Thursday, June 1, 2017

The Rebuilding of a Life 101 and Hidden Gems





Holy cow!   I can’t believe it’s been one month and a day since I last posted on the blog.  Okay for starters, so far in the 8 weeks of living in my new little piece of paradise, I’ve painted one bedroom and have a good start on the other guest room, I’ve refinished 3 pieces of furniture… pictures to follow. 
 
Master bathroom vanity - Before

Same vanity - now AFTER.  Distressed in my personal farm-chick style

Guest bedroom armoire - before

Armoire AFTER

A yard sale desk that I wanted to use as my make-up vanity - BEFORE

My vanity AFTER (much needed as I seem to have lots of stuff)

On the outside, well oh my…. I took myself down to the local building supply store and bought a push mower, then a weed eater to accessorize the riding lawn mower for the large area that I mow and need to keep up.  I am in the beginning stages of a building project… a new 2 car garage.  I also had to buy another back pack sprayer for massive amounts of 2-4-D needed to tame the broad-leaf weeds…. So it’s safe to say that I’ve bonded quite well  and had lots of quality time with two backpack sprayers. It just occurred to me that maybe I should name them.  Any suggestions?
I bought myself something that looks like a park

I have this little area outside my home office window and it’s my private hidden gem.  It really isn’t much, a steep hillside that ends with a stone ledge and has a fruit tree at the bottom.  But  I like the view and can imagine myself sitting there, writing away.  From the looks of  the little area, it may have been well tended at one time, but it now sports an overgrown haphazard look. (it’s fair to say it probably looks like my morning hairdo.. yup that bad!  Lol)   I‘ve started to clean it up and sort of have a plan of what I want it to look like and have started planting all sorts of interesting plants that should grow and thrive.  Getting stuff in the ground has been a bit tricky since I have actually slid down the steep hill….  (promise I'll snap some pictures !)

Like almost everything in my life, I haven’t really had a master plan of what the overall picture of life should look like, I just make it up as I go.  Sometimes that is good and sometimes not.   I may have accomplished more in my life if I had actually had goals and plans, but it has just sort of evolved and the pathways that I walked down have been filled with many life lessons but lots of love and support.  I have two beautiful daughters where our relationships have gone from parent/child to being friends.  And family, both those who are actual family and those who are just like family, are my cherished bright spots.

Now as I start down a new chapter in this girl’s life I wonder what the overall picture will look like.  I sort of imagine my life is  like my little hidden gem outside my office window where there is a mix and match of interesting things growing. And that will one day have an array of colors that range from flowers to light up the soul  to a  good ground cover for stability.   This hidden gem that I compare to my life to will be the constant reminder that sometimes if there isn’t constant tending and taking care of yourself and your  life that it can fall in disrepair.  And now I’m paying attention to what I need to keep me balanced, which is not always an easy task but I give it a good try.  I’m enjoying the process of  growing in ways I never thought possible, meeting so many interesting people, learning to play and laugh, and giving myself permission to enjoy life.  Having the mystery of the unexpected and unplanned makes for an interesting life, or at least from my perspective and a fertile field to plan the next season of life.   



Capturing a storm rolling in... wild and beautiful


With that, please feel free to leave comments, thoughts, questions at swheatfarmlife@gmail.com as they always make my day.  All my best, Gayle