You Won't Believe This, at Heart and Home

Hello everyone, I realize it's been a long time...

I will admit,

since my Dad passed away in September

working on Heart and Home had become

difficult for me.

I felt like I had run out of things to write about,

and lost interest in  DIY projects.

I was down in the dumps,

depressed and uninspired. 

After my trip to Austria and Hungary things started looking up.

I was feeling a little better,

ready to start working on projects again,

ready to begin fresh with new ideas.

I was getting excited to plunge in, and pull out the spray paint!

BUT NO...

INSTEAD,

I'm still processing what happened to us near the end of March.

Daily, I remind myself

to stop and count my lucky stars.

Because, it really could have been much worse.

.

 STILL...

This has been really difficult.

We are all shook up.

And sometimes, we are still in disbelief.

During a particularly nasty rain storm,

while I was in the kitchen

 preparing my first cup of tea

(you know how I love my tea!)

determined to do nothing on that stormy day but

nurse my very sore back

and read

and relax,

and take it very easy all day,

suddenly out of nowhere

I heard a very loud crash of thunder.

Which was weird,

because we don't get thunder around here.

So, I was a bit puzzled.

Turns out, the sound I heard was the sound of

one of the trees on our property,

a 100' tall,

 5' diameter, giant Douglas fir, 

as it came crashing down into our house,

just missing me by a few teeny, tiny feet.

This is what happened to our home:

The entire thing was split in two.

Right down the middle,

all the way from end to end.

 Our outdoor patio,

which we used for entertaining and dining,

and reading and relaxing,

no longer exists.

It was smashed to smithereens.

Almost everything on it was smashed flat.

Demolished.

The living room, dining room, entry, hall,
guest bath, family room, office, stairs

 and the entire downstairs

where our bedrooms, sewing room and bathrooms are located

(including my "favorite spot")

were either structurally destroyed,

 or severely water damaged.

 This is a view from the side door,

looking back through the hall into the entry.

The wood planks used to be part of our cathedral ceiling.

That is the roof on the floor of my dining room.

Almost every piece of furniture,

and a great number of our books,

and the pretty decorative items,

 and many of my favorite things

including Mr. and Mrs. Chin,

were destroyed.

Projects I had worked hard on over the years,

many that I shared with you here,
(including my favorite bookcase, and the slipcovered chair)

are gone now,

thrown away in a big dumpster.

Within minutes after the tree fell,

Local firefighters and officers from the sheriff's department 

were on the scene.

They are amazing heroes,

and quickly rescued a very frightened Maggie,

who had been hiding beneath some furniture.

There was a very joyful reunion between the two of us.

The firefighters rescued all my photo albums,

and many of our cherished framed photographs,
 and the important files.
All without me uttering a word to them,
or even knowing what they were doing.
They found my purse, and my keys,

and they knew just the right things to say to me.

 Brave, calm, and kind,

they worked in the dark, in the pouring rain

to save what they could.

I will be forever grateful to them.

Immediately, three media vans descended onto our property.

Reporters and photographers

prowled the grounds,

looking for the best angle,

peering in the windows,

and interviewing the neighbors,

while I sat at the house next door,

shaking and in shocked disbelief.

The destruction of our home was big news that night, and the next day.

Photographs were in the newspaper again, just last week.

When this happened, my husband was out of town, on a business trip.

He Googled "downed tree house storm"

 and, not even ten minutes after I called him,

he saw the pictures of our mangled house on his I-pad,

on his way to the airport in Budapest.

After a few days, the weather changed dramatically,

and we began the long process of accessing the damage,

determining the losses,

and getting ready to rebuild.

Things are moving very slowly.

The tree is gone, and so are two others that scared us.

A giant tarp on a temporary frame

protects the interior from further water damage.

There is a lot of paper work to complete.

It's a lot to take in, and at times hard to comprehend.

We are thinking this through carefully,

and, after living almost a month in a hotel
we are getting settled temporarily,

into a rented house that is not our home.

But it will become one to us in time.

The Cecil Brunner roses on the front arbor

 were just starting to bloom when this happened.

They will bloom again next year around this time,

when we move back into our rebuilt house.

In the meantime,
I'm thankful to still be here,
to have celebrated another birthday with my family,
to have been given the chance to live my life the best that I can,
and to be able to see the beauty amidst the destruction,
in what was once our home,
 and will be again.

