Julia's Last Puzzle

 

                When my parents moved to Swiss Village last year, they met their new neighbor, Julia. She was 100 years old and probably kept a busier schedule than I do.

                Julia still lived in her own apartment, did her own laundry, quilted regularly, sang in the choir, exercised 30 minutes a day, and put together puzzles more often than anyone I’ve ever seen in my life.

                “Amazing woman,” my parents said, upon meeting her.

                And for the last year, we’ve heard that phrase over and over. “Julia finished a quilt. She’s 100. Amazing woman.”

                When Julia worked on her puzzles, she sat at a little table in a cove at the end of the hallway near her apartment. Everybody just knew that was Julia’s puzzle table, and it was always open for her to fashion pictures from tiny pieces. Sometimes I’d stop to talk with her on my way to or from visiting Mom and Dad. I’d wave at her in the dining room.

                She had the cutest little smile and would always wave back. Amazing woman.

                Earlier this year, Julia turned 101. She did not slow down. She quilted and sang and worked on her puzzles. She walked to the dining room for meals and smiled at everyone.

                Earlier this week, Julia passed away. My parents hadn’t even known she was sick, though they had noticed she hadn’t been to the puzzle table or dining room for a couple of days. They were so sad to hear of her passing, but they held firm to what they’ve always known: she’s an amazing woman.

                Yesterday I went to visit Mom and Dad, and I walked by Julia’s puzzle table. There it sat. The last puzzle.

                I’m sure she finished it within the last week. Also within the last week, she went to choir practice, worked on her quilt and kept exercising, though I hear she did lower her time to 20 minutes a day. Because even at 101 and not feeling well, that Julia was an amazing woman, living life to the fullest.

                There was a little sticky note beside the puzzle asking people to leave it for her family. Yes! They should get to keep that last puzzle. But before they took it, I snapped a picture. Just a little memory of Julia to keep in my scrapbook. Just a little tangible reminder to live to the fullest every day I have.

Five Things

 

               Yesterday was a very long and very beautiful day. I have done my best to capture my feelings in words, but I think I need at least one more day to think them over before sharing them with you here.

                Meanwhile, I wanted to write today about something that is largely frivolous in the grand scheme, but it was fun to think about! Last month, when I switched up how I journal each day, I added a daily writing prompt. I find them on Pinterest and answer the question after I write about the happenings of the day and my thoughts of my soul.

                One of last week’s question was: What are five things you do every day, without fail?

                I felt like it was cheating to lean on obvious things like brushing my teeth and eating meals. Yes, I do those things (and many other things) every day, but I tried to pick answers that might not be true for everyone. Here are my five answers. I’d love to hear what yours would be!

BLOG.

                It really is wild to me to think that I’ve been blogging since 2006 and blogging daily since 2011. Today’s post is number 6,570. That is a lot of blog posts. Sure, this little corner of the internet is still mostly little. I don’t have huge followings, and that’s just fine with me. I enjoy blogging each day for the accountability of writing and preservation of thoughts and memories.

                It sure has come in handy – many times – to be able to look something up on this blog. It’s like an extra scrapbook! It’s been fun to get to meet new friends online that I would  not have met any other way. It’s been fun to share in ministry in ways I would not have been able to do, were it not for blogging.

                Are there days I struggle to think of something to write?  Oh, absolutely! But it’s good for me to push forward and write even when I’m tired…or sad…or sick…or overwhelmed.

JOURNAL.

                I’ve been journaling since I was fifteen…so 32 years. I haven’t written every single day of those years, but I’ve made it a priority in the last couple of years to be sure to write EVERY DAY. And now I’m making it a priority to write every single day, and to write things that are meaningful to me. Things I want to remember. Things worth pursuing in thought at a later time.

                I’ve never regretted journaling. Some memories might be painful to look back on, but I sure am thankful I’ve captured them.

MAKE THE BED.

                I absolutely am on team make-your-bed-every-single-day. Thankfully, Ryan is, too, and we usually do this together each day. It doesn’t take long, and it makes the room feel cozy and finished.

