After six months blankness at Dewena's Window, here's my attempt to turn the light back on.
I've rewritten this post six times over the past months. Each time I was ready to hit publish there would be another major heartbreaking news story on television, making my post too trivial to bear.
Or a family worry would crop up, the latest being when our son and daughter-in-law contracted Covid, evidently brought home from school by one child whose cold must not have been a cold since she later tested positive for antibodies. (And she was one of the few in her class who wore a mask, so there you go.)
Thankfully, our son and his wife had been double vaccinated and are young and healthy so only felt really miserable for a few days, with all the usual symptoms. But the fatigue does linger.
Speaking of fatigue, how would you like to be reading a four typewritten pages post here and have to scroll through 26 pictures of my bedroom art gallery? Because that's what my rough draft grew to.
I didn't think so and decided to tear up my umpteenth rough draft and just say this--
- Hi there! It's been rough, hasn't it?
- There have been blessings anyway, haven't there?
- Some things help, don't they?
My home--my friend--has helped me, thus 6 pictures of my bedroom sanctuary, but not 26.
Please share what's helped you if you care to.
How are you doing?
I'm always happy to see you pop up in my feed, Dewena! Glad to hear your family is on the mend. Crazy times for sure. I'd say that crafting and blogging have helped me and a lot of British TV!! Always good for a laugh. Be well!
ReplyDeleteOh, yes, British TV! I've gone through lots of that. You be well too, Kim!
DeleteI'm so glad that you're posting again, dear Dewena, I've missed you. I'm glad your family is doing better, we've had some covid in ours as well and it has been a great worry. And I'm always glad to be invited into your bedroom, so cozy!
ReplyDeleteAmalia
xo
Thank you, Amalia. I hope all your dear ones are recovering well. Best to you!
DeleteI will write more another time, but just for now - I think what you wrote is what most everyone has felt and is feeling. You are not alone.
ReplyDeleteMaybe there shouldn't be, but there is comfort in knowing this, Nan. Knowing that others understand. Thank you.
DeleteI am so glad to see your post in my feed this morning, Dewena! You've been missed. These are difficult times, no doubt about it. Getting out into nature really helps me, and not watching too much news. And I'm so glad for my home - it really is a place of refuge. I hope everyone in your family soon feels much better. Stay well!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Lorrie. I would have guessed that being out in the beautiful nature of your area is a large part of your life. And then home to come back to. Best wishes to your family!
DeleteDear Dewena, I have missed you! I am ever so grateful for my home, I feel blessed to have such shelter and also our sweet garden. Even though it is small, it is a precious gift from above. We remain at home quite a bit, as it looks like COVID will be with us for who knows how long. We have both been vaccinated but it appears there is still much to be learned about the dreadful virus. I also try not to dwell on the news. The good news is I love to putter about the house, cut blooms from the garden and cook. I also enjoy so much my blogging friends - dear like minded souls, like you! Blessings, my friend and may you and your family be well.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Sandra, I've missed my blog friends too even though I've tried to check in. I saw that you took a shorter break than I did. Sometimes we just need to.
DeleteI'm back to staying at home too, even postponing doctor appointments. Hoping to get my booster shot in late October and then be ready for holidays with our family. I miss being out and about but am fairly content with letting my hermit side take over now. Be safe, dear friend!
Happy to see your post. Missed your posts. Glad your son and DIL and grandgirl are ok from Covid. It is so scary with kids getting this now. I am a home body pretty much so being home especially in the beginning has not been too bad. I do get out on occasion now that I am vaccinated. Life has to continue on. Happy to see you back. xoxo Kris
ReplyDeleteThank you, Kris. It's good to be back visiting with friends again. Love to you and a kiss to sweet Buddy. Ours just got back from getting their short hair cut that will help keep them from dragging leaves in from the ground.
DeleteHello,
ReplyDeleteI have missed you. I do understand. I tend to shut down when the news gets to be so awful. I have been staying away from current events, but as a mom of a son in the military, I also do need to be informed as to what he may be heading into. I try to find some sort of balance.. but it is not easy.
I need time to process and pray.
I am thankful your family is doing well. Lots of Love, Carla
Carla, I hit the wrong button but reply to your comment is below.
DeleteOf course I understand how so much in the news can affect the mom of a military son or daughter, Carla. Prayers for him and all of these brave men and women!
