If you’ve been following my blog, you know we had to put our Abyssinian cat, Sami down. Months later, Dasher came into our lives. As you can see from the picture above, he has become quite the handsome boy. He’s so full of energy; more so than any other Aby I’ve owned. He seems to want that continued feeling of comfort he felt with his mother; even at one year old. He holds his blanket in his mouth and “kneads” it. He’s very intent on it and nothing stops him once he starts. Kneading can actually be a sign of happiness or contentment. My husband says the pizza shops could hire him to knead their dough!

I love exterior doors that speak to you as you approach. It really can make a difference inside and out. Old-fashioned farm-style Dutch doors are making a comeback for interiors and exteriors. Bob Vila, best known as the television show host on This Old House, explains that the Dutch door originated in Holland in the 17th century. “Their purpose was purely functional.” “Built with a bottom half and a top half that opened separately, the bottom was kept closed to prevent rodents and farm animals from wandering into the house, while the top was opened to let in light and fresh air.” I follow studiomcgee on Instagram and the following pictures of entrances are from their postings. So beautiful!

I recently updated our entrance as much as I could since living in a townhome has its restrictions (my husband thinks that’s a good thing!) I added shiplap to the exterior ceiling and my interior foyer ceiling, replaced an outdated fixture, painted the front door black and replaced one French door with two smaller French doors. It visually brought elegance and character to not only the foyer but the kitchen. I bought a wonderful reclaimed wood cabinet for my kitchen. I had come upon it in a showroom at Furniture and Accessory Market in High Point, NC. It has given me so much more storage and a place to display my beautiful serving pieces that were hidden away. The glass design on the front mimics the design on my glass front kitchen cabinet. The cabinet came with a painted blue/gray interior. I had my painter repaint it to match my kitchen wall color; Benjamin Moore Adams Gold HC-18.

I’m having deja vu. I wrote a blog in June of 2017 about all the rain. I mentioned all the good the rain brought to my life. One was how beautiful my garden was. And so, here we are again. My Kousa dogwood tree has never had so many flowers on it. It obviously thrives on cooler wet weather.

Recently my husband and I were playing golf at Green Lakes where I noticed a beautiful tulip magnolia tree in full bloom. What a beautiful tree. The flowers stand upright in what seems like endless perfection. Obviously, the tree has loved all the rain as well.

One last thing that I wanted to share with you was that I always felt my friend, Barb, would be living here and in my life forever. I’m an upbeat person but boy it’s hard not dwelling on the fact that most likely I won’t ever see her again. Her daughter, Debbie, moved her out to California to be with her so she could take care of her. At 91, she still radiates love and caring. I owe Barb a lot and I told her so in a letter I wrote to her recently. She taught me the meaning of spirituality. “It’s not necessarily religion she said, “It’s taking notice of the cloud formations, the birds, and appreciating everything around you.” “Don’t just live, live and be aware every minute.” It was then that I stopped playing music when I walked. This was brought up again recently in a speech my 95 year old friend, Dr. Paul gave at the Retirement Home in Fayetteville. In the last part of his speech, he listed the top ten things we should all do.”Living in the quiet” was among one of the top ones.

At a recent gathering to say our goodbyes, I hugged Barb for what would most likely be the last time. Tears began to roll down my cheeks and continued on the drive home. I met Barb when I was trying to quit smoking and needed additional income. I advertised in our community newsletter for pet sitting. Barb contacted me which was over 30 years ago now to watch her Shepherd mix, Sheba. She was “put” into my life when I needed her the most. She loved gardening and decorating and so a friendship cultivated. I learned a lot about gardening and Barb loved sitting on my deck amongst my many potted flowers. “A slice of heaven,” she would say. I loved helping her decorate her home and every time she would come home she would say, “My home wraps its arms around me.” It’s so hard to imagine her leaving her home for the last time. She only stopped in her townhouse briefly when she and her daughter came back to put the townhouse on the market; “It hurt too much to stay any longer,” she said. When mentioning the sadness I felt to my yoga instructor, Katrin she said, “Just look at it as a transformation of a friendship.” Many of us have felt that transformation. I realized I’d felt it before when I was 11 years old. I have the image embedded in my memory block of my family driving down our street in Buffalo, New York as we headed to our new home in Manlius, New York. My then best friend was standing in the middle of the street waving goodbye. As we got farther away, she picked up her gait and began shouting and running down the street after us. Tears flowed from my eyes as they have now. Friends come and go and I firmly believe each and everyone is put in our lives for a reason; some for a day and some for a lifetime. Life goes too fast….Enjoy each and every day and all those who cross paths with us.