Thoughts from a Fall Walk

This, my fall- inspired knapsack, is perfect for holding my I-Phone tuned into Pandora Radio (Coldplay Station). I simply sling the pack onto my back and head out the door for a power walk. I know I have shown this knapsack before, but I recently added a new twist... the vintage 1952 "Paris in 4 Days" brochure and Paris Metropolitain map peeking from the pocket (iron on transfer method I have recently discovered... the possibilities become endless!)





On my walk I noticed how pretty the foliage is becoming.



Thoughts drifting through my head today went something like this:
Today is all I have right now; most days are simple, ordinary, and routine. Somehow,in the middle of doing all that calls my name, I am compelled to put an exclamation point on a sentence or two. There! I did it!

Even if I have to tell a funny story to my own self while pouring a cup of Tazo spearmint-flavored green tea from my owl tea pot...



... and while cleaning the plaque off my brain, I might raise my favorite Emma Bridgewater mug in a teatime toast.



Should I tell you about how my husband went to London, and I asked him to bring back this very, specific mug, and he had to walk into the shop asking for the "Blue Tit" mug? Maybe I shouldn't... but I just did... ha ha.


I will celebrate life, breathing, hot baths at night, puppy dogs who lick my ear, a family who lets me live with them, outdoor fires on cool nights...



... good oatmeal, the smell of chocolate chip cookies baking, warm covers piled high on the bed, my rickety fence in need of repair, the ability to love myself and enjoy my own company...

cheers!




P.S. I am looking forward to my favorite holiday, Thanksgiving, because of its simplicity: food, family, and a grateful heart.


I wish Christmas could take a cue.

Even More Estate Sale Fun

I'm thinking that autumn is the best time for estate sales in my neighborhood. The crisp fall air brings out the shoppers... including me! I would tell you how much (little) I paid for these new and awesome red pillows... but, then, you know what I would have to do to you, and we don't want that.





Mac the Labradoodle graciously volunteered to pose amidst my new additions. The pillows have down inserts and are matelasse. I don't speak French, so I had to look up how to pronounce this word which I was pronouncing incorrectly: Matelasse



Gotta run some freshly baked brownies (addressed to my off-campus college guy who cooks for himself and exists on Dollar Store food) to the post office.

I'll be on my purple cruiser, of course!

Eggplant Art

A friend gave to me these eggplants from her garden. They are so beautiful, I feel guilty eating them.





Soooo... if I am going to eat art, I need some suggestions on how to cook these lovely purple vegetables. Any recipes would be greatly appreciated.





P.S. I LOVE my "new" old Coffee Hound mug for which I paid $1.00. Currently, I am really "into" kitschy dime store ceramics from the 1950's. Inside is a hound dog and the back reads: Coffee Hound, Half Cupper, Kid Stuff. Soooo... funny.

New Item from Hillcrest Cottage

Autumn is a great time for Estate Sales in my Hillcrest neighborhood. The element of surprise is always half the fun. I'll never forget a sale that I happened upon where the family was selling their grandfather's Vaudeville magic act stuff. Some spooky puppets and even a real mummy were included. I had a laugh when I was alone in a back room with a fellow shopper.

"Wow," I commented to the gentleman, "these dummies look like they could sit-up and talk." The man exited quickly upon pondering my creepy thought.

I am so pumped about my recent estate sale vintage fabric finds, that I must share what's new at Hillcrest Cottage (even before it makes it to the Etsy site!). This knapsack is sewn out of vintage wool fabric and the pocket is re-cycled denim.

I love to use a knapsack when I am walking or when riding my bike. They are perfect for IPhone, doggie poop bags, water, wallet, and car keys!




I love the autumn colors!





Denim goes well with most everything, but this picks up the denim-colored part of the plaid pattern.





Front side wool fabric.





Back side wool fabric.

Hillcrest Cottage will be selling these knapsacks through my Etsy site, by contacting me personally (Facebook or Hillcrest Cottage Life blog), or...

The Green Corner Store on South Main Street. I have always wanted to be on Main Street so this new partnership makes me happy!

