Houseplants and lamps

Green green, green foliage everywhere inside this old house in the roses... 

In such white vastness outside, my houseplants are an essential source of joy to me these days.  They bring life and a continuity of happiness to my little world...  

...and thus, I've continued cramping up each room with the color green…

The other day, I received a beautiful sympathy plant arrangement from my husband’s office, so I’ve been dividing more plants, buying new planters and filing each corner of our home with little green smithereens of joy. 

Plants not only bring inside that natural feel from the outdoors that I crave, they also bring some very beneficial mind and body healing.  They purify the air, they are truly your friends and can even help protect you against certain illnesses.  Plants increase the humidity indoors, which it really is a gift during the drier winter months around here.  And all in all, indoor greenery not only can make you work more effectively during your days, but be happier while doing it too!

My Pigmy Date palm is one of my favorite houseplants these days.   

I love the feathery texture of its foliage, 

which gives an immediate tropical effect wherever it is displayed

Now, we'll go from my plants to my lamps... ;)

I adore these lamps HERE...

...but, there’s a sad little story behind them I shall share... 

...it is kind of a secret this little story is... so I’ll speak very softly in case 'someone' is listening ;)  You see, it's all the Fisherman's fault! He had always disliked these old lamps since the day I brought them home.  Not so like me, he couldn’t see that special exquisiteness -like a rare jewel among jewels- kind of a thing I saw in them when I first discovered them... 

Even after I gave them a new glamorous life with a little bit of acrylic paint and a lot of patience, he still couldn’t find any beauty in them and disliked seeing them around the house so much, that for many many months while living at the little white cottage I kept them hidden away in a closet, just to please him. 

When we move to this old house in the roses, I brought them in again and said “this time they’ll stay”, but they were predestined to succumb. You see, one morning while we were working on something around the living room, the Fisherman accidentally knocked one of them down... the poor thing broke into zillions of precious little pieces... and unfortunately, no mending was ever possible.

He jinxed it, I swear he did! But he doesn’t know that of course, and felt so bad about what had happened! But it was already too late for feeling sorry, don't you think so?  ;)  I’ll never find another lamp just like it!

I haven’t unpacked any of my large art pieces either… and I don’t think I will for a while anyway.  It is an amazing feeling to see white, bare walls and just the essential few things on furniture and such. 

Our friends Ricardo and Florencia brought us an Italian Panettone Christmas bread the other day...  this is sooo good!

A while back before we moved here, I bought a huge piece of art to use on that vast wall over the mantle, but it will not be put up; at least not for now anyway.  We simply love that whiteness and vastness of emptied white walls.

I’d have to agree that sometimes a single crazy/quirky piece can take a room from being a bit flat to fabulous, but I don’t want to pile things on every single surface of my home and create vignettes that can only make things looking too cluttered.

I am excited about making my home a beautiful, cozy nest and the place where my heart wants to be.  I wanted everything white and airy, and had tried to maintain a light or muted palette around the house, although I still have a few painted pieces I kept, and are still incorporating them here and there around our home, because I love that pop of color that gives a room a happy lift.

Our days have been cold and gray and sunny sometimes too.  Birds have found the new birdfeeders and are gathering by the dozen around the old lilac tree.  I saw the first squirrel yesterday.  And what a surprise that was!  I had never seen a squirrel around here before. Our neighborhood is practically still a young one, and mature trees are scarce, or nonexistent. But clearly, more wildlife will be visiting our gardens for food, and I love it.  I only wish an ampler variety of birds will discover our little garden soon… I miss seeing the cardinals of the south.

Dad is leaving tomorrow.  He’s been staying with us since mom passed.  When we came back, we brought him home with us and now I’m going to miss seeing him sitting on his chair working on his sudoku, and sometimes quietly crying. I still cry too, and there are times when I think that the grieving progress is going backwards… going back to the beginning to denial and isolation again.  It’s been tough for both of us, but now that he’s retaking his life, perhaps a thread of light will emerge for both?

I found this picture on the early morning when I couldn't sleep, and I love it so much, that I wanted to share it with you.  Do you think He loved roses as much as we do?  Oh I think so! 

Thank you for being here and for your encouragement through words and thoughts.