It is Well With My Soul

It seems like forever since I have posted or read any blogs, and I have missed nearly all of the beautiful fall posts that I always look forward to.  But I wanted to share these fall photos taken at a state park near my parent's home where I spent several afternoons taking solace from the storms of life.

 The last two weeks of my life have been a blur as I and my seven siblings were confrontedwith the shocking news that my parents had been in a serious car accident.I first heard about the accident on the noon news which happened just one block from my parents home.  No names or photos were given and it crossed my mindthat one of my parents could have been involved, but nothing prepared me for thefact that they were both in the car.

My parents were taken to separate downtown hospitals and my family was split upto be with each parent.  My Mom went to the hospital with the best trauma centerindicating her injuries were the worst and three of my sisters went to be with her.I went off to be with my Dad, and it was hours before we knew how serious his injuries were.   

 When I got to the ER, he looked remarkably well and just confused.  He was talking to us the whole time and aware of who was with him, which the doctors said was remarkableconsidering he had to be revived at the scene of the accident and is 92 years old.I was in awe as he went from confusion, to saying how much he hurt, to thanking Godfor the good life he had enjoyed, and finally to praying blessings over his family.  Wordscannot describe the peace of God that flooded that room and covered us all like a blanket.  I can only describe it as feeling like I was standing on holy ground.

But late in the afternoon, the bad news started rolling in and we were told my Dadhad a broken neck, a severed spinal cord, was paralyzed, and not a surgical candidate.By this time, more and more extended family were arriving as we gathered around his bedside to be with him.  The hardest part was watching him suffer with so much pain,but still praises to God rolled off his tongue and I knew I was watching true faith in action.

Within 28 hours from the time of the accident, he closed his eyes on earth to open them in heaven.  In every minute and every detail we were overwhelmed with the peace of God thatpasses all understanding.  Lives were deeply touched and many wounds healed.  Though wewill always miss our Father, we marvel at the gift of time and words of healing that God gave our family which came wrapped in sorrow and the peace of God.

My Mother has been discharged from the hospital and is now in a nursing home getting rehab for her numerous broken ribs and broken collar bone.  I covet your prayers for her continued recovery as she is not out of the woods yet and would be very vulnerable to any infection.We continue to give God praise for His love and peace that sustains our family.

I leave you with the words of my Dad's favorite song, "It is Well With My Soul", that was sung at his funeral.  When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,When sorrows like sea billows roll:Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say,It is well, it is well, with my soul. Refrain: It is well, with my soul,It is well, it is well, with my soul.
Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,Let this blest assurance control, That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,And hath shed His own blood for my soul.
My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!My sin, not in part but the whole,Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it not more,Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul.
For me, be it Christ, be it Christ hence to live:If Jordan above me shall roll,no pang shall be mine, for in death as in life,Thou wilt whisper Thy peace to my soul.
But, Lord, 'tis for Thee, for Thy coming we wait,The sky, not the grave, is our goal;Oh, trump of the angel! Oh, voice of the Lord!Blessed hope, blessed rest of my soul.
And Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight,The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,Even so, it is well with my soul. This is a picture of all my brothers and sisters taken after the funeral for myMother, who could not attend the funeral since she was in the hospital.

~
Linking with 
The Tablescaper for Seasonal Sundays 

A Mixture of Paints

This little table was a flea market find in the spring that I'm just now getting around to painting. 

 It was a dirty white with some gold stripes when I found it, so I painted theentire table with Caromal Colours Reclaim paint in the Mocha color, whichbasically is just a nice brown.  I wanted to cover up the white and gold so I couldget it to a stage that I could work with.  I couldn't decide what color to putover it until I was at the Springfield Extravaganza Flea market lastweekend and a vendor there from the Dayton area was selling the Annie Sloanpaint, which I had never tried.  Since it was available to buy on-the-spot, Idecided to pick up a quart and I choose the color "Versailles", which isa soft olive green.  