Size: 14" X 14"

Retails for: $20.00

Estate Sale Booty

This weekend my neighborhood was full of estate sales! That's a good thing... Martha.

I was driving home from teacher conferences on Friday and was suddenly caught up following a maze of "estate sale" signs. Before I knew it, the whole afternoon was practically over... oops.





My favorite house on the Estate Sale Tour was this fairy tale cottage. Getting the opportunity to see inside the estate sale houses is half the fun.






I love the 1920's architecture on the entryway and path leading to the door. I'm probably going to draw it sometime soon.






Here's a sweet, little suitcase I got for $1.00.






It's a fixer-upper, but I see its potential.





Three dollars for these vintage 1940/50's era hunt scene curtains. The colors are incredible!



1950's bridge club tablecloth: $3.00







These jeans were $2.00 and became...






this denim backpack.






For sale: $20.00





Beautiful red linen fabric: $1.00






Vintage 1970's seersucker bedspread in fun, fall colors: $2.00






Front porch fall makeover.

Estate Sale Booty Total Cost: $12.00

Hillcrest Cottage Random Friday

Nothing like a morning which starts at 5:30 a.m. cutting and gluing for the 17 year old's procrastinated history project. Collarbone was hurting him, so we pitched in to get it all done. Late to school, but out the door with "1932- 1936 /The Golden Age of G-Men/The Great Depression" tri-fold poster in hand.

Whew!




After all the early morning wildness, Lucy votes for a mid-morning nap!




This just in, an emergency text message from West Point: Pray for my Arabic presentation!




Fire up the chiminea... it will be cool tonight. College boy coming home for the weekend, and we are planning fireside conversation! Happiness. Quickly clean his room.



Heading to the art studio. Things hatching in my mind need to be birthed.



Buzz by my neighborhood print shop with latest art creation. Squeeze in a power walk.



Pray that the Warrior football team doesn't sustain major injuries while facing the future state champs and football players 50 to 100 pounds heavier tonight at the away game.



My Hillcrest Cottage Friday.

Inaugural Crazy-Lady Ride

I have three bicycles: A vintage 1972 black Raleigh English touring bike received the Christmas of my thirteenth year complete with fenders and a ding dong bell; a purple beach cruiser snatched up last spring from my neighborhood junk store; and my recent 21-speed legit Schwinn that will allow me to actually ride some real miles as soon as I find a new and more comfortable seat.

After the recent Schwinn purchase, I had contemplated selling the purple cruiser.

I couldn't.

The Cruiser is too near being the 3-wheeled cycle with a huge rear basket which has long lived in my fantasy life. I still dream of being the crazy- lady who rides her bike daily to the grocery store.

Yesterday, I strapped the best bike basket I have onto the basket spot of the Cruiser, preparing for the inaugural crazy- lady ride into my neighborhood's retail district, which we call "downtown Hillcrest" (because my neighborhood is like a small town surrounded by city).

There are not words to describe the joy I experienced. I mailed a package at the Post Office and deposited money at the bank. I felt a bit odd, but no one paid any attention to me at all. No one thought I was crazy.

I rode home feeling greener than Kermit the Frog, all the while a dream was hatching in my head.

I dream of a neighborhood where riding to the post office, grocery store, local coffee house and bank are not the exception, but the norm. I dream of becoming the most cycle friendly neighborhood around. Somehow I would like to champion this cause, but, until then, I want to make this biking thing a regular part of my life.

Change is Good

I still live in the town where I was born... in a neighborhood that hasn't seen much change since my dad's high school days (1938-42). All my furniture came from my grandmother, and I am the family archives' official curator. There is a great amount of stability in keeping life the same. When I sit on a chair, open a drawer, or eat from my silver spoon, I feel the continuity of my lineage.

I try not to be boring. I re-arrange my furniture with great regularity. Moving things around makes me think I am getting something new. I have had fun pulling dressers out of bedrooms and plopping them unexpectedly in the middle of the house. My grandmother would think this placement would not be proper... it makes me feel like the rebel I am not.

I am known for painting everything. I paint the walls, the floors, the kitchen countertops, and the furniture. A while back, I painted a Victorian couch... defiantly under Grandmother Worthington's nose and all-seeing eyes, her crackled painted mouth smirked unapprovingly. I can report the universe didn't explode and, now, I actually enjoy the piece.


