Creating Home

Hello friend!

What says "home" to you?  What is it about your home that makes it the place that uniquely comforts you? 

My husband told me a story about a coworker of his who was moving across town.  He and his new bride had purchased a home together and were moving from their apartments into their first home together. While he was at work, she was given the task of loading up and moving the first load of things.  This would be the only load they would be able to move for a few days. What do you think he came home to find she had thought the most important thing to move first?  A huge load of books!   He was upset at first.  Books!!! You can't eat them.  You can't sleep on them.  They won't keep you warm or safe; but that was all she moved.  Why?  Can you relate?

I certainly can.  When we moved from North Carolina to Arkansas we had one trailer.  Everything in that trailer moved with us. Everything that couldn't fit in the trailer was sold or given away.

It was hard for me; but I was able to pack two FULL boxes of my favorite books.  Some of them I had been collecting since the eighth grade.  Sometimes my husband jokes that he didn't know that he was marrying a librarian.

On my moving priority list are:

1. Books

2. Blankets

3. Plants

4. Snacks 

5. My Piano

Books are a given, especially since we recently moved during a time when our local library was closed due to the pandemic.  We have great librarians who often order books based on our wish list.  We know that we are very blessed in this regard.  I love to read.  I often found my mother and grandmother reading when I was a child.  We also used to get those books from Reader's Digest in the mail often.  Anyone remember that?  I want my children to have a love of reading and I make sure we have plenty of quality books surrounding them.

Blankets

The first time we moved at the end of spring. This time we moved during the beginning of Winter. Blankets are just a practical edition.  For some reason, I seem to have started collecting those as well.  It may have begun when a dear friend of mine made a quilt for Aaliyah when she was born; or it may have begun when I began learning to knit.  I have a new appreciation for anything that was quilted or hand knit.

Plants 

When we moved into our new home here in Arkansas; we moved from a house surrounded by beautiful plants and huge trees. The area directly in front of and behind was being farmed. We had a good sized garden there as well.  This home only had a few trees.  I say had because I have since planted seven; but it will take years for us to really be able to appreciate them.  While the area behind us is being farmed by those same farmers; we no longer have the corn/bean/rice field directly in front of us to admire. 

I planted a little garden last Spring and I am planning our garden for this year now; but what did I do to ease the transition?  Every gift card I was given by our wonderful friends when we moved, I used a great portion of to buy plants. We may not have as much greenery outside to enjoy; but we definetly have plenty inside...so much so that my loving Hubby has "requested" that I not purchase any more plants.  It can be pretty addictive, I admit.

Snacks

This is a new addition and only added to preserve my sanity.  Heaven help me if my son should come to me and ask for a snack and me have nothing to give him!  Raymond DeSean seams to graze all day long!!! He is going to need a job to help with our grocery bill before long.

Piano

I am SO thankful for our piano! It is a digital Yamaha and is a pretty good quality.  I am praying for a really good upright; but in the mean time, we love it. I am able to give lessons on it as a source of income to support my habits 😄; and my children are learning on it as well. A few of them play on it often just for fun.

I am hoping to make this a sort of series as we continue to make adjustments on our home.  One of the topics I hope to cover is why we have chosen to name our home.  Until the next post, I hope you enjoy a few of these little snapshots of Life at Pecan Cottage.

Until Next Time,