Sharing a poem from Maya Angelou

 

A BRAVE AND STARTLING TRUTH

We, this people, on a small and lonely planet
Travelling through casual space
Past aloof stars, across the way of indifferent suns
To a destination where all signs tell us
It is possible and imperative that we learn
A brave and startling truth

And when we come to it
To the day of peacemaking
When we release our fingers
From fists of hostility
And allow the pure air to cool our palms

When we come to it
When the curtain falls on the minstrel show of hate
And faces sooted with scorn are scrubbed clean
When battlefields and coliseum
No longer rake our unique and particular sons and daughters
Up with the bruised and bloody grass
To lie in identical plots in foreign soil

When the rapacious storming of the churches
The screaming racket in the temples have ceased
When the pennants are waving gaily
When the banners of the world tremble
Stoutly in the good, clean breeze

When we come to it
When we let the rifles fall from our shoulders
And children dress their dolls in flags of truce
When land mines of death have been removed
And the aged can walk into evenings of peace
When religious ritual is not perfumed
By the incense of burning flesh
And childhood dreams are not kicked awake
By nightmares of abuse

When we come to it
Then we will confess that not the Pyramids
With their stones set in mysterious perfection
Nor the Gardens of Babylon
Hanging as eternal beauty
In our collective memory
Not the Grand Canyon
Kindled into delicious color
By Western sunsets

Nor the Danube, flowing its blue soul into Europe
Not the sacred peak of Mount Fuji
Stretching to the Rising Sun
Neither Father Amazon nor Mother Mississippi who, without favor,
Nurture all creatures in the depths and on the shores
These are not the only wonders of the world

When we come to it
We, this people, on this minuscule and kithless globe
Who reach daily for the bomb, the blade and the dagger
Yet who petition in the dark for tokens of peace
We, this people on this mote of matter
In whose mouths abide cankerous words
Which challenge our very existence
Yet out of those same mouths
Come songs of such exquisite sweetness
That the heart falters in its labor
And the body is quieted into awe

We, this people, on this small and drifting planet
Whose hands can strike with such abandon
That in a twinkling, life is sapped from the living
Yet those same hands can touch with such healing, irresistible tenderness
That the haughty neck is happy to bow
And the proud back is glad to bend
Out of such chaos, of such contradiction
We learn that we are neither devils nor divines

When we come to it
We, this people, on this wayward, floating body
Created on this earth, of this earth
Have the power to fashion for this earth
A climate where every man and every woman
Can live freely without sanctimonious piety
Without crippling fear

When we come to it
We must confess that we are the possible
We are the miraculous, the true wonder of this world
That is when, and only when
We come to it.

“A Brave and Startling Truth” was published in a commemorative booklet in 1995 and was later included in Maya Angelou: The Complete Poetry (public library).

 This poem touched me deeply. I hope you enjoy it, too.

                                                                                Love Always,

                                                                                        Kim

A New Way to look at Life

I live on the same shore, just a different town now.

     Life is always changing, we as humans are always evolving. I live in a different town but I am still close to the lake. The water is so high this year that the beach is almost non existent. There is no place to sit or lay on a blanket, there is no room for the cars to park. The water is very close to the roadway. I was actually quite shocked when we went for a drive to see the beach for the first time this year. I have spent my lifetime on this beach. I have never seen it look like this.

     Both my parents have passed away. That was an incredible change. It has been four years now. Life changed immediately after that. I have learned so much since then. I have learned about me as a person. I have a new sense of calm, a new view of the world, a new take on everything in my life. I am happy and content. I have had to redefine all of my relationships. I have cultivated some and let a lot of others go. I know that the purpose of life on this planet is to be happy, enjoy the beautiful moments and to be kind. Kindness is so important. I also know that we must connect to our deeper self, our true self.

     I am a sensitive person and I see things differently compared to most. I see beauty in a visceral way. I love detail in art, in music, in conversation. I love to be present in the moment. I am conscious of peoples feelings and their moods when they are around me. I love quiet time. I love my own company. I love to meditate. I strive to be connected to nature, beauty, truth, energy, compassion, kindness and spirit. We are spiritual beings, inhabiting a body on this beautiful blue planet in the universe. I want to enjoy ever moment possible. Love is the key; love of self, love of others, love of the planet we live on. Love...

