Peaceful Place

June 19, 2019

When we bought the place, it needed major renovation, which we did, gutting most of the interior, revising some of the floor plan, and with the help of some dear friends and family investing money, sweat, and time into making our house our home. The exterior had only recently been redone, but the landscaping had to wait. Bit by bit, we tackled it, digging out tree stumps, taming the overgrown gardens, exhuming buried flagstone walks. 

Between the front entrance and the door to the back room was a trapezoidal space about sixteen feet long by twelve feet on one end and six on the other. It had been a garden at one time, but was now overgrown with ferns, ivy, and weeds. The remnants of two wooden barrels that had served as planters rose out of the ground like the humps on a Bactrian camel. Other than planting a couple of small yews in the space, it went untouched until last year when I collected truckloads of paving bricks. I dug it all out, spread a ton of sand, and started laying bricks. Granddaughter Eliza helped, and soon we had a patio. A couple of patio chairs, a small table, and it was almost done. Monday I ran power from an inside receptacle, installed a weatherproof box, and hung tiny white lights along the front of the house. 

Early morning coffee, or late night conversation, weather permitting, it’s our perfect place. We sit and watch the traffic, trace the flight of the hummingbird that visits our feeder, and thank God for the blessing of a peaceful place and peaceful hearts.