                I was a complete slob growing up, and my bed was always a wadded-up mess. Now that I realize the joy of a neatly made bed, I can’t believe I ever lived any other way!

DRINK COFFEE.

                Perhaps you think this should have been on the obvious list, like teeth-brushing, but I didn’t grow up drinking coffee, so this now feels like something worth noting.

                Neither of my parents drink coffee, so I didn’t either. (My mom didn’t even own a coffee pot until well after I was out on my own. She bought one for company, and – as newly minted company – I used it when I visited!) I lived on Mountain Dew all the way through college and Coke for years after that, but I slowly learned to love coffee.

                I started with frappes, graduated to lattes, moved to regular coffee with cream and sugar, and now I’m down to just a splash of almond milk in my coffee, and I actually prefer an Americano. WHO AM I????

                But there is absolutely nothing in this world  like that first sip every morning. And yes, I do drink coffee all day. (And I also drink 100 ounces of water, so I feel I’ve achieved a good balance.)

KISS RYAN.

                Another obvious one, but I have to tell you, having a dog who is HEARTILY opposed to any displays of affection has made me appreciate this one even more. We hide from her and kiss anyway!

                Kissing matters, and we don’t want to be one of those couples who gives it up after too many years together. (Is there such a thing as too many years together? I hope not.) Anyway! Kissing Ryan is absolutely my favorite. I’d take more pictures of it, but I’ve learned that I am NOT photogenic in kissing selfies. It’s like awkward family photos come to life. (Thankfully we have Barb every fall...)

***

                Of course there are many more things I do every single day, but these were the five I picked for my list. What would you put on YOUR list? 

Fresh Vision

 

You know how one project…leads to another…leads to another…and so it goes? Let me tell you how it went in Shafferland this week.

                We had some work done at our house this summer, and one of the projects involved enlarging a window in our bedroom. The crew that changed out the window did a careful and fantastic job, but any such project is going to create marred paint, so we had to do some repairing/repainting. I was thankful that we had extra curtain panels leftover from our WillowBridge/Bluffton days, so we were able to add those to the space, but the change in the look of that room meant we needed to swap out some of the furniture that lived in there.

                We shopped the house, bringing in a couple of pieces that lived in other rooms, and we’ll be working for a few days yet to continue swapping things in rooms around the house until we are satisfied with how it all looks.

                Whenever we do projects like this, every little move on the chessboard of design awakens new ideas in me, and I don’t want to stop!

                Painting a wall and hanging a curtain…led to pulling in furniture shopped by the house. That led to pulling every single thing out of every single drawer in said pieces of furniture to organize, move, donate, or toss what we found. (There was way too much “THAT’S where that was!” during that adventure.)

                As I worked to organize with pauses to decorate, Ryan came through the room and said, “I love it that this room has fresh vision.”

                I love it that he said that.

                It’s the perfect explanation.

                Fresh vision for a space we love. Re-seeing things we have and also love and giving them a new home there.

                I read something recently that talked about the cost of the things we buy. Not just the price we pay for the actual item, but the cost for storing and maintaining things. I thought of it often as I organized and shuffled things from room to room. What things matter enough to stay? What things still show who we are? Which things no longer represent our style or story?

                Fresh vision.

                One thing leads to another in the worlds of organization and homemaking. We found so much life and joy in the work we did, and we are excited to keep bringing fresh vision to familiar spaces!

Family Fun!

 

It has been nine years since Ryan and I pulled an all-nighter to drive to Kansas to surprise my niece (a day early) for her wedding. She knew we were coming for the wedding. We decided to leave early, drive through the night, and get there in time to help decorate the reception hall. (Fun fact: this also means it has been nine years since we learned we are too old for all-nighters.)

                This summer, my sister and brother-in-law from Kansas made the trip here instead, and we had fun hosting them for a few days!

                Actually, one of the days they were here, the whole original Freelan clan and the sons-in-law were together under one roof. That’s a rarity, and it was good to have them all here in our home.

                Lori and Jeff love Pizza King and they don’t have it in Kansas, so we had a proper Pizza King dinner. (Dad doesn’t eat pizza, so McDonald’s for him!) When dinner was over, we enjoyed an almost-sunset pontoon ride with everyone together. 