Do you think I look like Grandmother Worthington... minus the cracked mouth?


Still... I have always had trouble turning life's page into autumn. Fall is a season which comes just before "death". This time of the year makes me very reflective. Spring is a celebration of newness, but autumn is a final burst of harvest and color before colorless winter calls us to the quiet withdrawal and the darkness of shortening days. I've done this season-thing for 50 plus years now, so I know what is ahead... change.

Guess what? The leaves are going to fall, whether I like it or not. Change is coming. Will I embrace it and change myself to meet its challenges... or will I wear flip flops in winter and look like a fool? I do have a choice.

My 5 month old puppy is getting big!


Change.


Yesterday I decided to embrace autumn by walking down my favorite neighborhood path.


Change of Season.


Then, I stopped to enjoy the tranquil sounds of birds and think a bit about how I can embrace change, not deny it.


Change of Attitude.

There are changes everywhere. Season. Season of life. Our country. The world. I know I am not the only one feeling it.

I have to confess: I have read the end of the book.

I know what will be, and I find comfort in my knowledge.

"Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me... I am the Alpha and Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end,"

At the very same time, I am in hearty agreement with Martin Luther when he said, " If I knew Jesus was coming back tomorrow, I would plant a tree today."

Sprint Through the End

I ran track in high school, so I really know what it means to sprint through (not to) the finish line. This Mom Race has been long and hard... and challenging and fun.

Many people may see the line ahead and say, "Oh, the race is almost over, I can slow down now."

Winners and losers. Champions and participants. It's the end which separates the runners into categories.

Only one more of these after this one:



No slowing down for this mom! No coasting on past victories allowed. It is time to get my second wind, to dig down deep, to run with purpose.

And... to lean over and grab my knees, to clasp my arms behind my head, to gasp for air and feel the pain... after the finish line is passed.

I want to run with no regrets, to know that I gave it everything I had to give.

Broken Bone and Shattered Dreams

This is how the game ( and season) ended for #9. It was a touchdown stopping leap... and a clean break through the clavicle.

Big Waves and Peeling Paint

Process. I need time in life to process. Life hits so fast that often I don't fully understand events and the depth to which those events have affected me. There are layers buried beneath the clean, shiny surface, like the ten plus multi-colored paint layers on Hillcrest Cottage's 87 year old woodwork.

The Summer I lived in Hawaii, we ventured to Makapu'u Beach, known for its world-class body surfing. Five minutes. That's all this Arkansas college girl lasted in the water at Makapu'u. The waves were 6 feet tall and very strong. The first wave knocked me down pounding my face into the sand. While recovering and grabbing some air, the second one was already pulling me outward. Glancing over my shoulder, I was horrified to see a wave taller than myself anxious to devour me again. For several minutes the sequence continued as I struggled to make my way back to beach towel safety.

Life can be waves hitting and pounding relentlessly one after another. I need 'towel time' to ask myself, "What just happened? How did I survive that?'

The Summer of 2010 was the hottest in recorded history. The heat for me was more than rising mercury; it was a landmark time, a piling of stones to remember. Part of the remembering is the thankfulness for how God pulled off a couple more miracles. We stubbornly believed Him for big things... and He said, "Yes." Yet...

... the 'yes' didn't come without the pulling and pounding and gasping for air.

There was struggling.

I'm glad to be on this towel. I'm glad to be thinking about a past event, no longer caught up in its emotion.

This morning I am on Hillcrest Cottage's porch with my eyes closed, listening to the gentle wind making its way through the trees. Mac the Labradoodle naps by my feet. Lucy, too young to appreciate the morning quiet has been banished to a nap inside. The hummingbirds have had their last summer feeding frenzy. They are gone to Mexico, and the feeder hangs silently. Occasionally a yellow leaf or two will float slowly to the ground. A signal of summer's last days.

The heat is gone, and I am left with the promise of the beautiful Autumn weather we Arkansans celebrate each year... complete with pumpkins, festivals, and Friday night stadium lights.

