Life as I know It

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San Luis Obispo, California, and South Bristol, Maine, United States
Author ~ Illustrator ~ Lecturer

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

The Year of the Magical Re

Woops! What happened to January? I have been chin deep in the nature chapters for my new book, which Workman will release in the fall of 2009. Some days I work outdoors in my nightgown, then I move into the studio and dig into my text. I almost drove to the store the other day still wearing my nightgown.

This is the magical year of "RE." By this, I mean that I am going to rethink, reflect, recycle, rediscover, repurpose, reinvigorate, reinvent, and redo my life in a variety of ways, which I hope to mention during the next few months.

We've discovered the ReStore, an outgrowth of the wonderful Habitat for Humanity, which we love to support. Because of the ReStore we've been able to build a whimsical little laundry room and outfit it with great windows purchased for a fraction of their original cost. Also, we needed to lay a floor and got a bid for a staggering $1,100.00 for a 5' x 6' space. Jeff was able to pick up solid wood flooring for $45.00 and laid it himself. All thanks to the ReStore. Check on line for one in your neighborhood, and remember, when you're thinking of tossing old cabinets, shutters, wood, tubs, sinks, etc., donate them to the ReStore.

Even the laundry basket and hanging light are recycled. 
Large window (below) came from the ReStore.







Recycled Christmas card, from our friend and photographer Lynn Karlin (www.lynnkarlinphoto.com) , in a recycled frame. Photo of clothes pins on a snow covered Maine clothes line.


My good friends Kary and John,  who live in an old cottage nearby, also contributed to the laundry room. We traded two windows we had for a vintage fold-down ironing board cupboard, which they had in their laundry room. Jeff cut the entire cabinet out of their wall, sawed a hole into our thick stucco wall, and installed it here. I love using it then just flipping it back up and into the cupboard.
 
Phew! Now that I've said all this, I'm feeling re-stored.

Blessings,

Sharon

7 comments:

rmlrhonda said...

What a beautiful, peaceful space to take care of your laundry chores! It feels so good to incorporate "pre-loved" items into your space. Wonderful job.

Ragnar said...

My kitchen sink came from the re-store as well as most of the doors in my house.

Re-store!! I love it.

Sharon Lovejoy said...

I forgot to mention that the door that opens to the laundry room is a 1920's laundry room door from the ReStore. It cost just a few dollars. A new laundry door would've been over 100.00!

I've loved getting your e-mails about your "re" projects. Lots of good ideas.

Keep on re-storing,

Sharon

Marcie said...

Happy "ReYear!" What a fun post; I can't wait to hear more about your intentions for the year. :)

chercroce said...

Your laundry room looks Great!

We discovered the Habitat for Humanity ReStore, as well, last year! Only minutes before I read your post my husband mentioned replacing the bathroom sink with one from ReStore! I am also a great fan of Goodwill Stores for clothing, furniture, and household items, etc. Many of our family photos are displayed in frames purchased at Goodwill Stores. We have a wonderful selection of children's books, for our grandchildren, purchased at tag sales and Goodwill. Our lovely patio set and wicker set for our gazebo are some of the many tag sale items that we have purchased. Actually, most of our furniture , household items and clothing is recycled or reused!

Sharon, I must even tell you that I bought a used copy of "Sunflower Houses"!!! I treasure it as well as your book "Trowel and Error" , which I purchased new for myself and my daughter-in-law!

I'm "onboard" with you this year! I have been heading in the "RE" direction as well!

Sharon Lovejoy said...

Hey, I love all the e-mails I've gotten reinforcing my adoration of the ReStore. Hurrah!

For those of you who asked about the metal mini-faerie mailboxes I have in my garden for our grandchildren, right now Michael's has a supply of them in stock for Valentine's Day. They're only 3.00 and they give zillions of dollars of pleasure to the children.

Blessings to you all,

S

Anonymous said...

we loved the ReStore when we were building our house - not only did we find great things at great prices but we dropped off all our leftover construction materials. it's a wonderful resource for the community.