Strength and Beauty

Ivan is an incredible Mr. Mom. He really is. I am entering my second week of working two part time jobs and he is entirely in charge of the care of our two daughters, keeping the house in order, making dinner, doing the grocery shopping, and all the laundry that we seem to accumulate as if it was a fast growing bacteria.

In the first week of his Mr. Mom-hood, he baked bread a few times testing out a few different recipes that caught his attention (or should I say tantalized his taste buds) and he even did some sewing repairs for me. The laundry is consistently washed and folded and he has even embarked on a daunting project: organizing our basement.

My domestic god of a husband went to Sam’s Club today. Upon my return home from church and some time with some girlfriends, I discovered he had purchased a large sack of flour which we were out of (mostly because he has been baking so much bread). I didn’t really look that closely at the sack thinking it was the normal size bag I would purchase when I did all the shopping. I decided to make some yummy icebox cookies this eve and went to refill our flour container and I took a little closer look at this sack.

As I tried to heave it up on the chair to scoop some out into my smaller container I leave on the counter, I realized something was oddly different. And all of a sudden the scene from Anne of Green Gables came rushing over me as my eyes bulged with the realization that he has purchased 50 pounds of flour!!

Remember the scene where Matthew goes to the town general store with every intention of buying his Anne-girl a new dress with puffed sleeves. He is so shy and bashful, he can’t come right out and ask to see the dresses from the clerk. So the clerk asks him what he needs and he asks for a rake, and then some seed (which they are out of because it is Winter, silly boy) and then he says “sugar, brown sugar”. The clerk scoops up a 5lb sack of brown sugar. And finally, Matthew whispers under his breath, “I need a dress for Anne…with puffed sleeves.” And the clerk replies in her bubbly, almost too cheerful voice, “Why, Mr. Cuthbert, why didn’t you just say so?”

He comes home with the lovely powder blue dress with puffed sleeves and lays it in her room. The next scene is Marilla (his sister) working in the kitchen putting the brown sugar away and down the stairs comes Anne glowing with delight at her puffed sleeves. The scene ends with Marilla saying in a somewhat exasperated but tickled voice, “5 pounds of brown sugar, indeed!”

50 pounds of white flour, indeed!

My sister is notorious for her love of decorating and her neurotic need to rearrange all the rooms of her house on a regular basis. It is quite funny at times, but inspiring all the same. I have picked up some of her skills for creating ambiance and warm, lovely places through the osmosis of sisterhood. Every summer I have lived in this house, I have tried to come up with creative ways to create new space in my home. And one of my favorite places to let my mind create is my southern facing enclosed front porch.

One year my thrift store looting mother found me the most amazing old black wicker porch furniture that needed some love and tender care. LoAnn helped me put foam down for cushions and I found colorful sheets/pillow cases at the local Salvation Army thrift store to cover the cushions. It created such a nice sitting area in the summer with the breeze running through the windows and afternoon light casting a nice glow in the lovely space.

And last summer, I moved my dining room table out to the front porch and set up a lovely dining area to have guests over for dinner in the evening or simply enjoy the quietness of morning and watch the sun rise from the porch. I remember sitting out there with little Audrey Anne who was just an infant, nursing and trying to write in my journal the most basic of thoughts and reflections; for that was all time and attention would allow.

So this year, I have been searching my creative vaults for some new way to set up the front porch space. One day this last week, I was at work, knitting with my manager, Kim, and we were talking about quilting and it came to me! I bought a quilting frame a few years ago from a patient of mine who is an avid hand quilter. I could set up the quilting frame on the front porch.

The only problem is I don’t know how to put the darn thing together. Oh well; it did motivate me to clean the porch from top to bottom and create a nice little reading area in one corner too. So I felt like Dana-doo, decorating and using materials and supplies on hand to create a lovely space that is welcoming and peaceful.

Here are the pics:

This is the lovely sitting area I created where I am going to set up my quilting frame on the right there. We have already put the space to great use so far…a nap on a Sunday afternoon, reading a Churchill biography in the evening as the rain fell, playing with Audrey and Elliott. Quite relaxing.

The black wicker furniture. Such a wonderful place come 4 o’clock when the buttery afternoon sunshine is coming through the mismatched curtains I found lying around the house.

And some lovely details…

and we can’t forget this one important and lovely detail, Audrey Anne.

So this post got me thinking; if this is “a Dana sort of day”–with rearranging, decorating and using stuff around the house to create lovely spaces…what would a Kathleen sort of day be? Or an Alina sort of day? Or an Ivan sort of day? What sort of day would you be?