Changing Vignettes and Royal Reflections

OK, before I get into today’s post, I want to say that I am a Royal Watcher. I am not obsessed with it or anything like that, but I have kept up with the British Royals ever since Charles married Diana. I don’t keep up with them enough to consider myself a fanatic, but I do like reading about Diana’s family. Why?

Here’s the short answer. Diana and I were pregnant at the same time. Thirty-one years ago she gave birth to William, and I followed that story very closely. I even told David that if we had a boy, I was going to name him William Arthur Philip Louis. In reality, William was a name that we had considered if we had a boy (those were the days that we didn’t know ahead of time), although David vetoed it shortly after Russell was born. I guess that because I spent the month from June 27 to July 30 saying that I was going to name our baby after the Prince, David thought that I was being serious. He started getting really nervous after I said it for the millionth time!

Anyway, she had a beautiful little boy with golden hair and blue eyes,

and about a month later, so did I. Russell probably has terrible memories of my saying, “You and the Prince are almost exactly the same age,” every single time that anything about William was on the news.

So when I heard of the birth of his little boy this week, I was thrilled! It warmed my heart to see him hold the little prince for the photographers and later put the baby seat in the car. I can tell already that he will be a caring, involved dad. It saddened me that Diana is not around to see this very special grandchild and all future grandchildren.

I felt these same conflicting emotions when I saw William and Harry walk behind their mother’s cortege. Along with the rest of the world, I was deeply saddened, but so touched and joyful that the boys, their dad, granddad, and uncle did that act that was so small, yet so grand.

So thirty-one years ago this week, this scrawny little thing came into the world, and I will be forever grateful.

I’m sure you will agree that this little preemie filled out nicely.

So thanks for putting up with my sentiments, and on to my decorating project. We have two doors into the front of our house, but we never use the front door that faces the street. As a matter of fact, it stays locked all the time. We use the side door by the driveway and enter what we call “the computer room.” In reality, this small room, which is just a step down from the living room, was probably  once a porch, but it had been bricked up many, many years before we purchased the house. We decided to use it as a sort of “office.” It holds our desk, filing cabinet, and computer.

There is also room for a chair if we want to read out there. A few years ago, I told David that I wanted some built-in shelves out there, and he also wanted to refinish the original parquet floor.  He did the floor first, then built the shelves to my specifications. Of course, this was before I began blogging, so I don’t have before and after pics to show you, but I wish I did! The transformation was amazing.

I’ve never put any recent pics of the room on the blog because of the lack of natural light. The living room, dining room, and computer room all run together, so regular readers are familiar with the dark photographs that I usually produce. I really wanted to show how I changed the vignettes on the shelves, so I opened the door wide, and just clicked away. The shelves on the left side of the doorway are wider than those on the right. I have a vignette of my vintage pottery on top and a lot of my religious books and a picture of Russell and Wendell on the second shelf. Callie gave me this enlarged copy of a snapshot that she took before they were married.

The third shelf holds a photo of my great grandparents that was taken on their fiftieth wedding anniversary. Two books of poetry that Russell gave me are topped by a little sign that says “We walk by faith, not by sight.” This scripture from II Corinthians 5:7 is a special one to Russell and me. Next to the Peter’s Pottery angel is a photo of Russell and Callie. The next shelf holds Bibles. Yes, every book on that shelf is a Bible. I purchased this little basket set a few years ago at Dirt Cheap to hold the “stuff” that is necessary to have in an office. I gotta have it; I try to make it look the least cluttered that I can.

The first of the last three shelves on this side holds another basket of “stuff,” some more Bibles, a pottery Nativity scene, and two sets of books, one about the Blue Ridge Mountains and the other about Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives. Those Bibles are family ones: one that was David’s grandmother’s, one that belonged to my grandmother, and a little New Testament that David’s grandmother gave him when he was about 7. The next shelf holds a few more books, another basket of “stuff,” and  my Peter’s Pottery rabbits. The last shelf holds my Martha Stewart books, pottery crosses, and two little rabbits.

The shelves on the right side of the doors have a Peter’s Pottery vase at the top and some of my vintage books and a cross that Russell gave me for Mother’s Day several years ago on the next shelf.