For everything there is a season and a time and purpose for everything under heaven. I know there will be more waves and heat and struggling to believe... but... for this morning... there is only the blue jay cawing, fresh air to be taken in, hope revived, and Bifferdoodle coffee in my mug.

Football Player's Letter to God

Dear God,

I have sweat, trained, listened to my coaches, learned tons of difficult receiver routes, and have visualized success. I have endured spring training, have run drills until I wanted to puke, and have survived two- a-days in 105 degree plus heat. I have completed all of my daily work-outs, never cutting corners when the coach wasn't looking, sometimes staying late to do a bit extra. I have kept a PMA through difficult circumstances. I have tried my hardest to play through pain.

But, despite all my effort, I am discouraged.

First of all, I sprained my ankle the day before our first game. It is still painful and swollen. Sometimes my leg just quits working because of the stress. Secondly, yesterday was a very bad practice where nothing went right. The voice inside my head yelled at me to give up and quit. It told me that I would always be a rotten football player. When the football hit my hand, I think I broke my finger. This morning I couldn't tie my own shoe. I had to take my mom's car to school because I wouldn't have been able to shift my Jeep's gears. My finger is purple, and it really hurts. Oh, and one more thing, I have poison ivy all over my leg and have no idea where that come from.

How can a hand that does not bend catch a football?

More than my ankle and finger, I see the dream of my entire childhood slipping away. All I have ever wanted to do was to play high school football. I grew up watching my big brother and his teammates that I admired so much. I was the kid in the end zone playing my own game while watching the real one. I told myself I would be on that field one day. I saw myself catching passes, making tackles, and running the ball over the line.

Now it is my time. Time to turn dreaming into reality. I'm a junior, and the season is now.

I'm so discouraged, God. The mountain seems to grow, not shrink. It would be so much easier to quit.

And, besides all of the above, it just seems that evil people prosper. It just seems like You bless the bad guys. You know the ones: the players who are cocky and break all the rules and give our team a bad rep. The guys who tell fellow players, "You suck. You should quit." God, You know who I am talking about. I try to have intergrity, to do the right thing, to encourage those around me. It seem there is no reward for this!

Life just really sucks right now.

A Discouraged Foootball Player



Dear Football Player,

Even though it doesn't seem like it, I have seen all of which you have spoken, the good and the bad.

I've seen the faith you have had during those very dark August days when just putting on a jersey didn't seem possible. I worked some miracles to get you back for another year in your very expensive private school. Everyone who knew your situation, even your own parents, were amazed that you could believe the unseen so clearly!

It made me smile to see your faith in Me!

If I could do all that I have done, don't you think I can heal an ankle and a finger? Remember who I am!

And, about those bad guys, I want you to think about how beautifully a diamond shines against a black background.

Don't quit, Discouraged Football Player. It is always the darkest just before dawn.

Here's something I asked my friend Isaiah to write down for me a few years back. He wrote it to encourage you!

Do you not know? Have you not heard?
The Everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth
Does not become weary or tired.
His understanding is inscrutable.
He gives strength to the weary (football player who wants to quit),
And to him who lacks might (the will to overcome difficult circumstances) He increases power.
Though youths grow weary and tired,
And vigorous young men stumble badly (drop passes, run wrong routes, sprain their ankle, break their fingers),
Yet...
Those who wait for the Lord ( invite Him to help them overcome, ask Him to join the team)
Will gain new strength (mentally and physically);
They will mount up with wings like eagles,
They will run and not get tired,
They will walk and not become weary. (Isaiah 40: 28-31)


Football Player, I am with you at every practice, game, and in your mind where the discouraging voice speaks. I'm the One who created in you the ability and desire to play football! Surely, we will walk through this valley of discouragement together. The top of the mountain where you dream to reach is very far right now, but You are never alone.

I love you so much,

God

Labor Day Events

Many things have been going on at Hillcrest Cottage the past month or so. Soon, it will be time to process and blog... until then, a few pics tell some of the story.



Beautiful Lucy Continues to Learn the Hillcrest Cottage Life: Four Month old Lucy can 'sit', 'shake', and tell me when she needs to go outside... most of the time. She also knows how to steal naps on my bed.





