Wednesday, March 29, 2017

Beauty and the Hodgepodge Beast

Welcome to this week's edition of the Wednesday Hodgepodge, the last one in the month of March if you can believe that! Thanks for playing along today...if you've answered the questions add your link at the end of my post, then leave a comment for the blogger before you. Here we go-
1. 'Beauty is in the eye of the beholder'  What's something you've seen recently that you thought was beautiful?

The view here never gets old. Monday evening hubs and I sat on the dock after dinner and it was so quiet and still. The lake was like glass and I thought the cloud reflection was really beautiful. I'm obsessed with a pretty sky. 



2. Our culture and beauty...your thoughts?

I think our culture has a distorted view of what real beauty is. Think about when you feel most beautiful. Do you have to be completely put together or can you feel beautiful hiking in a ball cap? 

As much as I love dressing up and especially someone else fixing my hair! I think its also possible to feel beautiful while looking less than perfect. In my mind, beauty is more about how we feel on the inside than how we look on the outside, although that's not neccessarily what society tells us. We have to fight (mostly with ourselves) against the message promoted in advertising, television, Instagram!, etc. that only perfection=beauty. 

I will say it helps a lot to have a spouse who thinks you're beautiful, even when your hair won't cooperate or you're a blubbering mess over something ridiculous. 

3. Age before beauty, beauty queen, beauty mark, beauty sleep...which beauty-ful phrase resonates with you today? Why?

Remember being 20-something and having the ability to stay up all hours of the night and still look fresh as a daisy the next morning? Yeah. Your 50's not so much, which is why I'm going with beauty sleep. 

4. I read here a list of the top ten
beasts that scare us the most-

alligators, coyotes, black bears, birds (but pigeons in particular), sharks, bats, bed bugs, rats, rattlesnakes, and the black widow spider. 

Which 'beast' on the list scares you the most? What is the likelihood of you having an actual encounter with that particular beast? Did a movie contribute to your fear of this creature? Have you ever had a real life encounter with any of the animals listed?

I'm going to say bats. I know they eat mosquitos and for that I'm grateful, but I hate the erratic swooping and dipping thing they do. There's something about bats that gives me the heebie jeebies. 

We have bear and coyote here, but they keep their distance. Black bears are amazing creatures and I had one or three lumber through my NJ yard on a regular basis. We have copperheads here, and pretty sure it's smart to have a healthy fear of copperheads. I haven't seen one, but they're here. Hoping I never encounter one up close and personal! 

I do swim in the ocean when I'm vacationing beach side, so I suppose a shark encounter isn't out of the question, but it's also highly unlikely.  

5. Where were you when you last heard a bell ring? Was it alarming or musical?

We have a grandfather clock that chimes on the hour, and no it's not alarming. 

6. What's your favorite carb? How's that for random?

Popcorn! 

7. Let's wrap up another month of Hodgepodging and life with an acrostic. Recap your month using the word MARCH.

Making memories
And
Relishing time with grown
Children at
Home

8.  Insert  your own random thought here. 

A couple of weeks ago I mentioned I was having two chairs reupholstered. They're back and I love the change! Here are some before and after shots for anyone who's interested in that sort of thing. 

Here's a before shot of my recliner.  The only photo I could find was covered in Christmas presents and a pile of throws, but I think you can see the plaid in shades of green, red, navy, and gold. The fabric wasn't awful, but the chair just never felt like it belonged until now. 



The guest room where the newly covered recliner now sits has navy bedding and a window treatment with some navy in the stripe. It looks like a brand new chair to me. 


The other chair we had recovered is what we lovingly refer to in our house as the dog's chair. Our pup claimed the most comfortable seat in the house from day one, and we gave up trying to coax her out of it. This chair was her happy place until the day we had to tell her goodbye. That's Daughter2's dog in a blanket on the rug, which is her happy place. 


I mentioned how the ottoman that went with this club chair disappeared during the move. It went on the truck in NJ but did not come off the truck in SC, and thankfully my upholstery guy here said he could make one. He did an excellent job and I absolutely LOVE this fabric, and the way the chair looks now. 


It's a slightly nubby fabric in a blue green shade called sea glass. There's a little bit of that same color in my rug and also in the window treatments in our master bedroom, although you can't tell from this photo.  It's nearly impossible to take a photo in this house that accurately portrays color, because of all the light and water and reflection, but still I try. 




Was reupholstering less expensive than buying new? Depends on many factors including your personal style (there are inexpensive chairs out there), and especially your fabric selection. This fabric was pricier than the navy, but it was so worth it. Even though you can't tell from my photo! 



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32 comments:

  1. I think your newly covered chairs look great. I especially like the one in the sea glass color. It looks like such a comfortable chair.

    Your acrostic is great! I couldn't think of one for my post.

    Have a blessed week. :)

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  2. The chairs look GREAT! And that view...GORGEOUS!

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  3. Your view from the dock is lovely. What a peaceful place to live! The chairs do, indeed, look like brand new ones. The blue one, especially, takes on a more contemporary look with a change in fabric. We have bats at our farm during the late-spring to fall (they migrate to warmer climates in the winter and early-spring). The swooping down is a bit unnerving if you happen to be out at night. I have to remind myself that they are very useful and getting rid of the mosquitos which are annoying in the summer.

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  4. Chairs look nice!
    Fresh as a daisy, ah, those were the days!
    Oh,the Grandfather clock, didn't think of that!
    It's probably getting springy down your way, ENJOY!

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  5. We are so lucky/blessed to live where we have such beautiful views out our windows! I saw on FB you got the boat out. We need to do the same. We had winterized it. I'm anxious to get out and enjoy a trip out on the water!

