shekinah house outdoors

thanks for visiting my blog! i truely appreciate it!

really, i do...more than you know.

this will be a very busy week for me...

still planting to be done at a client's garden tommorrow (in the heat).

shopping for a new washer and dryer, as my old faithful maytag bit the dust after 25 years.

hubby was surprised when i informed him that you can't just buy a dryer...you have to buy the matching washer to go with it!

right?

and getting ready for a girl party at my house this weekend!

lots to do...

i'll be fussing over my house and gardens for sure.

entertaining is a great incentive to get things spruced up.

wish me luck.

i feel overwhelmed!

YIKES!

shekinah house

time for a field trip.

this home belongs to one of my best friends.

she is a designer

an artist

a renovator

a visionary

a writer

a wifey

a sweet mommy of two gorgeous little boys

a fabulous traveling companion

and a neverending source of inspiration.

she and her hubby bought and renovated this 100+ year old house.

beautifully decorated with a mix of old pieces,

colors from nature,

and a heavy dose of luscious textures throughout...

a true feast for the eyes.

her house has many treasures, that we have found on our travels and junking adventures together. treasures that hold special memories.

have fun on the field trip.

i sure did........

this is "fred" the piano.

i gifted this to her a few years ago.

fred sat quietly at my house for too many years. piano lessons for my daughter a distant memory. i'm glad fred has a good home now, where he can share his music.

i hope you enjoyed your fieldtrip to this special place.

next time we will visit the nature that surrounds this home.......

my beloved tennessee is still reeling and healing from the flood. the piles of debris from the stripped out homes is huge.

i am conflicted as to whether i should photograph and share such images, as i like to think of my blog as an

escape.

for you and me.

pretty

the following post

is

pretty.

unlike my last post.

cause i need
some
pretty.

i need it
bad.

we

all

do.

don't we?

it's hard.

the following post isn't pretty...

it's dirty.

it's messy.

it's smelly.

it's hard to look at.

it's depressing.

it's overwhelming.

it's loss.

it's deconstruction.

it's overflowing.

it's overwhelming.

it's heart wrenching.

it's vulnerable.

it's scary.

it's homes torn apart.

and now threatened with mold.

it's life as we new it, torn apart.

it's uprooted.

it's strewn about.

and it's hard.

very hard. to see. to smell. and deal with.

and it's right down the street.

the waters have receded.

the clean up has begun

the healing has begun.

and the HELP has begun.

the people of Tennessee are pulling together.

this group of helpers were relieved and so grateful for the pizza and Gatorade my dear hubby donated today.

one homeowner said it "tasted so good to have something substantial to eat."

lots of hugs were shared.

volunteers are helping out.

after all, we are the

volunteer state.

and we will get through this together.

no matter how hard it is.

and

it

is hard.

i am very grateful for Anderson Cooper of CNN television for visiting River Plantation yesterday and sharing some of this turmoil with the world. I lived in this condo complex for 5 years when my kids were really little and my heart aches for the devastation here......

a foot note...i had very little damage to my own home. We are drying out our crawlspace and will have to tear out the soaked insulation surrounding the ducts, but that is NOTHING compared to the devastation nearby.

i thank you all so much for your kind and supportive comments. Before this storm, I found so much joy visiting pretty little blogs and gardening and decorating and painting in my studio, etc. that all seems so silly to me now.

right now, none of that matters to me.........

right now,

my neighbors matter.