“Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof.”   Ecclesiastes 7:8

Look at David’s Lord and Master; see his beginning. He was despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. Would you see the end? He sits at his Father’s right hand, expecting until his enemies be made his footstool. “As he is, so are we also in this world.” You must bear the cross, or you shall never wear the crown; you must wade through the mire, or you shall never walk the golden pavement. Cheer up, then, poor Christian. “Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof.” See that creeping worm, how contemptible its appearance! It is the beginning of a thing. Mark that insect with gorgeous wings, playing in the sunbeams, sipping at the flower bells, full of happiness and life; that is the end thereof. That caterpillar is yourself, until you are wrapped up in the chrysalis of death; but when Christ shall appear you shall be like him, for you shall see him as he is. Be content to be like him, a worm and no man, that like him you may be satisfied when you wake up in his likeness. That rough-looking diamond is put upon the wheel of the lapidary. He cuts it on all sides. It loses much–much that seemed costly to itself. The king is crowned; the diadem is put upon the monarch’s head with trumpet’s joyful sound. A glittering ray flashes from that coronet, and it beams from that very diamond which was just now so sorely vexed by the lapidary. You may venture to compare yourself to such a diamond, for you are one of God’s people; and this is the time of the cutting process. Let faith and patience have their perfect work, for in the day when the crown shall be set upon the head of the King, Eternal, Immortal, Invisible, one ray of glory shall stream from you. “They shall be mine,” saith the Lord, “in the day when I make up my jewels.” “Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof.”    C.H. Spurgeon

cranberry mulled cider from tiger in a jar on Vimeo.

Yes, please.  I’ll have a cup.

… is two of these.

And, Santa?

I’ve been very good this year.

It’s funny. People tell me I have a talent, a gift, whatever, for making a house a thing of beauty.   

But today I fail to see what value such a talent has in this ugly world.  And I am tired.

So what does that have to do with this blog? I’ve always tried to post original content  in an effort to avoid borrowing creativity from others, but apparently that is not what makes a successful blog anyway.  And with the proliferation of Tumblr and Pinterest, it seems that “tasteful curator” is a desirable title.  So I suppose that, henceforth, a curator I shall be.

I’ve tried before to go in this place but one enters the ridiculously cramped parking lot of our TJ’s at one’s own risk, so I never made it further than driving around in circles trying not to get honked or sworn at by the uppity neighborhood locals who don’t let anything or anyone stand between them and their free range,  no salt, no MSG, gluten free, organic delicacies or their Two Buck Chuck fix.

B and the Tater Tot went on ahead of me while I browsed the cinderella pumpkins outside and grabbed a cart.  When I finally strolled inside, they were standing beside the bananas, motioning with their eyebrows toward the check out lanes where a male clerk was sporting a very large, very white head of women’s hair.  They were quite put out that we were going to be buying our groceries from a cross dresser! But it turned out that all the employees were wearing crazy wigs so on we went.

Anyway, I couldn’t think of a single thing I’d been saying I was going to try if I ever made it into this place, so we just wandered and tossed into the cart whatever looked good.  B remembered someone recommending their pizza dough and I recognized the chocolate lava cakes that Pam raves about so we picked up some of those. We also bought gingerbread bread mix, pumpkin bread mix, some sort of fancy peanut butter with sea salt, sesame coated cashews (not quite salty enough for me but still pretty good,) and some macaroni and cheese balls.   

B tried to make the pizza dough tonight and it just did. not. rise. Into the trash it went.  I do think we were rushing it, though, so maybe we’ll have better luck with the other one next time.  He did sample the lava cakes and pronounced them out of this world, so thanks Pam!

You know I couldn’t leave without something “housey” so I grabbed a package of TJ’s lavender dryer bags since I am an absolute nut for all things lavender!

Two bewigged ladies were sampling coffee in the back of the store and offering agave nectar as sweetener so Tater Tot tried it and liked it, surprisingly.  We of course then had to buy a bottle and he promptly made himself another cup when we got home.  Then the boy proceeded to pour approximately one third of that bottle of agave nectar into his little bitty cup. 

Oh, that child. 

Bet he won’t do that again.

Way back before my unannounced hiatus, I was planning some changes to our dining room.  We finally got the walls painted in September and they turned out really pretty.  I’ve never had black walls before, but this room gets a decent amount of light and there’s only one actual wall so it doesn’t feel cramped at all.  The color is Benjamin Moore Deep River, which has the slightest bit of green in it.  In case you’re wondering how I chose this color – well, it was quite scientific.  I went to Matthews Paints and grabbed every swatch they had with anything close to dark gray or black.  Then I came home and stood at the window for 45 minutes right before sundown, sticking little cardboard strips up to the drapes, squinting and eyeballing them until I found one that didn’t completely irritate me.  And it worked!

The lamps on the buffet chest are made from old industrial parts.  They came from a little antique store in Monroe, but I forget the name of it.  It’s probably a mental block since the store owner feigned surprise that the shades didn’t match AFTER I’d already paid for them, even though she was selling them as a pair but had them displayed in completely separate rooms in the store.  Who does she think she’s fooling anyway?  So I had B spray paint the shades for me with some Rust-oleum Metallic Charcoal and they’re good to go.

Now I need something on the wall over the butler’s tray table on the other side of the doorway.  It can’t be a mirror because there’s a trio of Victoria Hagan convex mirrors on the slanted wall across the room.  That’s them up there in the slideshow.  I tried to get all artsy on ya and take a photo of the room in their reflection but we all know my photography skills are severely lacking. 

Anyway, where was I?

Oh yes. So I haven’t a clue what to even look for. Maybe a riddling rack? I could fill that baby up with Two Buck Chuck.  It’d be fabulous! Or not.

A giant clock maybe?

Any suggestions?

Linked to 

Vintage Friday at Common Ground.  Thanks Debra!

Masterpiece Monday at Boogieboard Cottage.  Thanks Mary!

You thought I croaked, probably.  It’s ok. That’s what I’d think too if a blogger just up and disappeared for three months with nary a peep.   Truth is, my old blog was boring my socks off and I just didn’t know how to fix it without spending a big fat wad of cash-ola that I don’t really have.  So, I closed my eyes real tight and took the giant WordPress leap, thinking that a change of scenery might do me some good and jump start the blogging mojo. We shall see how that goes.  It’s supposed to be worlds better than Blogger  in every way around these parts, but at this moment I’m still muddling through, training wheels still on, the learning of a whole new way to do this thang.

This song has been rattling around in my head for weeks because it sums up perfectly the last four months – life won’t  play along and right keeps going wrong.  And when I went looking for it on Youtube yesterday, it just about cracked me up.  Check out Mr. Bean at around 2:00 and the hunky guys at 2:30.  Go on, I’ll wait here because we all need a little giggle today, ok?

Lost…Confused…Unsure…Unclear…Perplexed…Disoriented…Bewildered..

Yep, that’s me.  And not just about WordPress! 

Oh, I might bend.  But I won’t break.

And I’ll keep dancin’ anyway.  (That one’s for you, Angie!)