House Update, What Christmas Looked Like

Hello friends.

I hope this finds you well and stable, in a world gone mad. 

I'm not going to talk much about my life, thoughts, feelings etc because we each have our own and the world is flooded with such a variety, that it is hard to find those who are in the same boat as ourselves. Our experiences are so unique, and some are bizarre, and that makes things even more difficult to share. So I am just going to post pics, and show the home I remain in comfort in. I have it set up to be comfortable, efficient, and beautiful so that I don't feel a need to go anywhere. And I don't. Its working for me. 

I tend to stay home all the time now and I am fine with it. 

The summers have taught me I can't go out as I get heat exhaustion within 5 minutes now which requires 2 days of recovering, so after 4 years of this, I no longer fight it. I just stay in. Its ok. 

Winters are ok except for the frosts which kill what was green until then. It looks bleak. I am not used to that. Keeping my trees alive is a tension filled season, especially my peach trees which can produce the sweetest peaches I ever had. So far no blooms with several frosts.

I am going to just post some pics as a few friends have asked me. 

As I create this post I am listening to this, if you feel like listening:

 

I am getting more reticent to "decorate" as time goes on, but I did feel like it this year, only a little bit and only nature themed.....like trees, greenery and a little sparkle. Lots of twinkle lights, most I keep up all year around, because they are just delightful.

I do not have a pic for this, but one thing I did this Christmas year is something I've always wanted to do, in a house of my own, was to have a candle lit in every window of the house. This is for those who see the house, the candles give a sense of welcome and warmth, and comfort for the weary of soul, and tired. I could not see them myself at night, but those who did see them, I hope got the sense of welcome and warmth the candles symbolize. I used battery operated ones that go on at the same time every day on their own. Such a pleasure.

I will post pics and comment above them. I am sorry for the many blurry pics. I kept trying to get clear ones, but I got tired of it. Either my hands shake or the camera is moody. But you will get the gist.

Below I needed to reorganize my bathroom countertop as I didn't want it coming to the edge with things and I wanted to use the vertical space. I got a 2 tier organizer and painted it white and restocked my things and added $ tree fairy lights and little vase of flowers. Such a relief to have things organized, pretty, functioning with ease and efficiency. The upper tier holds peroxide, my homemade herbal mouthwash, cotton pads, flowers, brush and paste. 2nd tier holds witch hazel, alcohol, my homemade tooth powder, homemade face cleansing pads, sponge to clean sink, and water glass. I stuck in a little white bottle brush tree with sparkles.

Below is the kitchen table. I keep the center glass jar with a candle all year, but for Christmas all I could see were flowers around it. I bought a set of 10 vintage bud vases and filled them with flowers and added white bottle brush trees, deer and fairy lights that go on at the same time every day. Love that.

 

 

 

Below is the 4 foot flocked tree. I only added another strand of soft twinkling lights, icicles, and champagne and silver ornaments. Gentle.

Below is the fireplace. I should have lit the candles but didn't think of it. I just went around the house taking pics as things were.

Below is the laundry room. I can call it a room as it has a door to go outside, a closet and cabinets, that's a room, right?

But the lovely thing that sparked all of these things is that I wanted to meet Christmas this year with things pristine clean, painted, fresh and lovely. It started with painting my kitchen cabinets which was a pain, and something that usually took me only hours, took 6 days. So this laundry room was included in that, and painting this transformed the entire feeling of this house. Even my cat likes hanging out in there now, when she never did before. The feeling is like I have an additional room now. I used it before but it wasn't ''mine'', now it is. I do light the candle there when I do laundry.

