More Changes, More Shopping, More Joy

Well, I realized this morning that I hugely missed sitting at a table in front of my window, so I grabbed a bistro table from our front porch (leaving one out there, though it's not like we'll be sitting outside till next spring), lugged it upstairs and now all is extremely well.

I mean, I'd been putting on my make-up, paying bills and clipping coupons at this tiny (needs to be cleaned) footstool:

...placing even a tiny lamp upon it. But then it's as though I awoke! And realized that just wasn't working and was all kinda pathetic, really.

Sometimes? Sometimes I think we put-up with being uncomfortable and just choose to complain about it rather than actually expending energy to make a change. And then we wonder (duh!) why something feels wrong inside. Pro-activity and knowing ourselves well are much better choices than complaining and staying the same.

Anyway, after living here three whole months I finally made it over to Salvation Army just little over a mile away where I found the most perfect winter coat (my last one has been demoted to shoveling snow status). It's another long black wool one which fit so perfectly that it felt like I'd slipped on my own coat the first time. And since Wednesdays are half-off day, I paid just $5 for this close-to-new warm frock. (Is God good or what?)

I also bought two nice sweater tops and oh! Four books, also, which I narrowed down from six. Here they are:

Oh my! What treasures. The home fashion book is from 1965 and the colored photos are so Daisy Cottage-ish, though Kim's sense of whimsy is way better. And Tom and I have already begun reading the mid-life crisis book, but oh dear, has that (Christian) author ever got our number! By his standards we seem to be quite the average middle-agers and he's already inspiring us to not just settle for oh-hum, but for more--for excellence during these middle years of much change. For appreciation of lessons learned, also.

I'm sure I'll enjoy the other two books as well. Don't you love it when you find just the right books, and for only pennies (relatively), too?

And then it was back out into the cold and rainy mist and over to JoAnn's Fabric's where I'd not been in a few years. It's a small one, so they had no miniatures for my dollhouse, though I did find some perfect stickers to use as tiny artwork, oh, and gold paint, too. And here's what I came home and did with that:

... brushed some gold along the decorative top of my mirror (though it's all 'gold-er' than this photo shows).

It feels wonderful to be creative again. And how great to be able to walk out of stores without buying a single thing (which I did 5 times lately) because of feeling too blessed already, too well-cared for by God. It's like realizing the decades of 'retail therapy' are over and now another new season has arrived, namely, a time to attune my ears to listening to what other people need and to shop for them, instead. Oh, the possibilities!

Truly, I think we find great happiness when we step into the right season at the right time, not looking back or ahead, wishing for other seasons altogether. But just splashing around in the Grace-filled "now-ness" of it all.

************************

It's always a delight to awake and find your comments to my posts. I so enjoy the interaction and hearing what you think!

************************