Thank you for stopping by today,
I appreciate your visit!!
I will keep you updated on any new developments.
I hope you will check back in with me now and then.
Until next time,
XO
Heidi

linked to Susan's A Southern Daydreamer, for Outdoor Wednesday,
and at the Wednesday party at A Beach Cottage. Thanks!

Happy Holidays from Heart and Home

Hello my friends.

Special Christmas greetings to all of you,

from Heart and Home!

Although it's been much quieter around here this year,

I have been

baking, and shopping, and decorating and wrapping,

 and cooking, and singing,

and cherishing our time-honored German Christmas traditions

with my husband and daughters.

I want to share some of the spririt of the season with you today.

But, since I've been a bit short on words lately,

I hope you'll enjoy these from one of my favorite holiday songs:

"Christmas time is here,

happiness and cheer,

fun for all

that children call

their favorite time of year.

Snow flakes in the air,

carols everywhere,

olden times

and ancient rhymes

and love and dreams to share.

Sleighbells in the air,

beauty everywhere,

 yuletide

by the fireside

and joyful memories there. 

Christmas time is here;

we'll be drawing near;

oh that we

could always see

such spirit through the year."

                                                                                                                                 (Vince Guaraldi)

Thank you for stopping by,

 Wishing you and yours a most wonderful Christmas,

and the blessing of a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year!

Until next time,

XO

Heidi

In honor of my parent's anniversary, 12.23.52

Frankfurt Rathaus, Frankfurt Germany

Happy Thanksgiving, from Heart and Home

Welcome!

I appreciate your visit.

I am regrouping for the holidays,

taking some well-earned time off to spend with my family.

"A thankful heart is not only the greatest virtue, but the parent of all the other virtues."

Marcus Tullius Cicero

I am grateful for the time we've had together, here at Heart and Home.

I thank you  for your continued support and encouragement.

I thank you for the inspiration and the creativity you've shared,

 for the insight and wisdom,

and especially the humor

A joyous Thanksgiving Holiday

filled with the love and laughter of friends and family

is what I wish for you, my Heart and Home friends.

Eat, play, relax, and give thanks for all your blessings.

Be well.

Enjoy the warmth and the spirit of the coming days.

Until we meet here again, I will be thinking of you.

Until next time,

XO

Heidi

Who does not thank for little will not thank for much.--Estonian Proverb

Wednesday Gratitude #34 at Heart and Home: A Shared Meal

Hello my dear reader-friends.

I'm grateful for you!

Link your Gratitude Post below, and thank you for stopping by today.

"If you want to turn your life around, try thankfulness. It will change your life mightily." - Gerald Good

I know it's been awhile.

I haven't had a lot to say.

Thanks for sticking with me!

If I could I would have you all over for a nice fall dinner.

We'd sit around the table for a long time, and share our stories along with the food.

I'd set a pretty table for you.

I'd use fall colors, and make sure the stemware glistened in the candlelight.

What will we have to eat?

Something warm and hearty, this is the time of the year for comfort food!

It always brings me comfort to cook for the people I care about.

I'm grateful for the simple pleasure of preparing a tasty meal.

I am comforted by the flickering candles in the chandelier.

I'm thankful for the soft glow of the fire in the fireplace, and the glass votives on the table.

I am thankful for the warmth of my home on a cool Fall day.

I'm grateful for friends and good food,

and time spent sharing a meal together. 

I am getting used to this feeling that envelopes me.

 Grief is a strange thing.

One minute I feel fine, the next minute I am lost and lonely.

One day I have only happy memories,

the next day I am filled with sadness.

I am grieving the death of my parents,

and my choice to end contact with people who have been cruel.

I am working every day to regain my equilibrium,

and to get my life back on track after this major derailment.

Everyday I think of you!

 I am pondering how Heart and Home fits in my life right now.

Finding the answer might take some time,

and so I am taking things slowly.

 I am thankful for your support and understanding.

And, if we were sitting together around my table sharing a meal,

I would drink a toast in gratitude to you, my blog friends.

Until next time,

XO

Heidi
also linking to Tablescape Thursday, at Between Naps on the Porch.

