WHY DO I WRITE THE HOUSE DOCTOR?
(Writing and photography by Sheila Gail Landgraf)
I will freely admit it; my home is also my hobby! I don't feel a bit guilty in saying that to you - not even materialistic, because of the way that this hobby has evolved in my life. I didn't chose it; it chose me.
I've lived in these walls I call "home" for many years now, and at one point I actually contemplated trying to give them up. I spent much time in prayer about that and God changed my mind for a number of reasons; for this season of my life anyway. Who knows what plans await later? I have so much of my heart and soul tied up in the process of making a house a home here, that it just didn't feel right to give it all up; at least not yet.
It took a long time after we first moved into this house for the walls and the floors to start to look familiar.
I would walk inside the door and say to myself "Do I really live here?" Then one day my soul began to feel safe and secure about the place, and I had that "knowing" feeling that one should have when they cross their own threshold. It was that feeling that says "Home." I knew the time I had always longed for had finally arrived.
Not so many years ago, we (like so many others in America) traveled through some really rocky financial territory that lasted for a period of several years. My husband was unemployed for a few years, and my own working hours were cut back to almost-part time instead of full time. When it came down to actually being able to keep our home or learning to live in a drastically different way, we had to make some very hard and very practical decisions. In the process of working our way through this unexpected "bump in the road" we totally changed our standard of living and learned to live on much less.
We now eat differently by cooking mostly home-grown nutritious and healthier meals at home instead of spending so much time eating out.
We have also learned to work and play different. We are not traveling as far or as often as we used to, but have come to appreciate the areas around where we live by rediscovering all the activities and entertainments our own home town has to offer. We have a whole new appreciation for the wonderful nearby parks and quaint local landmarks, not to mention the wealth of activities and things we have discovered we can do right in our own front and back yards. Living more local has us walking and exercising more often. Enjoying our outdoor spaces has us drinking in that good old vitamin D that keeps us smiling more often and makes us happier people.
We have found It is just more convenient to plan most things about life in our own space and with our own local community.
History has come more alive to us during this transition, especially the history of our own hometown. There is a lot to be said for community and knowing your neighbors. The extra time we were forced to enjoy at home made us slow down enough to really learn a few details about the lives of the people living in our own subdivision. We had previously been too busy rushing back and forth to work to actually notice many of them. We actually took time in those days to invite them inside our home just to enjoy a cup of coffee and/or a long conversation in the kitchen, living room and outside on the back deck. We suddenly realized how many interesting and unique people surrounded us, and we became even more thankful to be living right where we were at the time.
We also felt very blessed to have slowed down enough to take the time to enjoy some of the many outreach programs and entertainments offered by several of our local schools and churches. They are wholesome, entertaining and fun! Most all of them feature activities the whole family can enjoy together; yet most all of them are good for a single person too. Most everything available showcasing all the local talent has been free or very low priced. The fellowship we have shared by participating in these local events has been wonderful.
We had not even thought of these local outlets as resources of activities for our family in the past; except for normal church attendance with our own groups and our own church. We branched out and explored all of the local gatherings. We crossed all denominational lines and cultural boundaries and explored those little places and gatherings we had never had time to notice before. The libraries and community centers and events opened our eyes to new ideas and hobbies. My freelance writing world expanded and my husband became more interested in designing our outdoor areas and planning little gardens for us to enjoy around our house and yard. We found new friends that shared much of the same interests.
Adjustments were made out of necessity that turned into good lifelong habits. We have even been carpooling (with each other) to work. One vehicle is much more efficient than two; you simply have to adjust your schedules a bit. Now we save energy by better planning as we combine our trips to the stores and our errands about town. We have found the extra time this creates for us later to be a great blessing. We can go to the library, or curl up with a good book, or watch a movie with our neighbors, or spend time with our own grown kids and grand kids.