These pictures aren't the best since my house gets such poor natural light inthe summer.  I didn't realize the color was so similar to my wall colorso the contrast here isn't the best to show you what this color really looks like.I do like the way the chalk paint sands out when you distress it.  I have always liked chalky paints and how they sand so smooth, but it suredid make a dusty mess.

Isn't this the prettiest little tray?  I ordered them to sell at the store and theymake the perfect container for small displays.  Well- off to the storefor both items.
Linking with
Common Ground for Vintage Inspiration Friday~Miss Mustard Seed for Furniture Feature Friday~The Shabby Nest for Frugal Friday

 

A Long Time

It's been a long time since I've posted ~ almost a month.  I've been struggling to find the words for why I've been absent.  Some of the reason is just being way too busy and overwhelmed, and part of it was health reasons.  To keep it brief, I had some testing this summer that required me to be off some medications for a long length of time. So often we take good health for granted, until it isn't there anymore.  It is a continuing journey to find the right medication to treat the diagnosisthat was made with the testing, and I feel like I've been on a roller coaster ~ all summer long.  I'm ready to get off the long ride and find my way back to normal, both physically and emotionally.Anyways, along the way, I was able to squeak out a few pieces of furniture makeovers and I'd like to share one with you.This is how I found this piece at a yard sale earlier this summer.

It is a reproduction oak icebox and was in excellent condition.  I was thrilledto find a piece of furniture that I could take directly into the store and nothave to do anything to it.  But ~ it seems oak is not so much in styleright now, and there it sat for over a month getting no attention.So, I brought it home and gave it a makeover and here it is all dressedup for fall.

It has nice hardware and distressed out very nicely.  I used theCaromal Color texture paint Peppercorn on it and it made it look trulyold instead of being a reproduction piece.

I accessorized it with a fall bittersweet wreath from JoAnn Fabrics and a candle holder and candle that were Goodwill finds.

Linking with 
A Stroll Thru Life for Table Top Tuesday~My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia  for Tuesday's Treasures
 

Fantastic Furniture

I wanted to show you some furniture done by my friend Nancy Youngwho is a vendor at the same store where I place my furniture.Nancy does the most unique makeovers and in my opinion is a painting genius.  Iam always in awe of her "out of the box" thinking when she paints a piece.First I want to show you a simple pine table that I bought at a yard salea few weeks ago.  It just sat in my garage because I had no vision for it.Nancy came along and took it off my hands, for which I was mostgrateful because it was blocking me from getting my lawn mower out of the garage.I don't have a before picture, but here is what Nancy did with it.

Never in my wildest dreams would I have envisioned this simplepine table to have such a fantastic makeover which such pizazz.Here is it coupled with some classy French chairs.  Don't theymake the perfect couple?

The pictures don't do the table justice ~ you have to see it in person.Here is a close-up.

Here is the rest of her space.  She finds the most unique pieces.

And then there is this fantastic accent piece that although quite small,it really commands attention.

Isn't she sweet?

 A special thank you to Mary at Boogieboard Cottage for featuring myvintage writing desk at Masterpiece Monday.  

  ~Linking with`Dittle Dattle for Amaze Me Monday~Boogieboard Cottage for Masterpiece Monday~The House in the Roses for Show off Your Cottage Monday~Between Naps on the Porch for Metamorphosis Monday~Mod Vintage Life for Mod Mix Monday~Domestically Speaking for The Power of Paint Party~Restore Interiors for Restored It Wednesday~Miss Mustard Seed for Furniture Feature Friday  

Sweet and Simple

A short post just to share a summer vignette in my livingroom comprised of a couple of my favorite things ~ bees andsunflowers.I found these bee prints earlier this summer and fell in lovewith them immediately.

I love these prints, although the darker bee looks like those meanbees that come out in the fall and hover around your food.  I wishthey had made this set with a bumble bee instead.

I found these sunflowers at Michael's earlier this spring, and waited patiently for them to go on sale because they were quite pricey, but worthevery penny.

