Holding On And Letting Go. Knowing When to Do Which.

... a double-minded man is unstable in all his ways."   ---James 1:8

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My longtime readers? You'll recall Autumn Cottage, our first house in New York and somehow, oh my! I missed that our buyers sold it last July. 

For years, I checked online for photos of changes they'd made via a sale listing (anyone else nosey like me?).  ツ Time. It sails past!

Anyway, I'd painted every single wall in that house; they covered them each (except 2 upstairs) with white. But hey, who cares? When you totally release a house, you--ideally--just want what's best for it and its new owners. You give them freedom to undo all you did, right? Right?  シ

The countertops, flooring and paint are new. Behind the door is the large pantry closet --

And the just-an-old-unfinished-basement now looks like this (wow, all that work!)--

Oh, and they removed absolutely everything I did in the backyard, but this is lovely, also (that gate is the perfect accent, right?)--

There's more, but that's enough. 

When we moved-in, I was 34 and never before had lived in the same house for more than 3 years(!) We spent nearly 15 good, good years here so a lesson? Never assume your life will always be just one way. Movers can become stayers and --

 

May the new owners feel as welcomed and blessed as we did.

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Speaking of that house, if I miss anything it's only the sunroom and the pantry closet. 

And you know? When I viewed the kitchen photo and recalled with

longing that pantry closet, it (finally) came to me. "Wait a minute! I could have a whole pantry room here upstairs!"

(We've lived here nearly 11 years. Does anyone else try hard not to kick yourself at how slowly wonderful ideas come to you?)

I mean, ok. I've stored prepper pantry items in that room already, but also lots of books. And cat supplies. I hung damp laundry there and --. But never before had I envisioned how it could become a pantry room, something better than our former closet! 

Oh, how important, especially these days, to respect fluidity, to think outside the box. It's when we believe things must look and be and feel a certain way that we get stuck. Grace can only be followed, not forced.

Wow. I carried all the books into our guest room/my office which I can now call a /library, as well. I removed some food cans I'd stored in here, gave away a handful of other items and all my books fit fine.

Ages ago I told you sometimes we just need to get rid of the mixture in our lives. 

The bad habits mixed-in with good. 

The 1990's decor if we're wanting only a 1950's look.

Indecision dwelling with decisiveness.  

Procrastination with needing things accomplished.

The clinging to bad/sad memories if we're longing for daily joy.

What I'm aiming for lately is a balanced sort of single-minded focus. A determination to complete what I begin, but not to the exclusion of what else needs to be done 'round here.

And oh, what I'd really love is to rely upon God more so that wonderful ideas won't require 10 or 11 years.  ッ

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us..."   ---Hebrews 12:1

Speaking of pantries, why buy and store those now-expensive envelopes of, say, chili seasoning? It's simple to find recipes for those online and then you can store them in jars or containers or even your own cute envelopes made from foil and a label.

To get you started, here's a chili seasoning mix recipe I found last week:

5 tbl. chili powder

2 tbl. garlic powder

2 tbl. paprika

1 1/2 tbl onion powder

1 tbl. oregano

2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. pepper

1/4 tsp. cayenne powder

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Lots of years ago, my sweet friend, Joyce, mailed this book to me:

Oh my. Always this book survives every single book purge (and there've been many, trust me). Thank-you again, Joyce!

And guess what? Each of you, my readers, can also peruse the lovely pages! Just go here to Open Library.

In fact, some others of Mary's books are waiting for you. Look her up under Mary Ellisor Emmerling and you'll find a longer list.

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Oh! And after finishing my last post, I added 4 or 5 additional authors (scroll down) I read over at OpenLibrary.org. Just thought I'd mention it in case you want to check out the list again. 

Great news! Yesterday Tom and I were finally able to clear our slooow-moving kitchen sink drain! Woo hoo! A toilet plunger, hot water and liquid dish soap did the trick. 

How lovely, incredible even, to begin the week with a freely-running kitchen sink drain.

 

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Please remember: My posts are always about more than they appear to be. 

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 "For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses." ... Matthew 6:14,15