ReplyDeleteDewena, I'm so sorry your son and daughter-in-law got the virus, that's terrible. I loved seeing pictures of your charming bedroom. It's decorated nice and cozy. I like that framed picture of the girl with the red hat. I was glad to see a post from you today after all this time. I am doing well over here, and to answer your question....what has helped during this time
ReplyDeleteis getting out into nature or just simply getting out for awhile. Take care, Dewena, and I do hope all is well over there.
~Sheri
ps.....Yes, I think those cows were a gift too! : )
Thank you, Sheri. I'm so thankful they had both been vaccinated or who knows if the story could have ended tragically. Now it seems as if almost everyone knows someone who has lost their life to this blasted virus.
DeleteAs I'm visiting blog friends and IG friends, it's obvious that time spent outside enjoying the gifts of nature is a big part of keeping emotionally healthy. Your post about your surprise visit with the herd of cows made me happy!
seeing a post from you at Dewena's Window makes me feel that the world is alright again.
ReplyDeleteI'm like you... have been staying home except for going with Michael to our favorite outside spots to eat. I have all new windows! put in today! I'm beyond happy. just in time for the cool mornings of my favorite season. sending you great love. take care of YOU! and special hugs to my precious puppies. XOXO
Tam, that's wonderful timing for your new windows to be put in! I'm so glad you'll be able to enjoy opening them to the fresh air during autumn.
DeleteI'll have to send you a pic of the pups after their haircut yesterday. They're no longer Long Haired dachshunds and they feel so good!
So happy to hear from you. It has been rough. All of us need to find a way to destress. I cut my own bangs. AAAGGGHHHHH!!!!!!! Dancing the hootchie cootchie on a bar top table would have been a better idea! Glad you displayed your peaceful sanctuary for us to see. - Calming, indeed.
ReplyDeleteOh Leslie Anne, twice now during the pandemic I've put my hair in a pony tail and cut inches off the end of it! It doesn't work as well as if I had it cut at the salon, for some strange reason. But probably better than if I joined you on a bar top table, you funny girl, you!
DeleteAnd thank you, my bedroom always cheers me up!
You are a wonderful writer, Dewena, and you can spin a lovely story on any subject. I love seeing your cozy home as well. Forget drafts, just do you.
ReplyDeleteWell here it is, going into October and I haven't posted on my blog in months as well. I really can't pinpoint why. Perhaps all the time in bed before and after the surgery. My husband has been ill and this summer was so different than those in the past spent at the lake. Every time I think that I need to post and visit you wonderful people, my world starts to spin again. Hopefully soon I'll find a bit of time and start doing shorter posts.
Sending love,
Jane
Jane, you have an excellent reason for not posting and I do hope you're recovering nicely and that your husband feels better soon.
DeleteIt seems to me that the longer I put off posting the more difficult it gets to return. And I can see why so many people focus on Instagram now. I don't post there but I do so love visiting others there. Maybe blogging will disappear altogether some day? Love to you.
You have been missed! It's totally understandable how ennui sets in, what with all that's going on in the world. It's worrisome and I spend useless time worrying before I remember to "cast my cares on God because He cares for me". Other things I do...try to start my day by reading, out loud, 5 chapters of the Holy Bible and this helps keep things in perspective. Tending to my animals also keeps me grounded and I have a new mare, Mama Cass, a Belgian Clydesdale saved from the kill pen (her story coming in a blog post). Tuppence is being fostered by me; she's about 5 weeks old now and I've had her for a week. She has Siamese markings and a Siamese voice, speaking loudly and often for food. She's fed about every 2 to 3 hours except during the night when she gets her last feeding at 9'ish, another around 1 and her breakfast at 6'ish. A few days ago, Summer, a Belgian mare, was rescued from the kill pen and is due to arrive in two weeks so my plates are full. The heat has broken, thank God!, and cooler days are here and in a couple of hours I'll meet Daddy (he's 93) and take him to the doctor then Costco. My parents are genetically disposed so they MUST go to Costco if they go to town...Dave was thus disposed but it was Walmart, across the mountain. I'm happy to take a few dollars and go to the thrift store. LOL Dewena, you are thought of often, then tucked in prayer. God loves you with an everlasting love and underneath are His everlasting arms; there are no surprises to Him. Sandra at Thistle Cove Farm
ReplyDeleteSandra, there are tears in my eyes reading your sweet comment, ending with the blessing of your prayer for me. And I smiled to know you're a fellow thrift shop lover, happy to go with a few dollars to spend. I miss that and hope to continue it once I've had a booster vac.