Below is one of the cabinets above the machine. I bought glass bottles to decant all the laundry products, the liquid detergent, the peroxide, the borax, washing soda, the vinegar, homemade stain treatment, sea salt for cleaning out old energies, etc. I don't like seeing colors and various packaging, it drives my brain crazy. I like the simplicity of harmonious stocking. I use dissolvable labels so they just wash off easy too. I love using powdered oxygen (sodium percarbonate) in the laundry as nothing cleans and disinfects like oxygen. "Oxyclean" is made of 10% of this chemical, but I like using it straight. But the past two years, the prices have doubled, and I found out that mixing common 3% liquid hydrogen peroxide with washing soda powder creates sodium percarbonate/oxygen. And yes it does work, and it is affordable, so I have those things stocked with backups. I do not use store bought anything except for Mrs. Meyers liquid detergent. I am allergic to everything else, especially fake scents. I love mixing these things when I do laundry. It is an alchemical process for me getting things pristine and free of energies and stagnation. I like it.

I added my beloved deer images as all the white was too plain and an antler like arrangement above the door, mimicking the deer with flowers and feathers in its antlers.

 The door to the laundry room closet. Everything looks pink in this pic because it is. I had a pink curtain over the window as I like pink light. I have taken it down as I tweak what I really want in here.

I am organizing everything in the closets that I had not done before and this was one of them. I think I'm done though since I cannot find enough matching bins for a decent price. I don't like paying extorted pricing which everything is now in domestic "organization"  since people everywhere are on this trend. I did what I could.

Below is the kitchen area where I prepare things to cook. This is where the magic in the kitchen happens, and there is alot of magic in well prepared good food! There is one of the little tinsel trees I love for Christmas, and the flowers that have always been there since the first hour I stepped into this house and always will be there.

Below is the kitchen sink which I needed to organize in a way that didn't look like old kitchen. So I decanted everything into brown bottles and added flowers and trays beneath everything. It looks better.

 

 

Beneath the sink is another of those areas I desperately want to make better. I recently added a bamboo carousel to stash things I make and use and not have to fumble in the back or bend too much, I can turn it and have whatever is there at hands reach. But this area is still a work in progress.

If you think you see bottle brush trees and plants in there, you do lolol. I need to see greenery of nature everywhere. I have yet to figure out how to do this in this area. For now, I just put in the set of bottle brush trees I got on sale after Christmas. I think I want to get faux garland and wrap that big black pipe, then add some tiny flowers in tiny vases, what do you think?

This is the plant rack, also with fairy lights.

This is the guest room converted into a gym, with a mini workout station and a stationary bike.

Below is my bathroom. I worked  bit on this section, the "throne" area. It was ok before, even pretty, but I wanted more cozy. I added floral contact paper to the shelves, pampas grass, and a crochet piece over the tank. It did the job for me. I love it now when I see this.

I have since added amber pillar candles, battery, they are gorgeous!

Below is my bedroom. This is a lily and peony arrangement. I adore these two colors together. I have had white lilies every week in my homes for over 15 years. They never get old. Their beauty, their scent, and the white gives me joy and peace.

 

 

 

 

 

And the view from the bedroom door........

 

....looking back at the bedroom door.

Below is the Christmas theme on top of the cabinet. At night, the fairy lights appear brighter. I am having a huge thing for deer! 💚

 

 

 

My adorable little tinsel tree....has snowflakes, tiny iridescent glass balls and mercury silver mini ornaments. Such simple things bring joy.

I took this picture when the sun was really bright and everything in here looked especially white. I don't know where it went, it doesn't show up. But the cozy can be seen.

 

 

 

And where I spend alot of time below. I retire early, very early, and though I don't nap, I watch videos of people, others who are creators of beauty, gardeners, or I watch fantasy Asian drama series that are just beautiful to see, minus of course all the nonsense. But I get to visit lovely homes anywhere in the world, as they show how they cook, how they decorate, or create art, and I get to go to my own bathroom in the middle of it because I am home, then I continue on watching or change to another if I want to with a click. I love "visiting" people in this way.....from home, and this is where I do it, on my wonderful bed fixed with flax linen, and pure silk, very cozy and comfy. Love! 

So that is all, from my hearth to yours. 

Stay in your Light.