Davis Turns 17!





Number Nine Begins the Football Season





Cadet Kinley's 'GF Surprise' Labor Day Visit: We love this incredible GF very much... and... all the more because it draws this guy home more often.





Kinley Boys Home for Labor Day: Every mom knows how this feels to have everyone together... even if only for a weekend. These three guys are different in every way... except for their awesome-ness!

Daily life is definitely full of up and down struggles that can sometimes suck away all energy. It is important to jump in a helicopter and get the bird's eye big picture view. That's what this post has been about doing... and... I have to say... it is an encouragement to my own heart to see these images and be reminded that Hillcrest Cottage Life is a very blessed one.

An Untold August Tale

One day soon, I might be able to write this story...

until then, I can only say,

"This guy is my hero."

Random August Snapshots

Today it was 109 degrees, according to the Expedition's thermometer. For some crazy reason, our family decided to climb our local treasure: Pinnacle Mountain.

Climbing Pinnacle is a yearly family tradition. We like to do it in the summer on the hottest day we can experience. Ha... not really about the "hottest" part, but it has actually turned out that way several times. Once we had friends visiting from England, and we almost killed them... they had never experienced such brutal temps!

As each Kinley boy would turn 5, he could join the fun. My dad used to hike up the mountain in the 40's. I have many, many Pinnacle memories of my own from grade school to the present. There are stories of locals who hike up the mountain as many times in a row as they are old (50 times on the 50th birthday, etc.). Once or twice a year is enough for me!

I can only remember one other time in my life when it has been as hot as this week is predicted to be. Tomorrow will be 106, Wednesday 104 and Thursday 102. The heat is bad... and so are the Kinleys... for making it to the top!



A strange visitor on Hillcrest Cottage's porch.



The funniest napping position... ever.




Why do I feel the need to justify getting some new walking shoes?



The new ones!!! And with them comes a commitment to begin training for the Little Rock Marathon (March 2011). Training begins in September... I'm walking, not running.



Stuart is bonding with Lucy before heading back to college on Friday.

July at Hillcrest Cottage

Summer is supposed to be slow and easy... especially in Arkansas where the heat and humidity can become quite oppressive. When humidity levels go down, every one's spirits brighten.

This summer has been anything but slow and easy. Stuart unexpectedly fell into an "everyday" job doing odd chores on a friend's horse farm. Being the breakfast maker and packer of lunches means no sleeping in for either of us. Davis, too, has been trying to make an appearance at early morning football work-outs.

My West Point Cadet being home for three weeks was a very pleasant routine breaker. Now, a new puppy has me tip-toeing around the house at puppy nap time and making frequent trips outside for housebreak training (which is going quite well, BTW!)



Meet Goldendoodle Lucy!

Last weekend I hosted an Art Sale of my own creating. I invited 15 artists to display and sell their work. Soon my Hillcrest Cottage was torn up and full of oil paintings and photography... everywhere. It was great fun but not enough of a financial return for the hours of preparation to ever repeat. It was wild. Use the imagination.



Closest moment to an "I Love Lucy" episode was when a 90 year old grandmother sporting three inch heels and a matching Queen Elizabeth-style handbag on her arm was found descending my very uneven and steep side-garden stairs. Unfortunately for her, she had come to see her grandson's work which, I had the unpleasant task of informing her, was... UP my also very steep and uneven basement stairs.

Jeff simply gave me "the look".



When all the furniture was back in place and the empty Coke bottles from the vintage coolers were taken to the trash. (I was even too tired to recycle or save the bottle caps as requested by one guest artist.), I told myself with a Thomas Edison-like confidence, " I just discovered one more way NOT to tell my art."



I've never been the type to parade myself and children to the pool each day. But, I do allow myself the summer luxury of wearing colorful flip flops, running shorts, and a t-shirt. It's the closest I will get to the Redneck Riviera... or any other vacation... this season.

So... I will sip some more coffee and treat myself to a few extra minutes under the front porch fan. Tonight I will celebrate the symphony of crickets and dream of the screened-in sleeping porch I will have one day.