                Mom and Dad, and Tom and Julie needed to get back to their respective homes, and Jeff had to attend a conference, but Lori and I had a few more adventures together over the next few days she was here.

                Walks around the lake…

                Thrifting…

                More pontoon rides…

                More thrifting…

                Hospital visitation...

                And goodbyes…

                It was a long trip for them – and we appreciated the visit!

Celebrating 152 Months

This weekend was sweet, all the way around.

                You know, Ryan and I are busy people, and that probably isn’t going to change anytime soon. We are in a season of life where we are able to work and serve in ways that someday we won’t be able to, so we do it now. We know (because we hear it!) that some think we are too busy, and that’s okay. We are following the Lord’s leading with the things we do, and we can’t do otherwise.

                But we have learned (and are continuing to learn) that it’s necessary to have times at home, for each other, and for our house. We have been entrusted with this place, and we have to steward it. We have been entrusted with this place, and we believe God intends for us to enjoy what it offers. We have been entrusted with each other and with Lexi, and we would be remiss if we didn’t honor time alone together.

                So we did that this weekend. We went on a family date to Lowe’s Friday night. We stayed up late, and in a rare move, Lexi ended up spending most of the night with us in bed. Lexi is…squirmy. She doesn’t see any value in stretching out quietly for the night, so NO one sleeps when she wants to have a slumber party. But this night she managed to be quiet and still, and it was fun to wake up to her hugs and kisses.

                Ryan often makes breakfast for us on the rare weekend we have a lazy Saturday morning, but this past weekend, I made it, in honor of our 152^nd monthiversary! We had scrambled eggs with home-grown green peppers, onions, chicken sausage, and feta, and some homemade bread for toast.

                We got busy on our individual projects: Ryan worked on the new trim in our bedroom, and I worked on catching up scrapbooks.

                We hosted our small group, which meant I spent part of the afternoon making taco meat and guacamole, and Ryan set up the patio and boat to receive guests.

                And for the evening, we gathered under patio umbrellas, telling stories with friends, and eating tacos. We loaded up coffee cups and took a few spins around the lake in the pontoon, and then we spent time by the fire table after the sun went down.

                I was so grateful for our weekend together. It was quiet and focused on home. We filled it with stories, coffee, reminiscing, and appreciating.

                Let’s do more of that!

Sunday Snapshots: Memorable Moments from the Week

 

This week felt productive, light, and cheery, and I welcomed it whole heartedly! We bid farewell to July, welcomed August, and made some good memories in the process. I told our friends last night that I scrapbooked around 75 pages in July, which is a LOT. It was a full month, and it ended as full as it began!

                Here’s a quick look at a sampling of this week’s memorable moments.

 Last Sunday, Ryan sang a solo at church! He was supposed to sing earlier in the month, but he had a cold and singing was outtttttttttt at that time. His voice is still recovering, but he sang with so much joy and did a great job. It was so fun to hear the congregation start clapping along as he sang!

Our neighbors told us that we got over 7 inches of rain at the lake last weekend/the start of this week. It poured for several days in a row, and the lake was higher than we have seen it since we’ve lived there. We are thankful for managed outflow!!

Sweet Lexi Grae ended up with her first ear infection! We wonder if she got water in her ear at the groomer’s, maybe? Anyway, she seemed miserable, so we took her to the vet. She did not have fun, but she was SO BRAVE. She was stuck firmly to my side except when the vet and tech cleaned and treated her ear, and then she kept one stink-eye on me as I stood out of their way.

Ryan and I went on a grocery date and didn’t have enough time to eat a proper, sit-down dinner and make it to all the necessary stores before they closed, so we ate Wendy’s in the car. (By the way, I love their grilled chicken wrap…and I have them leave off the ranch. It’s yummy!)

Even though we had a lot of rain this week, we also had some gorgeous sunsets. I appreciated (and photographed) each one.

We had to pick up a few things at Lowe’s, so that meant…a family date outing! Lexi loves going to Lowe’s and has to personally hug each person who glances her way. (One employee heading home for the night tracked us down in the parking lot to get some Lexi hugs.)

