Blessing #153 - Mrs. Potter's House

While I was visiting my family in Georgia last week, I got to do something really cool! Remember when I went home and returned inspired to make a bottle bush? This visit, I asked the lady that inspired the bottle bush if I could tour her home and take pictures. For our purposes today, we will call her, Mrs. Potter's House because that's the name of her favorite thrift store.  

When I was a teenager, I was always amazed at Mrs. Potter's House's amazing decorations.  She was the first person that I ever saw decorate with re purposed items.  

Last week, Mrs. Potter's House took me through her whole house, and told me all the stories behind her collections and decorations.  It is one of the coolest experiences.  I'm so glad I did it. 

Here are a few things I took away from my visit with Mrs. Potter's House.  

1. {Collections}

Mrs. Potter's House loves federal mirrors.  I've seen these before, and the never really appealed to me, but when you see them grouped together they are very impressive and beautiful.  Mrs. Potter's House was inspired by a memory of a federal mirror in a relatives house to start collecting these.

Just like my pyrex collection, many of Mrs. Potter's House's collections are linked to a childhood memory.

Because her father was a boot legger, Mrs. Potter's House collects moon shine stills and finds beautiful ways to display them.

Wait! Before I go any further.  Look at this indoor bottle tree she made.  The tree was originally a picture holder, but I like it much better as a bottle tree.  Do you see Shad in the mirror?

Mrs. Potter's House collects scales and uses them as displays around her house.  This was my favorite.

Because of the time of day, I couldn't get the best shot of her green glass collection, but it was stunning with the sun shining through it.

2. {Family Pieces}

Mrs. Potter's House used new and old family pieces all around her house.  From her dining room table decked out in it's Thanksgiving best made by her son.

To family pottery used as a vase.

This old pew from our church has a new life with a black coat of paint.  As soon as I saw the original red cushion, I was taken back to picking at the buttons as my dad preached.

By the way, Mrs. Potter's House made all those pillows which brings me to my next point.

3. {Keep Learning}

Mrs. Potter's House is a great quilter.  This quilt was my favorite in her house.  This quilt was a competition quilt, the ugly fabric quilt.  Participants were given thirteen ugly fabric and asked to make something out of them.  Mrs. Potter's House came up with this.

Mrs. Potter's House even took a whittling class, and whittled this Santa for her Santa collection. She said her hand wasn't quite strong enough for this hobby, but she enjoyed it.

Mrs. Potter's House said that she also took a cake decorating class so that she could make her kids cakes.  She said that class made her realize that cake decorating was hard and she has bought cakes ever since.

4. {If you like it....make it}

When Mrs. Potter's House saw this painting in a magazine, she was in love.  However, when she found out the price, she was shocked! She determined to try to paint it herself from looking at the picture.  I love her version!

Mr. Potter's House is talented too! One year for Christmas, Mrs. Potter's House wanted a piece of furniture, but they could not afford it.  She asked Mr. Potter's House if he could make a copy of it, and he did!

5. {When you make something....put a label on it}

Mrs. Potter's House had so many things in her home that she made herself.  In all of those things, she finds a way to label that she made the item.  On this blanket, she not only labeled that she made it, but she also made sure to include that it took her two years to make it.

She made this step stool many years ago for her kids.   She says she really wishes she would have signed it.  It's so simple, but that was a big lesson for me.  Sign and label the things that I make!

6. {Cross stitch can be pretty!}

I like embroidery, but I have never been a big cross stitch fan....until I saw this in her house.

I fell in LoOoOoOoVe with this cross stitch.  I came home and searched for it on ebay! I want a copy of this with the bright colors in my kitchen!  I haven't found the right one yet, but I'm looking.  I'm patient!

7. {There is beauty in everything}

When I passed by this table, I had to stop and take a second look.

I noticed they were stamps, but I noticed the stamps had postmarks on them.

Mrs. Potter's House said that when she gets a letter, she saves the stamp off of them, soaks them off, and then puts them on wooden eggs.

What!?! Are you kidding me? Who would see the beauty in a stamp.....Mrs. Potter's House! And she made this before Pinterest!

I absolutely loved going through Mrs. Potter's House's house.  I felt so honored to hear all the stories that go with all the pieces in her house.  I'm so thankful she opened up her doors to me.  I absolutely had the best time. Years after I first saw her house, and her style still inspires me!

