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(this isn't our house, but the pond certainly looks a lot like it) |
Home Sweet Home
Hello! Welcome back to Toni Taddeo's Tuesday 4 where each week we ask you to consider 4 questions on various subjects. The goal is to get you thinking, considering, talking and getting to know yourself and other bloggers.Be it ever so humble there is no place like home . Let's talk about homes okay?1. In some places people name their homes or properties. What would you name your home and why?If you would not name it, why wouldn't you?
I think most people know that I already call our home Still Waters Pond, or at least that is what I call our pond. It wasn't named that...I named it. I think of our house as "Beside Still Waters (Pond)".
I
may have written about this sometime before (HERE!), but many years before we ever moved to this house I had purchased this book, "Beside Still Waters" , because I loved the pictures and the theme of the book...filled with verses and poems and paintings of cabins and woods and places beside ponds and lakes and beautiful scenery of the kinds of places I would love to live.
When the day came that we were able to purchase this house beside this pond, I realized that my dream had come true, and so the idea of calling the pond "Still Waters Pond" came to me because we live "Beside Still Waters". It is also based on the first three verses in the 23rd Psalm,
Psalm 23 New King James Version
1 The Lord is my shepherd;
I shall not want.
2 He makes me to lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside the still waters.
3 He restores my soul;
He leads me in the paths of righteousness
For His name’s sake.
Welcome to our home...
A view from the back porch Monday evening...the wildflowers were picked on our morning walk. Unfortunately, the flowers have a strong scent that ended up being too strong to keep inside the house, thus they were moved to the back porch! LOL.
Our Still Waters Pond at Sunset (not today, however)
2. Are you more of a romantic or a pragmatist when it comes to your home or apartment's decor and color?
I had to look this up to be sure I understood what it meant. Here's what I found online:
"What is a pragmatist personality type?
A pragmatist is someone who is pragmatic, that is to say, someone who is practical and focused on reaching a goal. Pragmatists usually have a straightforward, matter-of-fact approach and don't let their emotions distract them."
Based on that description, I would say that I am probably more a "romantic" than a pragmatist. Although I am very practical about many things and try not to go overboard on things/design/decor. I use what I have and make do rather than buy new. But I do enjoy decorating for holidays and seasons and using the things that I have to make things comfortable and interesting rather than boring and plain. I am definitely NOT a minimalist type by any stretch of the imagination. My emotions distract me when it comes to hanging on to things that have sentimental meaning, such as family "heirlooms" or gifts that have been given to us over the years. Our home is more of a "museum of family artifacts" than just a practical or modern style of furnishings. But they are comfortable family artifacts that are definitely used.
3. Do you have enough room in your home? Storage space, kitchen cabinets? What would you add or subtract from your home?
I'm sure I could always use more storage space, but unfortunately then I would probably just find more stuff to fill it up. I am at a stage in life where I am trying hard to make myself start weeding things out and eliminating rather than adding more stuff.
4. Is your place really home sweet home ? Would it be hard to leave it ? Are you firmly rooted in your abode or would you move if a better opportunity came your way?
The only thing that would make me move at this stage in life is if our kids moved far away. Then we would want to move closer to them because we don't want to be left totally "alone" in our old age and not have any immediate family nearby. The other reason would be if our health made it such that we could no longer maintain our home on our own or climb the steps to get in and out. We have discussed that possibility and if the right home/location/price came available that was on ground level, we might be persuaded to consider it while we are still able to make such a move on our own. But I would hate to leave Still Waters Pond.
Home Sweet Home
Thanks for visiting! Y'all come again!
Hebrews 13:5 NIV
5 Keep your lives free from the love of money
and be content with what you have,
because God has said,
“Never will I leave you;
never will I forsake you.”
your home is wonderful and I like that shed and could live in that if it had ac/wi-fi/bathroom.. the name you chose is perfect for your home.
