Sister mischief...

My sister Deb comes to visit me pretty often. I hardly ever visit her, because it is hard to leave home when one has so many little faces to care for. If I am not here to look after chickens, ducks, goats, dogs and horse, things could go badly. And finding a house sitter that will milk goats is ... well, it's a challenge. Anyway, I love it when Deb visits. She always says, "I'm going to come see you and we are not going to do a THING. We are just going to relax." That NEVER happens. Her brain is always on overdrive, planning how to take something good and make it better. I just sit and wait to see what direction she'll head. Then, the obedient little sister, I follow along. We always manage to have fun, and I am left with end results that are delightful.

This weekend we had planned to maybe take a harbor cruise, or go kayaking. Something that involved water. However, the weather was rather gray and chilly, so plans changed. Yesterday we explored Belfast, had a little lunch, did a bit of shopping, and then tried out a new recipe for strawberry pie once we got home. Afterwards there was a nice dinner at the picnic table, with a flames sparking in the fire ring, and lively conversation. Today we got up, had a yummy breakfast and then she said, "The way your front room is arranged isn't quite right." Well, SHE was quite right, the front room has been vexing me. "It needs more seating, and to be cozier." I agreed with her. Before I knew it the room was emptied of furniture. Then we took advantage of the empty space and washed and waxed the wood floor. Next we did what our mother would have called, (with a happy gleam in her eye) "robbing Peter to pay Paul." We moved a loveseat from up in my husbands office down stairs. We moved a table out to the garage. We moved the chair that had been in the front room to the kitchen. Each step of the way involved cleaning and polishing and general tidying. Deb went "shopping" in the pantry, and pulled out unused decorative bits. We took things off the walls and replaced them with new things. We moved plants. And all the while we were invoking the spirit of our mother, who died several years ago on this very day. She would have delighted in our project. I am pretty sure she was with us in spirit. When we moved this piece of furniture we had a good chuckle...



This little chest belonged to my paternal grandmother, and then my mother. She used to keep it in the living room, with a tray on it that always had a lamp, and usually a decorative item. A potted plant would be on one side to fill the empty space. She kept the tray in place by balancing it on a paint can, and the plant normally perched on a coffee can. Deb and I had a chuckle when we moved this chest from the front room to the dining room. I had a tray, balanced on a paint can, and my plant is bolstered by a Mason jar. Like mother, like daughter!

Here is how the front room, (which we call "the snuggery,") looks, freshly spiffed up and redecorated.


We checked out a favorite antique store this weekend and I found this table cloth. I have a passion for crows, and this cloth is vintage and so unique!





It is much cozier now. We moved the wicker chair from the front room to the kitchen...


I can envision a friend sitting and chatting while I cook us supper, or me sitting to pour over a favorite cook book. Or a dog sitting and staring at me hard until I fill it's bowl. Yeah. That is probably what it will be used for most of all!

The dining room has a FABULOUS new chandelier from Windsor Chairmakers in Lincolnville, ME. It goes beautifully with my table from the same place.



So, in my sisters wake my house looks cozier and more tidy. Sister mischief is always such a treat.