Blessing #139 - Mr. Gordon

Remember when I posted about my landing table and the great story behind it? If not, you can read that post by clicking here.

In that post, I mentioned that Mr. Gordon made my table and I would have to blog about him on another day.  Today is that day.

Over the weekend, Mr. Gordon passed away, and my heart is hurting for Mrs. Gordon and his family.   Today, I just wanted to share with you a little about him because he's the type of person that everyone should know.

When I was a little girl, Mr. and Mrs. Gordon sat right behind my mom in church. Often, I would sit on my Mom's lap facing backwards, and I would spend most of the service looking at him.  With his own unique style, Mr. Gordon half sung and half whistled every hymn during the congregational singing. Actually, he mostly whistled.

  Mr. Gordon always had a toothpick in his mouth and his outfit of choice was usually his blue and white striped overalls.   As a little girl, I was always fascinated at how he could talk, sing, and whistle and yet his toothpick would never fall out of his mouth.

Mr. Gordon was a painter by trade, and did all of the painting in the church.  Every time I saw him painting, he was calmly whistling.  He never seemed to be in a hurry (Mr. Gordon was never in a hurry). I guess he just wanted to get the job right.

In the past year, I've painted a few rooms in our home.  Now that I paint, I realize I never saw him using painter's tape.  Never! Every time I'm working on a paint project, and my Dad asks how it's going, I answer, "I'm no Mr. Gordon."

Mr. Gordon's life demonstrated the love of Christ by how he loved his wife of 65 years, how he loved his big family, how he loved his country as he served in World War II, and how he loved Ridgeway Baptist Church.

Although I won't be at his funeral today, I am going to honor Mr. Gordon the best way I know how.  I'm painting my living room.  I'll probably whistle some, and I may even go without the painter's tape...nah! I'm no Mr. Gordon.
 

Blessing #133 - The All Vegetable Meal



As a kid, I was a very picky eater, and every summer I dreaded one meal...the all vegetable meal. 

The people of Ridgeway Baptist Church really believed in taking care of their pastor's family, and in the summer taking care of the pastor's family meant sharing from their gardens.....much to my dismay. 

When I saw Elmer O'Kelley riding his bike down our driveway with a bag of squash hanging of his bicycle, I knew the all vegetable meal was coming. (Elmer didn't have a car or electricity.  He was off the grid before it was cool.)  Often we would find a bag of green beans from Jimmy Cheek's garden on our front porch, my parents would smile and say things like, "We're gonna be eating good tonight."  I had to hold back my gag reflex as I felt the all vegetable meal approaching. 

Soon after, my mom would take all the vegetables, make some cornbread, and call it a feast. As the picky eater, I lived off of cantelope at that meal.  As they savored every bite, my parents would reminisce about all the vegetables in my grandpa's garden, all the green beans my great-grandma used to can, and all the corn my mom would eat as a kid.

I thought they were crazy, what was the big deal.  Didn't the grocery store sell squash and cucumbers for just a few dollars?

Now, as an adult, I'm not nearly as picky, and I finally get it.  Fresh garden vegetables do taste different.  Maybe it's the freshness or all the time and attention they get, but something about a fresh squash, tomato, or cucumber just tastes like summer.  Now that I have a garden, I know how much care and time goes into planting and growing a garden.  Now, I know how valuable those gifts were on our front porch from the givers.   Now, I say things like, "We're gonna be eating good tonight," as I make my all vegetable meal....except for the cornbread I still don't like cornbread.

Blessing #115 - My Landing Table

At Christmas, my parents gave me an amazing gift.  A table, but not just any table.   During a recent renovation of the church I grew up in (Ridgeway), they pulled out some old boards.  This table was made by those boards by one of my favorite people, Mr. Gordon.  (I'll have blog about him on another day)

I loved the table, but I just couldn't find the right space for it. 

For the past few weeks, I've been working on our mudroom, and trying to update it.  I had the idea of a table where we could drop our keys and such when we first walk in the door, a landing table.  I tried my Ridgeway table, and it was the perfect height. 

I made a key holder out of an old window I found in one of the attics of our house (that's one of the perks of living in a house that's over 100 years old). I also put a bowl and a piggy bank to empty out our pockets with.

 

Because I am so forgetful, I've been using the table as a place to put all of the things I need to take with me and it has worked great!

Here is the table in its everyday look (Pay no attention to the ugly green carpet. I'll take care of that eventually.)