ReplyDeleteI am a minimalist and wish I had enough money to rent, and would move once a year if I could. bob is a rock and refuses to move and now we are stuck on a high traffic street in a small town with MUCH Traffic and millions of people. I have never lived in a home that I would not want to leave... that makes me neither of the choices of romantic or pragmatic. I like change in houses but not in routine, like the coming time change I swear I will not fuss about but always do
I am not looking forward to the time change either. It always takes at least a week to adjust, and now I am wondering about the kitties that I feed 2x a day. Either I will keep them on the current time, or they will have to adapt to my new schedule. We shall see who wins on that one. LOL. Re: our shed. We've often talked about having such a shed for a "cabin" getaway...or a guest house. But not that particular one, as it is full of tools and lots of STUFF! I could probably get rid of about half of the stuff in there, but that requires work in a hot shed that I do not want to do. Plus, a lot of it is things like Christmas decor, and other seasonal stuff. I would love a "She-shed", just to fix up like a guest room, and definitely with a bathroom and AC, and yes, I guess WiFi too, although in some ways I'd like it to be tech free...a place to just relax and watch the birds and read and have tea parties. LOL. And maybe write, but then I'd need WiFi, as my handwriting has gone to pot. LOL. (not the bad kind of pot) LOL. If I build it, will you come? Maybe some day! (((Hugs)))
DeleteI enjoyed reading about how Still Waters Pond got its name. That's beautiful!
ReplyDeleteI agree with your thoughts on moving. I'm very happy where I am, but the things you mentioned would cause us to move too.
Yes, I would imagine it would difficult for you to live to far from your sweet grandchildren! You are blessed to be able to watch them grow up!!
DeleteYour Still Waters homestead is lovely and I can see how hard it would be to leave. The photos are always so pretty. We refer to our home as Twin Cedars. Our constituency plan is moving into the beautiful Veterans Home if one of us develops dementia. For other health matters, our daughter in law is a nurse and we’d probably get a live in to help. She would oversee that for us. Both my parents died in this house and that is what I would prefer. I’m sentimental.
ReplyDeleteI totally understand about the sentimental part. My parents both died in the home my daddy built and I grew up in. I wish it could've been kept in the family, but that wasn't possible at the time. Sometimes I wish we could've done something about it, but the reality was the house needed work, only one bathroom (for the 6 people who lived there all those years!), the AC was in need of replacement, septic system needed to be replaced if you wanted to add another bathroom, and it was a lot of other maintenance issues. Plus none of us had jobs in that area at the time, so it would've meant a big change for anyone who decided to try and keep it. You are blessed that you were able to move in there and enjoy your family home. I like the name "Twin Cedars". I assume there are twin cedars somewhere? Have you ever shown us? I don't recall. How wonderful to have a nurse in the family. That is a real blessing!
DeleteThank you for your kind comments. Have a blessed day.
Hi Pam! Still Waters Pond is a great name and has wonderful significance for you. You have a lovely home in a wonderful setting. Steps and stairs can be a problem as we age, which is why we are planning to move as soon as I retire. Great post. I plan to join in Tuesday 4 a little later today! See you again soon.
ReplyDeleteI will be watching for your post. Are you planning to retire this year, or do you still have another year or so to go? I think I remember that you've rented out the house where you plan to retire, so I would imagine it will still be a little while before you are ready to move there. Meanwhile, you've fixed up your current home very nicely so hopefully it will continue to work for you until you are ready to move. Have a wonderful week!
DeleteStill Waters Pond is such a beautiful location, Pam, that I hope you can both stay there for many years to come. Blessings always!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Martha. I hope so too. But I've learned one thing in life, "never say never". We never know just what the Lord may have in store for us, so we have to be ready to go, ready to stay, ready His will to do. (That's from an old hymn we used to sing!).
DeleteYour home definitely fits you to a T. I would find it hard to move from it and all of its magic.