DeleteBut your love and care for the horses rescued is something that I follow along on your FB page, and I always give thanks that you have a heart and a calling for them. God bless you in this endeavor! And Tuppence! Which by the way was my favorite Agatha Christie sleuth, sounds delightfully sweet and I pray that she sleeps through the night soon where you'll have oodles of energy to take your amazing father to Costco and walk all those concrete isles. And thank you for writing here about how you start your day!
So glad you’re back❤️
ReplyDeleteThank you so much, Robyn! It's good to be back.
DeleteGood Morning Dewena,
ReplyDeleteLovely to read one of your well written posts. This has been a year of challenges for sure and continues to be. I do believe we are all especially thankful for our homes and creature comforts these days.
I've been focusing on gardening (you read my snail debacle and thank you for the encouragement) cooking and blogging. So thankful the British Bake Off is back on!
Stay well my friend,
Jemma
Thank you, Jemma, and I do hope you have success in banishing those Mississippi brown snails from your beautiful flower garden! I have got to watch the British Bake Off, several people have told me they love watching it. I have about gone through every British movie and television series that Prime has listed. You stay well too, Jemma! I know you need to for your wonderful busy life!
DeleteAh, I think sharing trivial and serious stuff is important. I think of it as mind constipation---if you leave all that 'stuff' stuck in your head it just churns and churns and goes nowhere---hence, mind constipation. LOL. Yes, it has been a trial---especially for people up in years...we've lost 2 years of our maybe 15 years left...I'm 73. Reaching out to someone else does help---and definitely helps to clear the brain. And, I probably would have loved 26 photos of your bedroom, LOL. HUGS, Sandi
ReplyDeleteLOL, I'll think of mind constipation now, Sandi! I've thought of the two years lost too, Sandi, and I have 5 years on you. I especially think of almost two years of fewer family birthday parties, times we used to take for granted like our large family crowding into our small house and it being so much fun. Hugs back to you!
DeleteI too am glad to see you posting once again. I enjoy your words. I really enjoyed seeing all those pictures in your sanctuary. I too was attracted to the girl in the red hat.
ReplyDeleteOur 13 year old grandson lives with us. Even with masks, we have acquired a respiratory virus that has lingered for 3 weeks. I'm grateful tests show not covid, not strep and yet we remain under the weather, although improved.
I enjoy being at home with family. I am in my 70s and have just started as assistant soccer coach for grandson's team. This experience has brought much fun for me. He's very glad I'm there yelling on the sidelines - positive, encouraging words always!!
Thank you for visiting, JanL. It is wonderful that you're there supporting your grandson's soccer team! And I hope so much that you feel better soon. I remember times during autumn where I had long lingering respiratory viruses and how awful I felt. All pre-covid. If it happened now I know I would think it was that so thank goodness it wasn't for you. Get well!
DeleteSo good to see a post from you again! I have been very lax in blogging, too. I just haven't been feeling it all summer (and now fall). Posting bits and bobs here and there on Instagram is so much easier.
ReplyDeleteI love seeing your cozy and enchanting bedroom with all the beautiful art work.
My home has always been my sanctuary; not just through this pandemic. And being out in nature is always a good balm for my soul. Getting together with friends and family...going to vintage shops and out to eat is another "pick me up".
A good friend came to visit for a couple of hours today and we sat out on the patio with our cups of tea and visited. Us Illinoisans are trying to embrace what's left of our good weather because we know what's coming for a looong time!
Thank you, Melanie. And I always vicariously enjoy your shopping trips to unique shops, especially when you visit bookshops and antique stores. And I certainly understand why I see you and so many others on Instagram more often than on your blogs. Time is so valuable and we have to prioritize how we spend it. But I do hope you won't be silent at Comfy House as long as I was here!
DeleteYour bedroom, filled with so many beautifully framed works of art and family photos, lined with your current reading material, and outfitted with comfy cushions for your fur babies, is your own charming and peaceful sanctuary, Dewena. It certainly must make what's going on in the world, easier to bear, and perhaps stop you in your tracks, when worry or anxiety find their way into your mind. But, your heart gently takes over, feeling soothed and secure, from all the personal connections that surrounds you.
ReplyDeleteI had spent the summer swimming, as you know, in our pool, which also helped with the sizzling heatwaves we had, the refreshing coolness of the water, rejuvenating my body and soul from what seemed to be endless bad news, a lot of it, associated with wildfires and of course, Covid.