Wednesday Gratitude #31, and Blue and Brown at Heart and Home

“To educate yourself for the feeling of gratitude means to take nothing for granted, but to always seek out and value the kind that will stand behind the action. Nothing that is done for you is a matter of course. Everything originates in a will for the good, which is directed at you. Train yourself never to put off the word or action for the expression of gratitude.” -Albert Schweitzer

Thank you for being here for

 Wednesday Gratitude!

Today I'm thankful

for the slight chill  in the air this evening, as the weather turns to Fall.

I'm thankful for the sun streaming through the windows late in the afternoon,

and the long shadows and changing leaves.

But, I'm not ready to redecorate the living room for autumn, not yet.

It's still warm and summery during the day.

I'm thankful I have extra space in my house

to store all these very important accessories!

A few Fall-ish items are just what's needed

 to ease us into the season.

And, since I'm joining Cindy's Blue and Brown party today,

there's some of that around, too.

Blue and white are the basics in this house.

I love the combination, and it works so well with just about any other color.

It's only natural to add a little brown, for Fall.

I collected a bunch of orbs for the mantel.

What are they for?

Does it really matter?

I like the way they look!

Their spherical shape is echoed

in this bunch of dried Love-In-The-Mist.

I gathered these in my garden

and left them on the hammock in the sun to dry.

Brown leather cushions

 and a striped woven table runner say "Fall" to me.

I'm leaving the painted sisal rug in here for a few more weeks.
(For the how to go HERE)

It's too early to bring in the dark wool one,
but soon enough we'll be glad for the extra warmth on our feet!

Year round, white candles are a staple in this house,

I always keep plenty on hand.

I love using lots of cushions to make things nice and cozy!
I whipped up these burlap ones this weekend.

They have a knife edge with a double row of black top-stitching.

I decided not to monogram them, but may change my mind.

For now I think they look nice just the way they are.

Sometimes simple is best, in my opinion.

Speaking of simple:

Here's Maggie, in one of her favorite spots.

I wonder what she's thinking about?

She's probably thankful for her sunny nap-spot,

 her bowl of food, and the bacon-flavored treats she gets when she's good.

At least, those are the things I'd be thankful for, if I were her.

As for me, I appreciate all the pleasure I get from this home,

 the joy I feel making it warm and cozy,

and the happy anticipation I have for the coming season.

Until next time

XO

Heidi

Linking to Cindy's Cottage Instincts, for the Great Blue and Brown party.

Thanks, Cindy!

Dinner and Gratitude (#30) at Heart and Home

Welcome back!

I'm so glad you're here.

After that walk on the ocean cliffs (go check it out here),

you're just in time for

a hearty ranch house dinner, with margaritas!

"He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has." - Epictetus

It's nothing fancy, but you're always welcome.

Gather around the table set for a casual meal.

It's a lovely, almost crispy Fall-ish early evening.

(still not officially Fall until Sept. 22 at 11:09 PM - according to WikiAnswers)

Autumn-y colored linens, rush chairs, hand-painted rooster plates.

Margarita glasses.

Margaritas.

Well, for some of us anyway.

The rest can drink sparkling limeade.

I'm thankful for spontaneous celebrations.

I'm always thankful for the pleasure of a shared meal.

I'm thankful I can set a pleasant looking table in my own home,

 and serve abundant, tasty, healthy food and drink to my loved ones.

You already know candle light is on my list of things to be thankful for.

And these little polka-dotted votives make me smile!

See what I mean.

They're cute, right?

I'm thankful for the simplicity

of the blue and yellow and white color scheme,

and the ease of choosing

 from among my favorite linens, dishes and flatware.

I love mixing it up with patterns, textures and colors.

I'd rather have a few favorite items that I use regularly,

than an overwhelmingly huge stash of things stuffed in the cupboards.

The exception apparently being my desire

 to own one zillion candles in every shape and color

as long as they are white.

Well, a girl's gotta have a hobby.

Excuse me while I go light the bar-by.

It's almost time to start cooking dinner.

Around here we use real charcoal,

in an old Weber that's been part of the family

 for a very long time.

Not very high-tech, or high-end, or glamorous. 

Kinda like me. 

I'm thankful I don't have to worry about those things

 among the people I love.

And that simple pleasures bring me joy,

every day.

What are the simple things that make you smile?

I'd love to know.

Until next time,

XO

Heidi

Linking to Tabletop Tues. Thanks!