A Bed With A View

I love mornings.


I especially love mornings waking up in our own bed in our own home.  Since we've been gone a lot the past couple of months, I've become even more aware of how much I love our bed.  It's true, you know - there's no place quite like home.


I love what I see when I open my eyes these mornings at home.


And I love seeing the occasional surprise.  

No, the surprise was not SissyFriss SockMonkey - she drops in unexpectedly from time to time, so I'm never surprised to see her staring at me first thing in the morning any more.  It IS a little unsettling, however . . . .

This morning the surprise was a sweet little vase of flowers from Donald and Harley.  That's like waking up and finding a little love note.  Actually, it's exactly like waking up to find a little love note.  And nothing could be any sweeter.

I wake up most mornings to a cup of coffee on my nightstand.  Now, just to keep all you folks from rolling your eyes too badly.  If I happen to wake up before Donald, then he gets a cup of coffee on his nightstand.  That doesn't happen too often, granted, but believe me - I know how lucky I am.  So, he gets little treats and "random acts of kindness" tossed his way pretty often.  It's my way of saying  "Thank You" for the sweetness of finding that cup of coffee each morning.  I try very hard to never ever take him for granted.  And, I think he does the same.


Because we live in a small house, we're trying to adhere to the philosophy of having nothing in our home that we don't believe to be useful, or believe to be beautiful.  It's much harder to do than it sounds.  At least, it is for us - who happen to be a couple of hoarders collectors and pack-rats.  But.  We're doing the best we can.  


And if waking up in a room you love, which is filled with things you love, is a step in this direction, then I have to think we're doing the right thing.


Our bedroom is definitely filled with things we believe to be beautiful.


Some of my favorite books, by some of my favorite authors, fill the bookcase.  There's Anne Rivers Siddons, Pat Conroy, Rosamunde Pilcher, Margaret Maron, J. K. Rowling, Louise Penny and Sarah Addison Allen.  Beth Hoffman's "Saving CeeCee Honeycutt," Laurie King's "Folly," Sue Monk Kidd's "The Secret Life of Bees," Anne Fairbairn's "Five Smooth Stones," Kay Thompson's Eloise Books, Frederic Clement's "The Merchant of Marvels and the Peddler of Dreams," Mary Ann Shaffer & Annie Barrows' "The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society,""Moments with Eugene," edited by Rebecca Barrett and Carolyn Haines, "Milking the Moon" by Eugene Walter and a Willie Nelson biography, along with copies of the two regional anthologies I contributed to (well, duh!).   Savannah artist Ray Ellis' "Savannah and the Lowcountry" art book, Lulu Guiness' "Put on Your Pearls, Girls," Nick Bantock's Griffin & Sabine trilogy, and "The Store of Joys - Writers Celebrate the North Carolina Museum of Art's Fiftieth Anniversary."   And The American Heritage Dictionary.  I can't stand being too far from a dictionary!

Those aren't all my favorites - but, you know, it "is" a small house and that's all we have room for in the bedroom.


A few of our favorite paintings and prints are in this room.

These are the ones we see first thing when we wake up -

The water color is by local artist, Joe Miller.  It was painted in the South Carolina low country near Charleston.


The print is by a Savannah artist.  It's of E.Shaver Bookstore on Bull Street in Savannah which specializes in local history and architecture.  E. Shaver is a Savannah institution and a spot we never miss when we're visiting.  On a trip several years ago, we saw a beautiful piece in a gallery, and fell in love with it.  A painting of E. Shaver Bookstore.  It was, sadly, way out of our price range.  I asked the gallery attendant if there was, perhaps, a print and was told no.  As it turned out, the person I asked happened to be the artist's wife.  A couple years went by and I received a letter from her stating that they had decided to do a limited run of prints for some of his originals after all.  She had just run across my name and wondered if I was still interested.  I was, of course, and she sent me this small print as a gift.  How lovely is that?!  I treasure it - along with the thoughtfulness which brought it to us.  Unfortunately, I cannot for the life of me remember the artist's name!  How bad is that?!  I'm trying my best to decipher the signature on the print so I can share it with you - but so far, no luck.  dang.  I'm also trying to locate the letter from his wife so I can get the name from it.  big sigh.  No luck there either, but I haven't given up yet.

I seem to have this affinity for art featuring windows and doors.  Anyone have any thoughts about what that might be all about??

  
And looking to my right from the bed, here's the window through which we're able to watch the world as it changes with the seasons.  And watch the sunrise.  Right now it's all trees, but before we know it, we'll be able to see Elk Knob, and before too long we'll be looking at Elk Knob covered in snow.

like this - - 

And sometimes, just looking out the bedroom door, I get to see something like this to help me start the day with a smile.  

A guy and his dog.  

It would appear that picking those flowers this morning was hard work.

I love mornings.