I am looking forward to the coziness of fall, which always seems to inspire my creativity, reconnecting to friends on Instagram, having been away for almost 2 months!
Wishing you a wonderful, autumn day.
Poppy xoxo
Thank you, dear Poppy! And your beautiful country has had its share of weather related conditions this summer. I'm so glad you have that beautiful pool to cool off in and that gorgeous sea not too far away to visit. While I miss you when you're not posting on Instagram, I always know that when you do come back there will be amazing photos you share. I'm looking forward to more soon when you return from your latest trip!
DeleteYour bedroom is so cozy and charming, Dewena. I love all the artwork. I had to chuckle when I saw the title of your post, AND when I read that you had started and restarted the post several times. Both are something I frequently experience. I start a post and then something happens or changes before I get it published, and I start all over again. (groan) I'm glad you finished and hit the "publish" button. :) It's always good to see a post from you. Working on my home and garden has been comforting for me during these trying times. Hugs.
ReplyDeleteNancy, it's funny how the title of a post can be so much harder than the post itself. But thank you and it's nice to know that home and garden has been such a comfort to so many of us during this crazy world, especially.
DeleteSorry you have had these worries (variations of all we are going through) but I am glad everyone is well now. Your bedroom is lovely! I admire most of all that there is no clutter!
ReplyDeleteHave you read any Elswyth Thane? I am trying to remember which of her books describes a bedroom very charmingly. She is one of my favorite authors.
Constance
Thank you, Constance, but I'm sure many would say I have far too much clutter!
DeleteI know I used to read Elswyth Thane but it's been years. I just googled her and I'm pretty sure I read some of her Williamsburg novels. I must revisit them. I love novels that make a room real to me, the whole house actually being almost a character itself is my kind of book!
I would be happy to see more lovely bedroom pics in future posts if you want to use them as eye candy as you chat about other things. Your bedroom is put together with such loving care, Dewena. So good to see you posting again! Much love!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Kim! It's kind of a relief to be posting again. Not sure why it gets so hard to start back once I've been out. Love to you, too!
DeleteDeweena, I am so glad to see your post. I get comfort from it every time. Your bedroom is beautiful. I am down to posting only once or twice a month, myself, and I used to post daily about farm events here. It's life... there's no denying. Glad to know you are okay, and I enjoy your son's pictures on Instagram!
ReplyDeleteMary Ann, that is such a sweet thing to say. I think we found each other's blogs when I first started blogging in 2012 and I remember we both posted frequently back then. It is so nice that you visit Daniel's Instagram account!
DeleteDewena, how WONDERFUL to see a post from you! I don't get email alerts for when you publish a new post, so I have to check periodically to see if you've written. It's good to have a sanctuary in these trying times. Mine was my backyard. Yes, it has been rough; yes, there have been blessings; yes, some things do help. We've had some real lows, made even worse because of Covid, and some true silver linings that were blessings, indeed. What helps me is to plan things to look forward to, whether it's lunch with a friend (outdoors), or a project I want to tackle. It's all about distraction for me. Glad your son and DIL have recovered. Stay well!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much, Amy! And I love what you wrote about planning something to look forward to. That makes so much sense!
DeleteThanks for "leaving the light on"!
ReplyDeleteThe words and pictures are a was lively here when I stop in. It was good to see you still post...so many, including myself, have stopped blogging. We have avoided Covid-19 thus far, and we tend to stay in a lot. That part doesn't bother me so much anymore. Hope your family is well now!
I'm so glad to hear that your family has been well through these Covid days. I seem to be hearing more reports of friends and friends of friends who have passed away from it than I did during 2020. And then the news this morning that Colin Powell had died due to complications from it. It's just not over by a long shot. Our son and daughter-in-law who had it (after double vaccinations) were in town visiting this weekend, staying at a hotel instead of with us. I asked them how they felt and both said they were 100% back to normal and knew it could easily have been a different story if they had not been vaccinated. Giving thanks for that!
DeleteStay safe!
If my bedroom looked like this i probably would rarely leave it. It's beautiful and i'd have no problem looking through 26 posts or so of your art work on the walls and bedroom and the rest of the house. Thanks for the message about the comments. I hope i fixed it... glad u are back posting at least for awhile ... i love what you post.
ReplyDeleteIt is so wonderful to see you here. SO many bloggers have left and I understand life happenes. But it is always nice to see you here. The french toast looked good and now I need some lunch.
ReplyDelete