It is also the day that this little guy turns 30. I can't believe it has been 30 years since he changed our lives for the better - forever!! I'll share more pics of him that day.
And most importantly, it is also the day that he and his wife and the rest of us find out if this blessing below will be wearing blue or pink - if we buy footballs or tutu's. That baby truly is THE BEST NEWS EVER! As soon as we know what colors to use, Angela has asked my help to decorate the nursery and I am more than happy to oblige. Oh what fun that will be!
Because I am so excited, I hope you long time peeps will indulge me a bit here while I relive a bit of the day when the Country Sampler photographers came to shoot the pictures. It was one of the hottest, most humid and rainiest days of the summer. UGH! THANK GOODNESS for our window a/c's (but they also limited some of the pictures that could be taken. )
Franklin and Esther Schmidt, the freelance photography team hired by CS, arrived around 9 am and they were here ALL day. It started out a bit - um- uh - let's see - shall we say - distressing for me. We had learned just a day earlier that our home was to be staged for a spring shoot. Until then, the Schmidt's and I were planning for a non seasonal shoot. I had put away all my summer decor and set the stage for no season. By the time I found it is was spring (but not Easter so no eggs or bunnies) there wasn't much I could do to make my house look spring. When Esther came in the door, she said as much out loud, several times, to Franklin and me and anyone who would listen. My heart sank. Now, if you have seen pictures of my home, and we know you all have, you know it doesn't say spring in any way. Fall YES, winter - YES, even summer with watermelons, geraniums, and sunflowers and those things were all readily available - but spring?? Not so much! And the dark skies outside were NOT helping! But being the consummate professionals that they are, after a bit of walking around exclaiming that it was going to be very hard to make it look spring like, they decided to dig in, to make the best of it and from there on out, it was so much fun! And a lot of work!
There were camera angles to figure out...
Flowers and food to arrange...
Lights to assemble and set up....
Tables to set.... (you can see my former sideboard - now family room coffee table from a few posts back!)
Scenes to set...
More lights to move around....
Rooms to stage to look like spring...
And at the end of the day, I had truly enjoyed the experience and I was amazed at what Franklin did with lighting and Esther and I did with staging, to make it indeed look like a sunny spring day Behind My Red Door. They worked their magic!! Esther and Franklin were very kind and fun to work with. I had made a nice lunch for all of us and as we ate, they told me all about their travels and their antique home in Virginia and some of the really kewl things they have seen and done. I had enjoyed their work in previous issues of Country Sampler and so I was thrilled they came to our home.
Rooms to stage to look like spring...
And at the end of the day, I had truly enjoyed the experience and I was amazed at what Franklin did with lighting and Esther and I did with staging, to make it indeed look like a sunny spring day Behind My Red Door. They worked their magic!! Esther and Franklin were very kind and fun to work with. I had made a nice lunch for all of us and as we ate, they told me all about their travels and their antique home in Virginia and some of the really kewl things they have seen and done. I had enjoyed their work in previous issues of Country Sampler and so I was thrilled they came to our home. Over the last several months I was interviewed a few times for the article and shown the final shots, and now I just have a few weeks to see it all come together in print. I really cannot wait!! Our home has changed a bit since then, so I am preparing some updated photo's to come out at the same time. I'll post the slide show when I know the magazine is out. Thanks so much for letting me relive that day.
One day last week while checking out blogs that are fairly new to me, I came upon
Tins and Treasures. Natalie posted these tips for maintaining a positive attitude... courtesy of author Robert Louis Stevenson. I love to read things that remind us to think positive and make the most of what we are given. I too find these are incredibly relevant over 100 years later and I for what it is worth, I added some of my own thoughts.
1. Make up your mind to be happy. Learn to find pleasure in simple things. - Sure that Disney trip or cruise is great to look forward to, but so isn't a ride in the country, or visit to the park - it's what we make of it.
2. Make the best of your circumstances. Everyone has problems. The trick is to make laughter outweigh the tears. - I realize that this is easier said than done if you are facing a serious illness or job loss but there are always things to smile about.
3. Don't take yourself too seriously. Don't think that somehow you should be protected from misfortunes that befall others. - Well isn't this particularly true in this economy when so many folks at all levels are loosing their jobs.
4. You can't please everybody. Don't let criticism worry you. -I wish I could have truly lived this when I was younger. There are some people that make themselves feel better by putting others down. They aren't worth our worry. I spent way too much time trying to please them. Now I know better!
5. Don't let your neighbor set your standards. Be yourself. Don't try to keep up with or be like the Joneses. Just be you - and be happy with you!