The next shelf has a photo of the Eiffel Tower that Callie took on their honeymoon to Paris and some more of my vintage books. The shelf below that one has more of my vintage books, a souvenir of Dubai that my friend brought me back from her trip there,  a seashell from the Jersey Shore that my friend’s daughter brought me, and photo of David and Russell on Russell’s wedding day.

Underneath that shelf is one of my favorite school pictures of Russell. I can’t remember if it was first or second grade. Of course, we have to have a dictionary.

The last two shelves hold more Bibles (big surprise, right?) and a shadow box-type picture that my friend brought me from Dubai. The picture contains the different colors of sand that are in the United Arab Emirates, and you move the picture to create different backgrounds to the pic. It is really neat to manipulate, and it entertained some kids when I used to keep it on my desk in the library. There also a few cookbooks on the last shelf, as well as a kaleidoscope made from stained glass that my father-in-law made for us a long time ago.

Do you remember the treasures that I recently received from my husband’s mother? After taking down the tablescape, I wanted to transfer these items to the computer room shelves.

I replaced one of the bookends holding some of the vintage books with the horse head bookend made by David’s grandmother. If you look carefully, you can see the vintage book that had once belonged to Mrs. Wilson.

I put the vintage plate from Sycamore Chapel Methodist Church on the shelf below the horse head. I moved the photo of David and Russell to the living room. I put the Dubai souvenir and shell on the shelf with the sand picture.

I was quite pleased with where I placed these treasures.

I like the crosses that I have accumulated over the years, but I have been very wary of displaying all of them. With some things, there is just a fine line between cute and tacky, and religious art is one of those. I have a friend in the ministry, and she used to say that her parishioners went way overboard in giving her “Jesus art.” Once I put the standing cross on the bookshelves, I decided to use the walls of the computer room for my other crosses. I tried to spread them out so as not to get that “tacky Jesus art” overload. The wall adjacent to the narrow shelves holds one large cross.

The wall adjacent to the door holds several of the meaningful crosses that we have been given over the years. In particular, the large one was made by a friend for David out of reclaimed barn wood.

The wall on the other side of the door and opposite the larger set of shelves holds family photos, two of Russell as a child and one of my father as a child. I had so many crosses that I put a few here in order to avoid cross overload on the other wall [see “tacky Jesus art” above].

The wall above the computer desk holds my antique Carroms game board, which you have seen before. I love this room and how it is decorated, and I like spending time out here. Hope you like my new vignettes as much as I do!

 I am joining: A Stroll Thru Life for Tabletop Tuesday, Home and Garden Thursday at A Delightsome Life , Vintage Thingie Thursday at Colorado Lady,   From the Farm at Sunny Simple Life, Between Naps on the Porch for Tablescape Thursday, Metamorphosis Monday, Masterpiece Monday at Boogieboard Cottage ,  Cozy Little House for Tweak it Tuesday,  Under the Table and Dreaming for Sunday Showcase ,  The Charm of Home for Home Sweet Home, Cuisine Kathleen for Let’s Dish, Treasure Hunt Thursday at From My Front Porch to Yours,  Make the Scene Monday at Alderberry Hill , Cottage Style at Lavender Garden, Homemaking Paty at Hope in Every Season,   The Tablescaper for Seasonal Sunday, The Thrifty Groove for Thrifty Things Friday, What’s It Wednesday at Ivy and Elephants; Weekend Bloggy Reading at Serenity Now, Meet Me Monday at You Are Talking Too Much,  Spotlight Saturday at Classy Clutter, Feathered Nest Friday at French Country Cottage, Efforts and Assets at Hickory Trail, Pink Saturday at How Sweet the Sound, You’re Gonna Love It Tuesdays at Kathe with an E, Mop it Up Monday at I Should Be Mopping the Floor , Wow Us Wednesdays at Savvy Southern Style ,  Make it Pretty Monday, Anything Blue Friday at The Dedicated House,Wow Us Wednesdays at Savvy Southern Style,  Create It Thursday at Lamberts Lately,   Flaunt it Friday at Chic on a Shoestring,  Tuesday’s Treasures at Uncommon Suburbia,  Return to Loveliness at A Delightsome Life, Centerpiece Wednesday at The Style Sisters,Open House Party at No Minimalist Here Time Travel Thursday at The Brambleberry Cottage , Tips and Tidbits at The Stone Gable, Thursday Favorite Things at Katherine’s Corner , Sizzle into Summer at DIY by Design