 Notice how many keys we have! I really need to go through them, but there's this nagging feeling that I'm throwing away the key to something really important.

Yesterday, I had to take a picture for my etsy shop so  I fancied up my little landing table.  It's my new favorite spot in the house.  It's so nice to see something I love right when I walk in the door. 

I'm sharing this post with these sites. 

Blessing #112 - Miss Yearwood

When I was six years old, I had three life goals...

1. to make it through the first grade
2. to grow up and become a veterinarian
3. to someday be taller than Miss Yearwood

Some kids had growth charts  where they marked their height, but I had Miss Yearwood.  Miss Yearwood taught children's church every Sunday, and almost every Sunday, I would check to see where I stood on Miss Yearwood. 

"Miss Yearwood, I'm up to your chin!"

"Miss Yearwood, I've made it to your ears!"

"Miss Yearwood, how's the view from down there!"

At barely 5 feet, I didn't have long to wait before I grew as tall as Miss Yearwood.  Any time I picked on her for her height though, Miss Yearwood always gave same answer, "Dynamite comes in small packages!"

I really don't know how old Miss Yearwood was when I met her.  I know she had grey hair and she would often talk about her grandchildren, but I never liked to hear about them.  I guess I was jealous.  Miss Yearwood climbed trees and did all things cool and adventurous, and I always liked to think that I was her favorite kid ever. 

Miss Yearwood would often sing in church, and she remains as one of my favorite singers.  She never used music, and she didn't have a soft soprano voice, but she would sing "Hand in Hand with Jesus" with such strength that I can almost hear her singing as I type this. 

Miss Yearwood never got her driver's license, and when I was scared to drive when I was 15 and 16 my argument was, "Well, Miss Yearwood's never had a license, and she does just fine."

When she first met Shad, it was a big deal.  Shad was the first boy that I had ever brought to the church for everyone to meet, and Miss Yearwood did not make it easy on him.  As soon as he saw her, Shad said, "Miss Yearwood, I've heard so much about you."  Miss Yearwood said nothing to him except, "Turn around."  Shad looked confused, but he had enough sense to do just a Miss Yearwood said. (She has a mean headlock) As soon as he was done with his turn, Miss Yearwood looked him over and said, "You'll do," and walked away. 

That picture is of Miss Yearwood and I the night before Shad and I moved to Maryland.  You can tell I'd been crying in that picture.  It was extra hard to say goodbye to Miss Yearwood.

A few years ago, Miss Yearwood went to live with her daughter about an hour away and no longer goes to Ridgeway.  Every time I go home and go to church, I miss her so badly.  I grew up living away from my grandparents, but I think God gave me people like her to fill that void.  However, Miss Yearwood never really seemed like a grandma.  Though she is much older than me, she always seemed more like a friend.  She's timeless.  No matter what her age, her youthful spirit and joy shines through.  In fact, some people call her Miss Cheerwood, and the name fits her.

In children's church, Miss Yearwood taught me the books of the Bible, countless songs, and many Bible stories, but I also learned a life lesson from her.  Just because you grow up doesn't mean you have to lose your fun. 

Update: On May 19, 2013, Miss Yearwood passed away. Yesterday, I cried because I was sad that I was never going to see her again, and sad that my boys would never get the chance to get to know her, but I kept finding myself smiling when I thought of her in heaven climbing trees.

Over the past year, Miss Yearwood's health had gone down.  Shad said it best when I told him of her failing health. He said, "You can't contain her. A bird like that was meant to fly." Her spirit was far to big for the body that was failing her. 

Yesterday, I started thinking what did Miss Yearwood's first day in heaven look like, and if you would let my imagination run I'd like to share it with you.  

At some point yesterday, as all the angels were singing.  I bet they looked around and asked the others, "Who is that new voice?" Then they would all stand back, stop playing their harps (because Miss Yearwood never needed music), and listen to her sing.  

Some people say that when they get to heaven they want God to give them a voice like an angel, but I think Miss Yearwood still has her same beautifully strong voice.  Yesterday, I think all the angels stopped and listened because they heard something in her voice more beautiful than their perfect tone and pitch. They stopped when they heard the sound of a woman who went through some battles.  The sound of a woman who poured herself out into the lives of the lucky children of Ridgeway Baptist Church.  The sound of a woman who spent her whole life "Hand in Hand with Jesus."