FTSF - Welcome to my house

For some time now I have only been participating in a couple of blog hops. Earlier on I participated in some other blog hops too, one being Finish the Sentence Friday hosted by Finding Ninee. Last weekend there was a fun mashup of Ten Things of Thankful and Finish the Sentence Friday, so I thought I'd write something for Finish the Sentence Friday this week. 

Welcome to my house

One of the first things people see as they enter our home are houseplants. More times than not there is something in bloom. Currently there are four African violets and a poinsettia blooming. It is beyond my understanding how it is that the poinsettia is even alive let alone blooming. Over a year ago, it was on my list to take it to the compost pile since there was no sign of life left in it. As I walked by it one day I saw a tiny sprout of green, so I gave it some water, something I hadn’t done for several months, since to my way of thinking it was dead. It began to come alive and then to bloom. It has been blooming since the beginning of the year.

Poinsettia

This room where the above mentioned plants are is one of my favorite rooms in the house, if not the favorite. There are large windows along one wall where I can sit in my rocker and watch the birds and other wildlife that may traipse by on their way to a favorite dining spot which varies depending on the season. Our country property has a perfect back-to nature look at this point in our lives. In past years when we were able to do a lot of gardening and outside labor, the property was more groomed. We like to think that the bees are loving the scene now.

Deer

The next room visitors enter is a living room where an old upright piano sets along one wall. My paternal grandmother sent money to my parents when I was nine years old so they could buy me a piano. My grandmother was under the impression that my being able to play the piano would lead to my popularity later. Being on the shy side and also being a bit of a perfectionist, playing the piano for others only made me extremely nervous, and being nervous led to a lot of mistakes playing a piece which I had mastered while playing by myself. So in my case playing the piano did not have anything to do with being popular. However, after I got married and after we were able to buy our own home, I was reunited with my piano. Having the piano in our home has led to many enjoyable experiences for me and for our family even though I never became a virtuosa.

Piano as adorned at Christmas

Often those who enter our home for the first time look up and all around. The inside of our home, except for the bedrooms has a very open look as well as a ceiling that goes from the height of one story to the height of two stories above several open rooms consisting of a living room, family/dining and kitchen area. For many, this is their first experience of being inside an earth-sheltered home. In some areas an earth-sheltered home may mean the home has sod on the roof, but that is not a viable feature in areas that get as much rain as we do. Our home is built into a south-facing hillside with the soil being within a couple of feet from the roofline at the back of the house. 

The other thing that attracts the eyes of many who enter, is all the wood. My husband lived in a couple of homes that had knotty pine walls when he was growing up. When we went on our honeymoon, we stayed in a cabin that had knotty pine walls. When we found the ideal property on which to have this home built, knotty pine was a feature we wanted to maintain. It was kind of a tradition in the family. In addition there are some cedar walls and railings. Although I no longer smell the scent of cedar, there are some who come and comment about being able to smell the cedar.

From glancing around it is easy to determine that although our family is grown they are still close to our hearts if not in miles, and that we have an interest in birding, photography and also in reading. Having a picture of the Savior in plain sight is one of the daily reminders to me of how important he is to me in my life.

For me our home is a place of memories, a refuge, and a place of peace.