6. Do the things you enjoy doing, but stay out of debt. Boy oh boy - I guess it is clear this is something too many people in our country don't live by and they are sadly paying for it now.
7. Don't borrow trouble. Imaginary burdens are harder to bear than the actual ones. I find this ones a bit harder to follow- how do I prepare for the worst while hoping for the best - it's all about that balance.
8. Hate poisons the soul. Don't carry grudges. Avoid people who make you unhappy. I can personally say I am a happier person now that I don't associate with people who are always negative - they pull you down. It's the glass half full people I enjoy now. (Are you getting tired of me saying that half full phrase? LOL)
9. Have many interests. If you can't travel, read about new places. Well blogging really fits in here doesn't it!! So if we can't go to quilt classes, we follow bloggers who quilt. If we can't go to California or Michigan or Texas, or Canada, we follow bloggers who live there. If we can't visit farms, we can follower the farmer's wife's blog. And we can be inspired to pick up new hobbies and crafts and household hints and tips to expand our interests. Yup, I like this one!
10. Don't hold post-mortems. Don't spend your life brooding over sorrows and mistakes. We can learn from our mistakes but we need to move on.
11. Do what you can for those less fortunate than yourself. And there is always someone who is struggling more than you. I think it is great that some school districts now make it mandatory for high schoolers to do some real volunteering before they can graduate.
12. Keep busy at something. A busy person never has less time to be unhappy. And yes, reading blogs is keeping busy. And it makes me very happy to read your blogs and it makes me very happy that you read mine!
Tins and Treasures. Natalie posted these tips for maintaining a positive attitude... courtesy of author Robert Louis Stevenson. I love to read things that remind us to think positive and make the most of what we are given. I too find these are incredibly relevant over 100 years later and I for what it is worth, I added some of my own thoughts.
1. Make up your mind to be happy. Learn to find pleasure in simple things. - Sure that Disney trip or cruise is great to look forward to, but so isn't a ride in the country, or visit to the park - it's what we make of it.
2. Make the best of your circumstances. Everyone has problems. The trick is to make laughter outweigh the tears. - I realize that this is easier said than done if you are facing a serious illness or job loss but there are always things to smile about.
3. Don't take yourself too seriously. Don't think that somehow you should be protected from misfortunes that befall others. - Well isn't this particularly true in this economy when so many folks at all levels are loosing their jobs.
4. You can't please everybody. Don't let criticism worry you. -I wish I could have truly lived this when I was younger. There are some people that make themselves feel better by putting others down. They aren't worth our worry. I spent way too much time trying to please them. Now I know better!
5. Don't let your neighbor set your standards. Be yourself. Don't try to keep up with or be like the Joneses. Just be you - and be happy with you!
6. Do the things you enjoy doing, but stay out of debt. Boy oh boy - I guess it is clear this is something too many people in our country don't live by and they are sadly paying for it now.
7. Don't borrow trouble. Imaginary burdens are harder to bear than the actual ones. I find this ones a bit harder to follow- how do I prepare for the worst while hoping for the best - it's all about that balance.
8. Hate poisons the soul. Don't carry grudges. Avoid people who make you unhappy. I can personally say I am a happier person now that I don't associate with people who are always negative - they pull you down. It's the glass half full people I enjoy now. (Are you getting tired of me saying that half full phrase? LOL)
9. Have many interests. If you can't travel, read about new places. Well blogging really fits in here doesn't it!! So if we can't go to quilt classes, we follow bloggers who quilt. If we can't go to California or Michigan or Texas, or Canada, we follow bloggers who live there. If we can't visit farms, we can follower the farmer's wife's blog. And we can be inspired to pick up new hobbies and crafts and household hints and tips to expand our interests. Yup, I like this one!
10. Don't hold post-mortems. Don't spend your life brooding over sorrows and mistakes. We can learn from our mistakes but we need to move on.
11. Do what you can for those less fortunate than yourself. And there is always someone who is struggling more than you. I think it is great that some school districts now make it mandatory for high schoolers to do some real volunteering before they can graduate.
12. Keep busy at something. A busy person never has less time to be unhappy. And yes, reading blogs is keeping busy. And it makes me very happy to read your blogs and it makes me very happy that you read mine!
So no matter what it is that makes you happy, I hope that have some time to enjoy that this week. I know I am going to follow my own advice and finish a book I started right after Christmas, I am going to have lunch with one of my favorite people, and I am going enjoy being in my home, surrounded by things I love - many given to me or made for me or handed down to me by the people I love.
So until next time - hugs, Linda