We carefully compare quotes on services for insurance and home repairs and other such "routine maintenance" things that are necessary before we pick up the phone to order services. It is amazing what you can save if you just take the time to look around and compare prices. It is also amazing what you can educate yourself to do on your own. We spend time making our own repairs or doing preventative maintenance instead hiring others. We make it a habit to deal with things as they happen and not wait until the cost will be much higher. In other words we are paying more attention to our immediate needs in daily life, and this is cutting down on the little disasters that could happen in the future. Small things stay small and do not tend to escalate because we have learned to pay attention to them and take care of them while they are still small things.
We now take our lunch to work and save that much gas and food money all through the working week. Because of this, our health is better. We have more time for other things and often use our lunch hours to run those routine errands instead of wasting our weekend family time on chores. We save money too by eating healthier and leaving off the fast-foods.
We have enjoyed learning to frequent second-hand stores and stores like 2nd and Charles who barter. We found our clothes budgets can stretch a long way and be so much more cost effective when we simply organize our clothes closets in a way that leaves everything coordinated and easy to find when it is needed.
We are trying to transition to container gardening. That will help our grocery budget and preventative health maintenance even more.
We've incorporated money-saving techniques into every area of our spending, and that has allowed us not only to survive within our home; but the thrive. We seem to be living a lot better on a whole lot less than back in the days when we actually had more to waste. It seems that God used this unexpected motivation to find ways to afford to keep our home to teach us better ways to live; ways we should have been living in the first place. So sometimes when I think of the blessings of my home, I consider the things and life-lessons the home has taught me. I am often amazed when I stop to think about it.
After needing to be on the receiving end of things for a few years, we learned so much about appreciating and taking care of what we already have, and find ourselves being so much more grateful for every little blessing that comes along and surprises us. Now it is our goal to be helpful to others going through the same situations. Life has been FULL of pleasant surprises in the middle of all the unexpected adjustments.
We looked up one day and realized we were really making good progress, and we had enough hope after that to set a goal to keep ourselves debt-free enough to be on the giving end of things going forward. God has blessed that attitude. Our main motivation was keeping home ownership, or staying in the place that we felt God had led us and to keep living in the spot where He had helped us to plant roots.
In all of this learning process, I've discovered a whole new joy in the blessing of having a home-base, be it ever so humble, flaws and all.
Whatever state you find yourself living through, home IS home, and there is a sense of security that comes from having a place to call "home," a place that belongs just to you, no matter how large or small or old or new.
The moment we made the solid decision to stay put in our home, I knew I would probably live out my days here; surrounded by what makes life what life is for us. None of the THINGS do that, but I am speaking about the memories that we have made here, the smiling faces, the story telling, the meal sharing, the friendly gatherings, the love that is shared in a million little ways daily in this place and space that we call home.
In all of this loving and sharing though, there are some "things" that seem more meaningful to us than others. The things we have kept in our home are symbolic of the things that really matter to us in our life.
You see, my home is more than my home; it has always felt like my castle. Contrary to what many believe a castle doesn't have to be large and majestic to be a castle. It simply has to be owned by a loving owner who takes pride in the ownership. Your castle can be large or small, owned or rented or shared with others. It is still your castle; the place where you make a difference in the world. I would have a castle anywhere that my family chose to live, so this could all change at a drop of a hat and I would STILL have my castle. It isn't actually even the physical place; ;but the attitude of the place. My castle is simply the most current place where my family lives, loves and plays. For right now, it seems we are staying right where we are. Hence, the hobby of making a home continues, and it is possibly evolving into the never ending hobby of making my house a home forever.
Arnold Bennett once said "Only a very exceptionally gifted mind could cope singly with all the problems which present themselves in the perfecting of a home." I couldn't agree more! There has been nothing perfect about our "nesting" experience.
Mr. Bennett expressed more of these opinion's in his book called "The Home As A Hobby." In this book he describes the different aspects of a home and one line of his writing says "A hundred things are just a little wrong and a few things are dreadfully wrong! But no matter. The apparatus somehow works. The desire after perfection has failed. The home has become immutable. There the home is, it will do, it must do! But for the true artist with real life as his or her canvas, a golden opportunity awaits!"
The unfinished things are simply symbolic of the promise of a new day.
Any outsider might step inside the door and only see the problems and the flaws, but I see the possibilities that exist in this very personal space.
