More Before and After

All this stuff on the dining room table and floor was taken out of the built in cupboard to the left. I'm giving it all away. There is depression glass, Princess House crystal, Southern Living at Home stuff, antique linens, etc.
I thought about listing it on E-bay but almost get physically ill thinking about all that that entails. I'd rather gift it to some of the young married girls in my church who are still collecting beautiful things for their homes. That way, we'll all be happy.

The other photo is of my cupboard AFTER the big declutter. It looks so much better! I don't know why I couldn't part with all this stuff earlier. This is the second big declutter of the cupboard. I've found that I have to get rid of things in stages. I have emotional attachments to all my belongings that makes it hard to get rid of things easily. But I'm learning to, and it feels so good!

Chasing my Dust Dragons

Posts have been few and far between lately due to a sudden disgust of dust and stuff. Here are the laundry room before and after pics. I'm now going to go finish my bedroom which I started yesterday morning. Laurel tells me that ten minutes of hard housework is worth one exercise point in Weight Watchers. I earned quite a few of those yesterday. I was flipping the mattress, shaking rugs over the balcony, and dusting down the walls.

I love working hard. Sleep is sweeter at night.

A Caped Crusader

Here's a little known fact: When Superman was a toddler, he wore a red cape AND had a pacifier. Here are the pictures to prove it.

Actually, this is my third grandson we affectionately call Thing 3. He decided to be a caped crusader at our church picnic on Saturday. I couldn't resist snapping a few shots of his incongruous apparel. I love this kid!

Embracing the NOW

"Most of us spend so much time thinking about where we have been or where we are supposed to be going that we have a hard time recognizing where we actually are. When someone asks us where we want to be in our lives, the last thing that occurs to us is to look down at our feet and say, "Here, I guess, since this is where I am." Taken from An Altar in the World by Barbara Brown Taylor.

More Images from the Balcony

The cherry tree is in full leaf now; blossoms are gone. The Mermaid rose on the arbor is beginning to put on its thousands of yellow blooms. It's so heavy that the arbor is about four inches off the ground in the front. We tried straightening it up, but it was useless. I guess when the whole thing comes crashing to the ground, we'll pick up the pieces, cut the rose bush to the ground, and start over. I had no idea that it would get so big. It's even trailing into the cherry tree.
The little table was once painted all white, but rust and birds have done their work. Yes, birds. I kept hearing a strange pecking sound on the balcony. When I looked out, I saw a bluejay peeling off sections of paint! I don't know if he ate them or made his nest waterproof, but he took off almost the whole top. Craziness!

We've got the sweetest little bluebird couple nesting on the front porch, but I'll save that for another day.

Being Creative

"Unless we are creators, we are not fully alive." Madeleine L'Engle from Walking on Water

She continues, "What do I mean by creators? Not only artists, whose acts of creation are the obvious ones of working with paint or clay or words. Creativity is a way of living life, no matter what our vocation or how we earn our living. Our freedom to be creators is far less limited than some people would think."

Do something creative today, then come back here and tell me what you did. I'm going to create a birthday memory for my oldest daughter who turns 29 today.

The Shrimp Shack

This tiny restaurant is highly recommended by Pat Conroy in his cookbook. He says their shrimp burgers are so good that he used to dream about them while living in Rome, Italy.

He and his daughter stop and get one as soon as they come back to Fripp. Side note: We didn't see him last week while on Fripp, and it wasn't for lack of looking. Boo Hoo.

So after buying groceries on Tuesday, we stopped to see if we agreed with Pat and his assessment of the famous Shrimp Burger. It was good but nothing to rave about. We were both a little disappointed.

Laurel had a conversation by the pool with a native islander, and he said that sometimes they're a little slimy. That was our conclusion. We must have hit a slimy Shrimp Burger day. My faith in Pat was restored. It was the cook's fault. I'll try one again next visit.

P.S. Mr. Conroy said in his cookbook that he has tried and tried to get the recipe for the Shrimp Burger, but the owner won't give it to him. I bet she'd the one in the above photo glaring at me!