Two words I hope will describe my blog are comforting and encouraging. Though it wasn't always true, my hope now is in Christ and I hope to live out the verse from Job 16:5 that says, "But my mouth would encourage you; comfort from my lips would bring you relief." You may feel fine. You don't need relief. All the same, I hope you will be uplifted whenever you visit this site.
In the meantime, let me tell you about the Jewel of Bayshore. Around sixteen years ago we bought our first place, a matchbox house of brick, only about 800 square feet (hence the term matchbox) and riddled with old termite damage. It didn't take me long to realize I needed an attitude adjustment about this place. Instead of looking at it as someone's fifty year-old rental property, I started to see it for what it could be if it was truly loved. So I named it Peace Garden, having seen a famous British Peace Garden in The English Garden magazine. I went all out imagining how great this little cottage could be. I researched flowers and planted one for each letter in the home's name: P for petunias, E for echinacea, etc. I established a tongue-in-cheek home improvement society (giving my husband and me its top titles Pres and VP) and a newsletter about the house (the short-lived Peace Garden Gazette). Meanwhile, my Devil Dog, AKA The Pres, wasted no time demolishing plaster walls and replacing them with sheet rock, and taking out rotten floor joists and replacing them. But, being military folks, we had to move after only 18 mos. More on that house's progress later.
In the meantime, let me tell you about the Jewel of Bayshore. Around sixteen years ago we bought our first place, a matchbox house of brick, only about 800 square feet (hence the term matchbox) and riddled with old termite damage. It didn't take me long to realize I needed an attitude adjustment about this place. Instead of looking at it as someone's fifty year-old rental property, I started to see it for what it could be if it was truly loved. So I named it Peace Garden, having seen a famous British Peace Garden in The English Garden magazine. I went all out imagining how great this little cottage could be. I researched flowers and planted one for each letter in the home's name: P for petunias, E for echinacea, etc. I established a tongue-in-cheek home improvement society (giving my husband and me its top titles Pres and VP) and a newsletter about the house (the short-lived Peace Garden Gazette). Meanwhile, my Devil Dog, AKA The Pres, wasted no time demolishing plaster walls and replacing them with sheet rock, and taking out rotten floor joists and replacing them. But, being military folks, we had to move after only 18 mos. More on that house's progress later.
By the time we moved back I felt the name was wrong and changed it to Rose Tree Cottage, after our dear neighbor Linda Wendt, who sadly died while we were away- she had given me a wild rose from her garden before we'd moved. While we were gone the white wild rose took over and as it scrambled up over the brick and the porch roof, it gave the house the charm I'd pictured it having long before. The new version of my newsletter was called The Rose Tree Rambler, a publication of the Rose Tree Cottage Improvement Society, and its motto was 'Come see the jewel of Bayshore'. We are now several houses later, but treat each one with a fitting name, an improvement society (now happily also peopled with our kid, Fidget), and a newsletter. But we will never forget our roots, at the Jewel of Bayshore.
Dear Lara,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your blog. It's interesting and inspiring how you named and dealt with the problems of each home. God has given you good roots. Thanks for sharing your fun attitude about life.
Hurray for you!
Joan
Joan Y. Edwards
http://www.joanyedwards.com
Thanks for the inspiring, creative and thought provoking post and blog. I look forward to reading more!
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