                                                                                    Love Always, 

                                                                                         Kim

                                                                                          

New Years Eve - Wishing you a Beautiful "2017"

This has been an unbelievable year for me. My mother died in March and then my father died at the end of September. I don't think he could make it in this world without my mother. His health was faltering. He has been living on borrowed time for many years since quadruple bypass heart surgery and then in an instant he was gone.

I feel like an orphan. It is a strange world without your mother; the person that has been there, caring for and loving you, your whole life. I have so many memories that I have sifted through since my mother's death. The entire dynamic of our family has changed. All of these changes will take some more time for me to deal with.

Christmas is my favourite holiday and we spent it quietly this year. We are not planning on staying up to usher in the New Year. We will be having a nice dinner.  I have my table set for tonight's dinner.

I really love deep red to decorate with at Christmas time. These are my grandmother's dishes. On the back of the dinner plates is says; Malborough, Royal Petal, Grindley, England and the pattern is called Rosiland". I chose the deep red from the flower pattern to use as my accent colour. The red votive holders are glasses that I purchased second hand, the crystal goblets are second hand the water glasses belonged to my mother and I purchased the cut glass candle holders second hand a few years ago. The linen and cotton tablecloth I purchased at the Salvation Army. The deep red placemats I purchased at Walmart about 3 years ago. The deep red candles were a gift.

It has been snowing since we awoke this morning. It is pretty to see everything covered. The snowflakes are falling gently at the moment. It looks like the kind of snow that lasts all day and all night. The winds are calm and it would be nice to go for a walk.

Here is Simon sitting in my chair and I am not sure what he is looking for, but those little paws look so cute hanging over the arm of the chair.

Here is  Chubby, he loves little boxes. He will be 11 years old on January 6th. He is a handsome old man.

Love Always,

Kim

 

Our New Baby

It has been a long time since I posted last. So many things have happened since then. My mother died in the spring of this year. I trust that she is finally in peace.

This is our new baby. He is a rescue kitty. He was abandoned along with his mother and 3 brothers and sisters. His name is Simon and he is a lovely kitty. His fur is so soft and he has fit right in with our other babies. He loves people food and crunchy cat food. His little meow is just like a little squeak toy. He loves to talk and I love to talk back. Being a kitten he is very curious and loves to take things to play with. I guess you could say we have to kitten proof the house somewhat.

My plan for the summer was to paint the cottage exterior but we have had such a long, hot and humid summer it just has not been possible. There may still be time this year. Time will tell. I wanted to continue with my furniture painting from last summer but everything looks the same as it did.

I have a couple more feeders in the yard and the bird watching has been exceptional this year. We had some kestrels making them home near by. They have since moved on. They are a very noisy bird and I am glad to have them gone. I regularly see chickadees, rose breasted nuthatches, cardinals, blue jays and goldfinches at the feeders. Occasionally the mourning doves visit. Just last week a there was a downy woodpecker at the feeder. I also saw a pleated woodpecker at the beginning of the spring. 

The northern flickers love to eat the seed off of the lawn, as do the grackles. We still have the family of ravens with two more family members. The ravens love to waddle up the road checking out things as they go. They are funny to watch.

Love Always,

Kim

New Christmas Wreath

I started with an old picture frame. I spray painted it silver with paint I already had. I had some sparkly ribbon which I purchased a couple of years ago.

I chose some ornaments that I like from my decorations. I had to purchase some ribbon that was small enough to fit through the holes on the ornaments. It cost me $1:00 at Walmart. Wow a new wreath for $1:00 because I had everything else already.

I grabbed the tools that I needed from the toolbox. I strung the ornaments with the small ribbon and spaced them across the top of the frame and fastened them. I made a bow with the sparkly ribbon and attached it as well. I found the command hook I bought and put it on the back of the door. Instructions said to wait an hour before hanging anything on the hook. So a pot of tea and some washed dishes later I hung it on the door.