08.02 Yesterday was our monthiversary, and we celebrated by staying home to accomplish many things during the day – and then hosting our small group. It was a small small group last night, but we had a great time, including a few spins around the lake! Love life with this man!

Saturday Suggestions: Inspirations for Your Weekend

 

Happy 152^nd monthiversary, Ryan!! I am excited to spend today with you, and I’m thankful for our life together!

                While we celebrate another month of marriage, I’ve found some random (and hopefully fun!) things for you!

Free is Ryan’s favorite word, so he would really love KariAnne’s post documenting 101 ways to decorate your home for FREE!!!!! She has some great ideas here! I have actually done numbers 4, 6, 11, 12, 19, 25, 28, 32, 33, 39, 51, 79, and 100!

I love botanical gardens and always appreciate the chance to visit one when we’re out and about. (The one in Hershey, Pennsylvania was my first experience, and I will always especially love that one!) I can’t imagine the time it takes to organize and grow all the various areas, but I appreciate visiting them. I loved this post about a cottage garden, which has equal beauty, but it’s not as divided in presentation. One of these years I’ll get better at flower gardening. This is not that year.

Remember when I told you that once upon a time, Ryan and I had dreams of opening an ice cream store? If we ever do, we HAVE to serve these ice cream bombs! You know…like hot cocoa bombs, only ice cream! Have you ever seen these before!? I have not, but I am drooling!

 I love a good day-in-the-life post and this one was fun to read, because it’s written by a writer! I always love seeing how other writers fill their days. Her life is much different than mine, but I appreciate her intentionality in her days! (BONUS: Speaking of writing, this little piece about a writing staycation was fun to read!)

Can you imagine the stories this old house could tell? It is just gorgeous, and it’s so beautifully decorated for the time period. I love it! (BONUS: If you need something a bit…larger…you could buy Jim Irsay’s house. It hit the market this week and is only 12 million dollars. It is beautiful, and you’d never have to leave, because you would have your own pool (inside and out), golf area, theater, tennis courts…and two guest houses! Invite me!)

I LOVE A THEME! You probably know this about me. So running across this list of party themes for every month of the year made me so so happy. If you need hosting ideas, whether for family, friends, small groups, you name it, here you go!

Dreams and Goals for August

 

Hello, August. Please don’t bake us like July did. WOWZA was July hot here in Indiana!! I know August is supposed to be warmer yet, but am grateful for the slight breather we are experiencing right now. (Mostly so I can breathe!)

                This is my final month of whatever normal looks like before I embark on a new chapter in graduate school, so my goals are a mix of prepping for a new season and soaking up the very last bits of summer.

Start/finish our dining room project. We’ll start with the recycled goal from July that we didn’t achieve. This project will, I think, make a big difference in the appearance of our dining room, but honestly it shouldn’t be all that labor-intensive. I’m super excited to see what it looks like when it’s done!

Finish scrapbooking our Hocking Hills vacation. I’ve started this, but I haven’t finished it. I feel like if I could have two good days of focused scrapbooking, I could knock it out. I want to finish it before I start school – and before I forget the good stories of the trip!

Choose a location for our anniversary trip. I don’t have to have the whole trip planned. But I need to know where we’re going. It’s always good to have vacation goals in place!

Put the rest of our house back together. Our home project should be almost done, and while it hasn’t been overly invasive, there is some refining/polishing we need to do, and I want to complete that.

Look for a wood fire pit. A couple of years ago, Ryan and gifted each other a fire pit table for Christmas. We absolutely love that thing. There is something so grand about instant fire to keep us warm on cool evenings – and if we are only able to sit outside for 15 or 20 minutes, we can also instantly extinguish the fire, and we love that, too. But it’s not conducive to s’mores and hot dog roasts (don’t want juices and sticky marshmallows dripping into the glass pieces) and if we have guests over, that’s half the fun of a fall night by the lake. So we’ve had in mind to get a small, portable fire pit we can place near the lake when we need it and let our friends enjoy roasting all the fun things. Since summer stuff is on clearance, we have our eye out for one if we find one we like.

                I think that’s it for August! Looking forward to this month!