The Friday Morning Chat
~May 30th

HB and I have been enjoying a really nice “stay”cation. Some have heard what we’re doing around here and wonder, “why on earth would you use your precious vacation to do work around the house?” Well…all I can say is that this is our favorite place to be. So instead of putting money into airfare, hotels, dinners out…we decided to sink it into our favorite place. We are creating vacation right here!

A little side about my mom. Growing up, I’m sure that people couldn’t help but wonder what it must be like inside of our home when we referred to one of our sitting rooms as “the blue room,” my bedroom was “the yellow room,” one of my sister’s bedroom was, “the lavender room.” Our home was described, for the most part, in colors. My mom couldn’t stand a white wall. She loved color. We didn’t have one of those homes that flowed from one room to the next. Each room had its own personality. Without even realizing it as a young girl, she set the tone for my own life.

When one of my sister’s went to Hawaii with my grandma (who was born and raised there) my mom decided that we should paint a Hawaiian themed mural on the back wall by the swimming pool. Together, we painted sand, ocean, palm trees and my mom added birds. It’s one of my favorite memories and it really did turn out great. My mom wasn’t afraid to step outside the box and try different things.

When we covered the Hawaii mural, it was when she decided she wanted the feel of a cabin instead. She painted the exterior in woodsy colors, planted trees in the backyard and created an atmosphere that felt cool and inviting. In our imaginative minds, the swimming pool went from an ocean cove to a mountain lake. Her theory was that if you couldn’t go there, then all you had to do was bring it to you.

So, that’s what we’re doing. We’re bringing vacation to our own home. HB and I live in a little suburb area where homes look like cookie cutters. We have two very large trees in our overly large front yard so we spend a lot of time out there. He’s been working away creating something we’ve always dreamed of…a wooden wrapped porch. He covered our old ugly cement porch with redwood and is wrapping it around another wall that faces the yard. It will be a wonderful place to sit, with family and friends, this summer as we drink sweet tea, watch the grandkids play, have a morning cup of coffee, or maybe an evening dinner.

We have a nice enough backyard and we enjoy spending quiet time out there, but there’s just something about being on our front porch that we love. Being the people watchers that we are, we enjoy chatting with neighbors walking by and just witnessing life beyond our own sidewalk.

My encouragement for you would be to bring vacation to you. Whatever makes you feel relaxed and at peace, bring it to you.  Walk around and look for little hidden spots where you can create a little intimate area to drink your coffee or read a book.

So yes…it may seem like an odd way for HB and I to spend our precious vacation time, but after a long day at work, we want to be able to come home at the end of the day and feel as if we’re coming home to vacation. Even if it’s just for a few hours before heading to bed and starting all over again. We’re creating vacation right here – our favorite place to be!

~CindyLu