I am very happy with the way it turned out. There is a glass screen door over this door so my wreath is protected from the weather and the wind.

Have a Wonderful Day

Love Always,

Kim

Before and After

Well here are my before pictures for the kitchen. These are not pretty pictures in my opinion but that is what the kitchen looked like. I knew I could not live with these colours.

In this picture you can just see the white drop leaf table that I use as my kitchen island. The table has been in the family for two generations. It will have to wait for next spring to be re-painted. The kitchen cabinets, the window trim and the baseboards were all painted in BM Cloud White. My walls are painted in BM ( Benjamin Moore ) Gray Cashmere which is a soft green with grey in it. I love the colour. I love pastels. There is a new countertop and a double stainless sink.

Now the table and chairs are painted and I had this material in my stash so the other day I re-did one seat cover to see if I liked it. I have not made my final decision as yet. I think I would like some material with some pink in  it. I am planning on painting my china cabinet a very soft pink colour. I am really very pleased with the table and chairs being white.

I guess I will have to do something about that sad looking ceiling fan. I do not really want to take it down as it has three light bulbs in it and gives me lots of light in the kitchen. Perhaps painting the blades and the hardware with white or silver would make it look better. For now it will stay like it is as painting season is over for another year.

Sorry if this picture is not clear but my hands were a little shaky when I took the picture.

Love Always,

Kim

Cute Cottage

I came across the cutest little cottage on Houzz yesterday; I had to share some of the pictures with you. If you love blue like I do you will love the decor of this little jem.

You can see more pictures here. 

Our summer seems very short this year. I am still working on my painting projects. I recently moved our table and chairs from the kitchen to the porch to fully enjoy the nice weather. We have eaten outside as much as possible and we are loving the abundance of fresh produce from our local farm market. We particularly love the corn which is in all the local stores as well.

I am looking forward to the melons and the fresh garlic. I always make our salad dressing from scratch and the lettuce is so fresh as well.

I have not done anymore sewing lately as it is just too nice to be inside on most days. I will reserve that for some cooler days. I finished my chandelier for the porch. I managed to get all of the wires out and I have it hanging above the table on the porch. My cousin came by with 5 glass votive candles holders and they fit perfectly. I also spray painted our coasters so they all match. Sometimes little things make such a difference.

I got the hostas planted at the side of the cottage.  I am pleased to have something planted where the grass did not grow and I know they will all look better next year when they have had a chance to grow. 

I hope you enjoy your day.

Love Always,

Kim

Finally the mirror is in the frame

I picked up my mirror on Saturday morning. I hung it up and took this picture this morning. I am so pleased with how it looks.

Here is the close-up. I love what a bit of paint can do. We have had a wonderful weekend for weather. It has been warm and sunny on the weekend for a change. Tomorrow's forecast is calling for hot and sunny. I think we will take advantage and stroll down to the beach and dip our toes in the water.

Love Always,

Kim

Progress in the Kitchen

I have hung my shelf and mirror frame on the wall in the kitchen. A few weeks ago I picked up a mirror for FREE at the end of somebody's driveway. What a score! It is a fairly large mirror and I could probably fit three frames with a piece of mirror.

My mother gave me the frame but I wasn't sure where it would look best. So I took up to the attic at the house and there it sat until we moved into the cottage. It did not take me long before I found the perfect place to hang it. I have finally found a place that cuts glass and mirror professionally so I will be off to see them at the beginning of the week. Here is the before.

Here is the after picture. I just took this a few moments ago. I am so pleased with how it looks. I can hardly wait for Monday morning to come. I feel like a kid at Christmas.

You can see the carved pieces of the frame now. Before the colour of the frame was so dark it was hard to see. I think I will take the cover of the thermostat off the wall and paint it white as well. It seems to stick out like a sore thumb. I will also have to dob a little paint on the screw heads so they will disappear. 

Hope you are enjoying your weekend. It is overcast and cool again so I am taking advantage of this weather to get some jobs done around the house.