This is an instinct I was born with, and I am of the opinion that most others are also born with the same trait.
With careful thought and consideration anyone can develop this way of life. I think Jesus must look at us all in such a way. He most likely does not see the flawed, sinful people that we actually are today, but I think He sees the wonderful, loving, living, thriving people that God has destined us to be. He must see us through eternal eyes. I want to look at things inside my home in that way too.
Art is expression, and your home can be your canvas.
Mr. Bennett also said: "Nobody has the right to be bored in a half-made home. A home which is not a fair expression of us at our best, a home which lacks what it might have, a home which is in any part more ugly or in any part more uncomfortable than it absolutely need be."
So I have approached my home as a hobby, and not a chore.
It is also a luxury, not a necessity.
I have this temporary tabernacle that I walk around in that is my PERMANENT home on earth. It has everything that I need; but my home is like the icing on a cake. It brings more pleasure.
I could do this living that I do anywhere (a hotel room, an apartment, a tent, a cardboard box under the overpass), so I'm not idolizing this particular place; it is simply the place where God has chosen to put me right now. I have a feeling I could carry on the same hobby if I lived in an alley in the street. My part of the alley would take on a certain charm of its own, I'm sure!
Perhaps you can identify with these feelings. I hope so. I've seen many living examples of this illustration and they never cease to take my breath away. Some people have an art from within their soul that just spews and doles out beauty where ever they exist. I am blessed with friends and family who do so. I pray for this quality to be more developed within in my own life!
My husband now has a fairly stressful job working long hard hours. He comes home tired and ready to rest in the evenings. When I ask that same question that probably a million other wives ask their husbands at the end of each day; "How was your day?" I love his untypical answer. He doesn't say a thing about how hard his day was; he simply smiles and says "I'm home!" That makes me feel like we are accomplishing some worthwhile goals in our place of residence. You know you are making progress when you can smile at the end of the day and say "I'm home!"
Like many who love sharing their homes with others, I find myself with this never ending desire for pure unadulterated hospitality, such as Abraham showed the Holy Trinity when he was first visited at his tent.
Abraham brought forth his best, even when it was inconvenient and unexpected.
He was always prepared to do so, at any moment, at the drop of hat. I just feel my home must be that way too. I don't always achieve this, but I hope to get better and better at it as time goes by. I look at this trait in other people and consider it to be a wonderful form or art.
It is a hobby, not a chore.
It is organic and evolving.
Progress is never overnight, and I expect that things will never be finished and tied up like a pretty little package with a bow on top.
A home is a life-long, ever-evolving project that never ends.
It is a life-process and not something that has to happen all at once in one day, or week or year. Some of the projects in our home have been evolving for twenty years now. Progress is more like a metamorphosis than a planned event.
The art of making a home is simply a way to enjoy the abundance that God grants to us. This abundance of life is free for the taking. It isn't something that you go out and buy. It is more about activities than spending, and it is a whole new way for your mind to think about change. You can resist it, or you can relish the beauty and refreshment of it. This is not about spending money, but this is about having quality inside all minutes of your day; in all circumstances of your life. YOU bring the quality; not the things. YOU make the place a home not a house. It is all about caring and being thankful for what you have been blessed to have and reaching out to share with others along the way.
You can chose to take the easy road and allow yourself to become materialistic in this venture. You are almost guaranteed in this case to eventually get bored with your choices; or you can chose to be gently caring for your home, and always feeling refreshed from the slow, steady, constant process of moving ever forward.
That may sound strange, until you know the concept that I've been slowly building over the years.
I have collected decorative items that express the different seasons of each year that God has given; spring with all it's holiness and bright colors, then the red white and blues of Memorial Day that lead into Pentecost and Independence Day, then summers with patio fun in the sun and times at the beach, then fall with those lovely colors of the changing leaves and expressions of thanksgiving. Last, but not least the lights of Hanukkah and the splendor of a traditional Christmas that celebrates the conception of Christ and The Incarnation. I love all of these seasonal expressions of beauty in the times that we go through in our daily lives each year.