And this beautiful leaf plate I found at the store where I sell my furniture.  I loved it at first sight and the store owner surprised me by givingit to me for helping set up displays at the store.  I was so happy toadd this lovely piece to my collection.

And so these favorite things make up my lovely summer vignette in the corner of my living room.

I find myself keep coming back to this corner for the pleasure itgives me.  It is currently the only part of my house that issweet and simple ~ the rest of it is in utter chaos, overflowingwith boxes and furniture.  This is my little corner of sanity.

Linking with~A Stroll Thru Life for Table Top Tuesday~Coastal Charm for Nifty Thrifty Tuesdays~

Old Writing Desk

I found this old writing desk at a yard sale when visiting a friend in Cleveland.It is a sweet little desk, very old and very charming.  I'm not sure Idid it justice because the paint job did not come out as nicely as I wouldhave liked.  But before we get to the painted pictures, here are the before pictures.

This piece has lovely detail work.

Now for the after pictures.  I painted the piece black and although itdistressed very nicely, the black paint sanded out very splotchy anduneven.  No amount of effort seemed to resolve this problem and leftme very frustrated.  Does anyone have any secrets for working withblack paint?  The paint seems to go on okay, it's just when you start sandingor distressing it that I run into trouble.
Here it is on display at the store.

This picture shows the unevenness of the paint and under these bright lightsit shows up even more than it did in my home.

I'm hoping that someone interested in the piece might think that theunevenness of the finish adds to the oldness of the piece.  One can only hope.

Here is how I finished the inside.  I wasn't about to paint all thoselittle cubbies, so I left them natural for contrast.

Now this is my favorite picture ~ how I wished the whole piece looked.

I would truly love to hear if anyone has ideas of helpful tips on distressing black paint.
~Linking with~Boogieboard Cottage for Masterpiece Monday~Between Naps on the Porch for Metamorphosis Monday~The House in the Roses for Show Off Your Cottage Monday~Mod Vintage Life for Mod Mix Monday  

Strawberry Time

It seems to me this year the strawberries have been particularly

sweet and very reasonably priced, especially considering how

much other grocery prices have increased.  I know I have

enjoyed them every morning on my cereal this summer and

sometimes even on my ice cream on a hot summer night.

~

So my tablescape today centers around a beautiful strawberry

tablecloth I found at a yard sale this spring.  It is a generous tablecloth

at 60 x 78" and the owner told me she got it in England.

The strawberries are appliqued on, and each square is joined by

delicate tatting.  It is really a beauty ~ the essence of summer.

~

I wanted to do at least one tablescape with it before I take it off

to the store for resale, but even now as I look at it's delicate

details, I am tempted to keep it.  It's only me and my daughter,

and she is moving away, so it seems rather selfish to keep it when

others could be enjoying it.  It's one of those treasures you

rarely come across. 
I forgot to get flowers for a centerpiece, but when I went to
put it on the table, I found that it didn't need one because of the 
strawberries down the center of the table.  Can you believe I've 
had it for several months and this is the first time I've opened it?

 

I set my table with red dinner plates from Kmart's Country Living Collection
and the desert plates are from Sweet Olive Designs, the Fancy
Scroll Collection.  The little desert cups are simple glass votives that
I found at a flea market several years ago.

A few weeks ago, this lady had a second yard sale and I was able 
to acquire six napkins that match the tablecloth.

And look at the beautiful sides of this tablecloth.

 This tablecloth is in excellent condition with no stains which is
surprising considering she used it with her collection of
Wedgewood Strawberry dishes.  I was afraid I'd get something on it
just setting this tablescape.  I think I'd be so nervous serving a meal
on it, that I wouldn't be able to enjoy the food or company.  I think 
I just made my decision to take it to the store to sell.  I know 
someone will love and cherish it.

Linking with
~
Between Naps on the Porch for Tablescape Thursday
~
The Brambleberry Cottage for Time Travel Thursday