Love Always,

Kim

June, how did that happen?

These are the lilacs that I just brought in from the front yard this morning. They are such a gorgeous colour. My lilacs in the past have been white or lilac colour. These look stunning in the yard. I took the picture just as the sun was shining through the living room window. As I sit on the front porch I can look right at the lilac bush. It has been well maintained. I have one tree in the front yard and one in the backyard beside the garden shed.

Last week I found some Lily-of-the-valley beside the garden shed and picked 3 stems to put beside my bed. Just 3 little stems and the whole room smells amazing for days. Lily-of-the-valley loves the soil under the pine trees.

I finally got the numbers up on the house post that we installed. We live in a remote area and do a lot of online shopping so we really want UPS, Purolator and everyone else to be able to find us. While is was working on painting the post I painted the numbers on the porch railing. They look like new but nobody will see them. Nobody looks for numbers to be on the cottages around here because most of the properties have the cottages set back from the road.

These are the little painting jobs that I have been working on. I have a pretty ornate mirror frame that my mother gave to me. A couple of weeks ago I picked up a free piece of mirror that someone left at the bottom of their driveway. It is a very large piece of mirror.  I can take to the hardware and have them cut it the right size for my frame and have mirror left over. The shelf with the brackets attached is going on the kitchen wall along with my mirror. The other smaller shelf is going above the stove to hold my olive oil, salt and things like that.

This past weekend was cold and rainy. It is such a nice day and this week promises sunshine and warmer temperatures. I hope you are enjoying your day.

Love Always,

Kim

Coffee on the porch and My New Apron

It was 16 degrees outside this morning when I got up. I sat on the porch for the first time to have my morning coffee. All of the cats were sitting out with me. I opened up the windows and let the warm breeze in. It seems like a dream the last time I opened up the windows to let in the fresh air. By noon the temperature was up to 20.7 degrees.

Here is a project that I worked on recently. This is my material. I love the colours in this fabric.

Here is what I made with it.

I have a lovely new apron to wear. It is a fairly simple pattern and I really like the ruffles on the bottom. When I read the instructions and started to put it together I knew that it was not going to be exactly what I wanted. I decided to line it. That meant I had to go to the quilting store to purchase a small piece of white cotton. I did not have a piece in my stash of material that I could use. I am happy with how it turned out. It was a new pattern for me and in hindsight I could have made it a smaller size but with a couple of adjustments is is just fine.

I promised myself that after we got settled into the cottage that I would sew again. It has been many years since I sewed anything; just a few minor repairs here and there and some hems on jeans. I have another beautiful piece of cotton waiting. I am going to make another apron. The material  is washed and pressed and ready to go.

I am going to make some comfy pants and a new housecoat for the summer. After that I plan to make some summer clothes. When I get the projects finished I will share all of them with you.

Love Always,

Kim

Spring?

Officially spring is here. Today the sky is overcast and there is rain off and on. These last few weeks we have had lots of sunshine and mild temperatures and the snow is beginning to disappear. The cats are asking to go outside but they have not left the confines of our yard.

I have been busy with little sewing projects lately. I purchased the prettiest pale pink tablecloth quite some time ago. I did not look at it very carefully and when I got it home and took a good look I found that the middle of the cloth was very worn and there were a number of big holes. I decided to cut the middle of the cloth out. I saved the little pieces and put them aside. I carefully matched the two pieces and sewed them back together.

I will try and find some pink lace to sew around the edge to really make it pretty. I put it on the kitchen table. I am very pleased with the results. I love pink and a pink tablecloth is one of my favourite things.

I am doing some little things for me and the cottage. I have started making an apron. I got it all cut out and started sewing when I realized it was not going to be to my liking when it is finished. So I am going to have to go and purchase a piece of solid fabric as a lining. There are no fabric stores close to us. I am going to try a quilting store that opened not to long ago. Perhaps they will have what I need. 

I hope you are enjoying your weekend.