As I'm working on that building, cleaning and organizing, I'm also subconsciously letting God work on my life. He is cleaning, changing and organizing right along side of me. Whatever happens to my home seems to happen to my soul too. God is always teaching me to enjoy the "seasons" of life.
More than that, I've got those memories from seasons where I have used these things with my family and friends over the years now etched over my heart.
It is not the things that matter, but it is the excuse that the things present to enjoy time with others and the reasons to develop relationships through times spent together in every season of life.
It is not at all about hoarding, or buying, or storing up like a squirrel getting ready for winter. It IS all about sharing and loving all the special moments that life presents.
I tucked this plan into the back of my mind years ago when I chose the main furnishings for our house, I kept the colors neutral with creamy white sofas, beige rugs, simple straight lines, wooden floors, white walls with traditional art for the main spaces that do not change. All of this blends with everything else I chose to add during each changing season. The neutral backdrops make this easy. Seasonal pillows against solid colored bedspreads and white sofas, just loving and making full use of the effects of the freshness of whites and using solid black in some furnishings and tabletops just the same way. Grays and beige here and there make decorating easy and natural. All of these neutrals make a perfect backdrop for any season's decor. The house becomes the canvas to paint the changing seasons of our lives upon. The artwork is constantly changing just like the seasons of the year.
So every season I pack up the things from the past season, label appropriately, and store until the next season comes along. I do this year after year. Each new season I pull out the next season's things and enjoy them for the next several weeks. It works beautifully. I feel like I get a whole new house every season. Each time I pull out the seasonal decorations I feel like I'm greeting old friends I haven't talked to for awhile.
When I first started this particular decorating process I had no grandchildren. Now I have three! This has turned out to be a fun way to help the grand kids to enjoy our home when they visit.
I've especially loved watching my granddaughter from infancy till almost three years old walking around the house every time she comes to see whatever G-Ma has changed this time, and to learn more about what season of the year we are enjoying. It becomes a great teaching tool for holidays, holy days and family traditions. If she catches me in midstream decorating when I've taken out all the old and not yet brought in all the new, she seems to get worried until I finish. She is always watching to see what is next. It has been so much fun watching her reactions. She gets so excited to see all the new seasonal changes as they happen. This year it has been fun to watch and see that she DID remember what we had last year and she loves knowing she gets to do that season all over again. It will be interesting to see what she does with her own home one day.
The pulling out of new and boxing out of the previous season occurs gradually, a little at a time the old season dissolves away, and slowly the new season appears and we follow on with the paths of our lives.
The idea is to LIVE into each season and to grasp and appreciate it's own unique beauty.
It really doesn't take a lot of effort this way. I don't have to run to the store every time I want to be "seasonal" either, I simply reuse the same items over and over each year.
Some nails in the wall are good for switching items each season. My door wreaths and welcome signs in the foyer change with the seasons. Some tabletops are good for changing decor when the dates change. Some dishes are perfect for a time, then their seasons change too. (This makes cooking the same old recipes over and over a lot more fun and inspirational.) Of course, I have also created my own "seasonal" cookbook too that (you guessed it) has special recipes for each season. of the year. I've incorporated photos into the pages of the seasons that our family has enjoyed certain seasonal foods and I've printed out those recipes with those photos.
And so it is that I find myself still focusing on this old hobby of finding inexpensive and creative ways to make a house a home. I love writing about it and sharing those adventures with others. I never seem to run out of ideas, and I just keep on sharing them with all of you, in this blog called THE HOUSE DOCTOR.
If you find it all interesting too, just keep reading "THE HOUSE DOCTOR" articles that I always post on Tuesdays. I'll be posting pictures as the seasons come and go and things change at our place. I'll also be posting guest posts of other people's houses that are enjoying being "seasonal" too. Sharing these seasonal ideas and concepts in our homes is so much fun.
I would love to hear about your ideas and suggestions too!
What are your seasonal ideas for making a house a home? Each person I speak with has a new and exciting angle for accomplishing this. It is truly a fun form of art to explore and share together.
