things at your beautifully decorated home with favorite friends. Thanks for sharing.

Anonymous said...

some of your blogs make me think you're very materialistic.

how does that go with your godliness?

Lori Waggoner said...

I'm not really sure where you're getting that idea...and if you care to identify yourself, I'd be more than happy to have a discussion about the Christian's appropriate, biblical response to material goods.

But as a general rule, I don't respond at length to anonymous comments.