Love Always,

Kim

Something Lovely for Valentine's Day

Here is a beautiful little tidbit that I would like to share with you. This is from the Graphics Fairy. If you like this little Angel and her message just click on the link and it will take you to the proper page. You can have your very own copy. Hope you enjoy this image. Valentines day is not far away. I am going to use this to make a card for my hubby.

Love Always

Kim

How I love pink

I put a little collage together of some pink things that I saved in my files. I am trying to make birthday party plans. Hubby says he will make it happen if I can tell and show him what I want. He knows what I like but he wants to make sure that everything is perfect.

Usually I make the plans and then I execute the plans. This year I told him that I do not want to do any of the cooking or preparation. I want my birthday lunch outside on our porch. I love a tea party. I came across the picture of the cake with these lovely pink roses on top and knew I would love something like this. I have things similar to the pictures so there is no need to purchase these. Somebody will have to make the food, set the table and purchase the flowers.

My birthday is not until the summer so there is plenty of time to plan everything.

Our weather is mild and rainy today. Such a change! The other day it was minus 23 Celsius. It is nice to have some pretty things to look at on a grey day. I think that later tea and scones will be in order. Have a wonderdul day.

Love Always,

Kim

A Cup of Tea to Warm You

It is a cold, grey day today and it has been snowing since 10:30 a.m. this morning. The winds have died down. That is a good thing. I have been making plans in my head for painting and refinishing my furniture. I almost have things were I want them. There isn't much left at the old house. Most of it can be donated. I have to sell my dining room furniture. I no longer have a dining room where is could rest.

My small table and chairs and the china cabinet fits in the kitchen. I purchase some lovely pink tulips for the kitchen and I set the table for tea. I made some brownies so won't you come and join me. We can have our tea and a chat.

Love Always,

Kim

Happy New Year

This is what the party looks like at our house. That is Emry on the left and Chubby on the right. This is their new favourite spot to sleep. Stewart is in the bedroom on the bed and Rudy is curled up beside me on the loveseat. Wherever you are and whatever you do I wish you a Happy New Year and Best Wishes in 2015.

Love Always,

Kim

The china cabinet found a home

The china cabinet arrived before Christmas which gave me plenty of time to wash, polish and make it sparkle. I unpacked all of my teacups and tried to make everything look good. I love the cabinet in this spot. I had my hutch here but it was too deep and stuck out past the wall. Sometimes you just have to live with things before you make changes.

I have been busy lately emptying the last of the boxes. I always have a box ready for donations. When you realize that you do not need a certain item any longer it is nice to know that someone else will probably have a use for it. We have an amazing Salvation Army store in the town south of us and I take all of my donations there.

I have been working on organizing the laundry room. I have a vision for the room and the inspiration came from this picture. This is from the blog: From My Front Porch To Yours.

I just love the room in this picture. I have an antique dresser that I want to sit in between my washer and dryer. This room is my laundry room, storage room, mudroom and a room for the cats. I am going to have to paint the room from top to bottom and come up with a idea for a ceiling fixture. There is no outlet for a ceiling fixture in this room and there are only 2 electrical outlets.
I will take pictures of the room as soon as I get all of my storage furniture in place. I haven't decided on colours yet. Take care.

Love Always,

Kim

Looking forward to Christmas

I have just spent some time cleaning the handles and pulls on my china cabinet. I don't know why I never thought of it before. Once you get one done you want to clean all the rest in a instant. Well it took some doing to get these clean. I soaked them in hot water and soap just to get the dirt off of them first and then I took the cleaner/polish to them. Oh yes and don't forget the elbow grease. There was lots of elbow grease. They look like new, they pick up the light and look so much bigger.

I have been very busy trying to get all of the boxes emptied and everything put away before Christmas. It is right around the corner. How does it creep up on us so fast?

The weather man this evening says there is a really good chance of a White Christmas due to a major storm. This is a lot different from last year. We had so much snow this time last year. In truth it is much easier to get around without the snow. The wind howls here right off of the lake and makes the cottage rattle. We do not have any snow at the moment and it has been quit mild. I guess only time will tell. 

Love Always,

Kim