ReplyDeleteWe call our home that we have been in for almost 18 years, Our Forever Home. We love it and its all on one level..that was our requirement ... no stairs after many years of stairs. More room?? no because we would just fill it up. We are really trying to purge and get rid of some of our "treasures". I am definitely a Romantic and am sentimental about so many "things".
We (Dave and I) feel that the Lord gave us this home to be filled with joy, laughter and lots of friends and family. There is always an open door. We love to have company. It does seem that our age is getting to be a deciding factor to being busy and doing yard work..harder now but we will keep at it as long as we can.
Good questions today
Enjoy your day and your beautiful sunrises and sunsets. Our day is just plain gray. No hope today of a sunset. I will have to hang on to yours.
Sue
I think your furry friends are happy you live there too. You take good care of them.
ReplyDeleteI never made the connection between your Still Waters Pond and the 23rd Psalm ... how wonderful! Meant to be that you should settle there!
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad you looked up those personality definitions. Had I not known, I'd have pegged myself as a pragmatist, but now. No way. I'll meet you in the middle!
Our little home is woefully poor on storage space, too. But I love it -- especially being only a short drive from my son and family. That's really the reason we moved here.
Your home and lot are beautiful and right on that lovely peaceful pond!! I love what you named it too.I am definitely a Romantic maximalist! Our home is furnished just like yours and full of the sentimental things, memories, and pictures . Quilts, photo albums, aprons, lace curtains, collections, antiques. We love OLD stuff and history . Hugs from debbi at debbisfrontporch ❤
ReplyDeleteI would name my home Willow Cottage or Willow's Cottage. I've considered having a plate made for the front door or porch.
ReplyDeleteI love where you live! I like all the nature you share with us. I hope you can live there for a long time!
ReplyDeleteHi Pam, I enjoyed your post and I love how you came to name the Still Waters Pond. I think it's a very good name. I agree that at this stage of life (yours and mine), it's better not to add more stuff. Moving is a huge job and I too will move if the right location/price and configuration of a new place was available. xx
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading about your reason for naming Still Waters Pond. I should have known it was from the Bible! :-) We've moved so much that I have realized I can live contentedly anywhere as long as I'm with Dennis. I do really like our condo and the freedom it gives us as to outside care.
ReplyDeleteBlessings and hugs,
Betsy
I love the story of your Still Waters home! I'm a pragmatist in normal days. I have enough space in my home but there are unfinished areas that Bill needs to wrap up is all. I know the day will come when we will have to leave this home and that's ok. I do love where I live and take it each day at a time.
ReplyDeleteI agree with everyone above who think your Still Waters Pond is perfect and the story is so very sweet!! I'm looking forward to seeing it in person again, soon!!
ReplyDeleteMy answers to the questions:
ReplyDelete1. In a previous blog (that I no longer write) I had named our house The Brown Bungalow. The house looked like that to me and it sounded pleasantly homey to me.
I do like “Still Waters Pond,” as you have named the water behind you. I often ask the Lord to “lead me beside still waters,” wanting to avoid the noisy chaos that is all around us in today’s culture.
2. Pragmatist or romantic? I am more of a romantic but my husband is more of a pragmatist. Since I moved into his house, I have respected his preferences and don’t add nearly as many personal touches as I have in my previous homes.
3. Probably all of us could use more storage space, even after doing serious purging (as I have in recent years). I wish we had a much larger garage.
4. Since I have lived in 11 states and Canada and went to a different school every year, I do my best to make my home as “Home” as possible. But I’ve learned to let go when practicality demands it.
Pretty wreath on the door. If I put one up in spring/summer, birds nest in them and then fly into the house when I open the door..so I only put one up in winter time. Have no considered a ramp to replace your outside stairs? Would be cheaper than another house and your sons could probably build it (look at me volunteering them!).
ReplyDeleteA pond would be hard to leave. I love the name and how you chose it.
ReplyDelete