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    1. We had put our name on the list and the guy from the marina turned up at the yesterday so perfect timing! I think we're safe from freezing temps now, but the lake is so warm already if we do get a freeze we'll just drop the boat in.

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  6. Love your March acrostic, so appropriate! And, also love your fabric selections for your chairs. Looks like everything is coming together beautifully!

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  7. I love how your chairs turned out! I should really look into getting one of ours done, or maybe try to figure out how to do it myself.

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  8. Thanks for another great set of questions. I don't know how you do it!
    You are right, your view never gets old. It's like a little piece of heaven on earth.
    I'm glad your chairs turned out great. They look nice.
    Unfortunately, I'm not able to see the linky today, so I'll need a little help linking up, if you don't mind.
    Enjoy your day (and that heavenly view),
    Kathy (Reflections)

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  9. The chairs look great, Joyce! Why does the dog always claim the comfiest chain in the house? Have a great week.

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  10. The chairs look beautiful. We have a grandfather clock now that we have moved into my mother-in-law's. That was one of the things that "must not be moved". I had my husband mute it because it was chiming every 15 minutes and driving me nuts. Just the other day he said the only thing he wants when his mom passes is the grandfather clock. I sighed ;)

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  11. Love your acrostic! I'll admit that I was thinking about you getting to spend time with your cross-country girl as I'm missing my Califonia-based boy. Empty nesting is for the birds when so much distance is involved.

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  12. We have copperheads around here, too. It doesn't matter to me what kind of snake it is, if I see one I'm probably going to die. LOL I hate those things and am terrified of them. I have one chair in desperate need of a face lift. However, I"m wondering if now is a good time to do it with a little one who is into everything and another one coming. I remember the days of having littles in the house and just letting the old stuff stand until they were older. LOL Have a wonderful Wednesday!

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  13. Oh yes, that amazing sky reflecting in the still water is beautiful. What a peaceful evening that must have been. I love the re-done chairs. All of my living room furniture - sofa and chairs - were reupholstered years ago. There was no way I could have replaced them for what I paid to have them redone, and I find them timeless. Even if my flame stitch fabric is a bit out of date, the style isn't. It was a good Hodgepodge today, thanks.

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  14. It is always intriguing to read how the very same questions are answered so differently. Your view is wonderful. Your March sounds great. Those chairs both look brand new. Thanks for another fun Hodge Podge.

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  15. The chair looks great! I did my MARCH word like a poem...I didn't know it was supposed to be M for A for....silly me...

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  16. Lots of beauty and little beastie here today...nice. I really like the upholstery job on both of those comfy looking chairs! Ahh...that view, beautiful for sure. Thanks for coming up with the questions for us.

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  17. love your "new" chairs! My mother-in-law always said if you buy quality pieces of furniture, you just keep recovering! Both of your chairs look like quality pieces. The plaid fabric was the same fabric we had on a sofa in our play room at the old house. I love the fabric you used to recover!!!!

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  18. Oh yes, I agree about the bats swooping, diving, with the thought of them getting into our hair! a neighbor girl woke with a start when a bat crawled under the covers of her bed - next to her! Shudder! Love the chair and ottoman! Lovely color.

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  19. I'm joining in the Hodgepodge today. Enjoyed the questions you shared, Joyce. And I also enjoyed your lovely post. Fun to see your old and new chairs, with the puppy stories.

    Wishing you glimpses of heaven in unexpected places...
    Brenda

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  20. The chairs look great! I've never had a piece reupholstered, mainly because we don't buy expensive furniture. My grandmother had a sofa that she reupholstered about a dozen times. It was well constructed and I sometimes wish I had kept it when she had to get rid of it. You did the right thing and they look great.

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  21. I ended up being up for 22 hours yesterday. I really, really need that beauty sleep. Maybe a nap this afternoon will help. They are now calling popcorn one of the good carbs in moderation. Love the reupholstery. Mark's mom always does that, especially when you have a good (well constructed) piece of furniture to use.

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  22. Hi Joyce,
    I have memories of bats. My sister and I would just scream for my dad when we had one flying in our room.
    I love that photo of the lake.
    You may have shared, but I have forgot, what is the name of your lake?
    Carla

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  23. Ohhh, I didn't think of popcorn. Good one. You know, there are probably bats in those woods you live in. haha Love how the chairs turned out!

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  24. The chairs are beautiful. Wish I had done that instead of buying new chairs. Love your acrostic. That photo of your lake is gorgeous. I don't get tired of your view either. It's wonderful. I love it that my husband tells me I always look good to him! Somebody said that copperheads have a distinct odor. I wonder if that's is true.

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  25. The very first snake I had to kill was a copperhead. I could not tell it was a snake (I am legally blind). I just chopped where they pointed. Through the years, we have had many snakes. The coral snake was the most odd. Usually they are too fast to catch. It was about 68-69 degrees so, it was crawling slow. It crawled past 19 cats who did not do anything to it. After I killed it, they came and ate it. I told them they were fired.

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  26. Great questions as always! Thanks for hosting!

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  27. I enjoyed reading your answers, Joyce. I can imagine how absolutely lovely and peaceful it must be on your porch overlooking your pond. The questions to post really make us do some thinking! Thank you for the Hodgepodge ever week....so much fun!

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  28. Joyce, we have bats and coyotes here and I don't mind them. But the turkey vultures freak me out. Too ugly and The Birds movie didn't help. As for carbs, bread, bread, more bread.

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  29. Wow, what a difference on the chairs! They look great.

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