The Other Side Of The Dining Room
I don’t think I’ve shown you the other side of the dining room I’ve decorated with spring in mind.
This side, much like the other side, is made up mostly of wood and green. I like that combination. It seems so…earthy, I guess you’d say.
This is a reminder of what the other side of my dining room currently looks like with spring in mind.
I find myself wanting to add more color. But then I do and don’t seem to like it. I suppose I’m needing my spaces to be more serene these days.
Speaking of green, Steve is planning to take me to the Under The Sun garden center store tomorrow. It is a small store and they carry house plants there.
I had to give Maria and her mother all my house plants last year because they were big and I wasn’t in a position to lift them around in the fall.
Greg said it was best not to bring them inside where he knew I’d end up lifting and moving them around.
This time around I want small house plants that I can handle and lift whenever I need to. The place I’m kind of designating for them is the yellow table under the window in my office.
As I heal from this injury and age, I find myself having to learn to adapt to changing circumstances. Instead of looking at what I can’t do, I’m leaning in to what I can do.
The Two Black Desks:
As you know, I’m planning to put two black desks in an L-shape in that room. (One has already arrived and been put together. The other one is supposed to arrive tomorrow.)
So I won’t be needing the surface of that yellow table as much. It seemed a perfect place to add a few plants and bring nature into that room.
How My Ankle Is Doing:
I’ve had a pretty good week. Yesterday Greg and I walked out to the front sidewalk. Which I’d say is probably about 30 feet. That’s the most I’ve walked without the boot yet. So that was pretty exciting.
I’m trying not to wear the walking boot indoors because it causes such problems with my hip and back. So the last few days I’ve been walking around inside without it.
If I’m careful, I can do that. But that means not having my right foot dangle from a chair. Blood then runs down to my ankle and the inflammation causes pain.
Last week I didn’t do very much during the day. But in the evening Steve brought the big box that held my first black desk in. I couldn’t open the door because they put the box in front of it. (Why do they do that?)
So I merely sat back there and handed him parts for maybe an hour. I was sitting on the side of my knee scooter.
A bit later the pain came roaring back and stayed for about 12 hours. The only thing that seems to help is for me to sit in this recliner and raise my feet above my heart.
Greg told me that the ankle is still healing in terms of adapting to various things. It is also adjusting to load bearing. And we haven’t been able to add strength training yet.
So I’m taking it a step, literally, at a time.
Love the green and wood vignettes. I especially like the framed prints of plants. You have such a good eye for arranging the pieces.
So glad you are experiencing some progress in the healing of your ankle. Little by little and, as you know, don’t get impatient and over-do! And how nice that Steve is taking you to the plant store. I have many (too many!) house plants and love them all. I especially have too many African Violets which I can’t seem to stop propagating. If you lived nearby I would give you one! Or two…or three! Many people think they are too fussy to grow but really they aren’t.
I neglect mine routinely and they still bloom for me. Anyway, I hope you have a fun time at the plant store. P.S. If you want a really easy-care plant get a philodendron. I have one that I hardly ever pay any attention to and it just keeps growing and growing.
Love the green and wood – looks so pretty together.
Happy plant shopping – that’s always fun. I’d love to buy some new plants but I already struggle with having enough room for the ones I already have! We have two new plant shops nearby – both women-owned and they are wonderful. They carry plants that the big box stores don’t – and they look healthier, too.
Sounds like your healing is going along well now. Glad you are able to walk a bit without the boot.
Brenda, i cant read your blog anymore without a sign in box popping up and when i press cancel it wont let me read here after that. just thought I’d let you know in case are also experiencing the same.
I’m having the same issue
Get a shamrock Brenda.. they will have them because March is here…come in purple and green…sometimes they mix them…they bloom off and on easy to grow…they are one plant you can cut off…and it will grow right back…have fun💕
I am anxious to see your craft area. I am liking how you’re using the green in your decorating. Is the snake plant that you have real or fake. I know you said once that you had some fake plants that looked so real. If it is fake may I ask where you ordered it from.
👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 – Hear that? It’s my applause for your walk out to the front sidewalk! See, you are healing. You will get there lady. I am leaning into what I can do”. Boy did I need to hear that. I think we all do at his age. I have a tendency of ‘ all or nothing thinking’. If I can’t get it all finished in one shot like I used to be able to do, I find myself procrastinating or not doing the chore. I’ve been working hard to change that mindset. Cleaning out and re-organizing my pantry has been on the ‘to do’ list. Finally, I pushed myself to start clearing out
old, stale or expired foods and tossing them. The next day, I went shelf by shelf
removing everything and scrubbing the shelves. The 3rd day I covered the shelves with pretty contact paper and replaced the items. Oh how good that made me feel accomplishing that and see a clean and organized pantry where I can see what I have. Yes, it took me days as opposed to an afternoon, but I feel good that I did get it done and enjoy the results. So, I may not be as fast or efficient as I used to be, but I can still accomplish it if I alter how I do it. ‘Leaning into what I can do’ is profound for me —— so thank you for reminding us. Love all your Spring green decor. It has been such a weird winter with the weather, my mind moved into Spring many weeks ago! Glad you are getting out to see and buy some plants. Gardening, no matter where or how you do it is good for the soul. We all feel good nurturing something.
Oh yeah! That’s so kind of Steve to take you shopping for plants! You’ve been so disappointed that you haven’t been able to do your normal gardening. I hope this lifts your spirits and satisfies your gardening itch. Your dining room, both sides, looks so pretty! That was nice of Steve to put your table together for you. I can’t wait to see how your craft room looks. And congratulations on your progress with Greg! You’re doing great!
I can’t wait to see your new craftroom!
Brenda, thank you for the reminder…”Instead of looking at what I can’t do, I’m leaning in to what I can do.” Before I moved I had this posted on my dresser mirror as a reminder. I need to post that in a prominent place again. I tend to get too caught up in what I can’t do as I age. Your post today was a fantastic reminder!
It may seem slow to you, but from this side of the screen your posts show you are making great progress!
So excited for you that you are going to go look at plants. How about getting dwarf or miniature plants? – they won’t grow so big and heavy. I happen to love miniature begonias. They are hard to find but even my oldest, largest ones are in an 8″ pot, maximum. And they started in 2″ and 3″ pots from the nursery.
There’s also bonsai, but I have not been successful with those.
Cathy in NY
Yay a trip to the garden nursery!!! WooHoo!!! That’s an outing to get seriously excited about. Exciting!
I like the other side of the dining room. It looks wonderful as it is, Brenda!
Can’t wait to see your black tables and changes to your office/sewing area.
Just enjoy a day at a time – yesterday is gone, yesterday hasn’t arrived so it’s all about today! Do what you can today!
Enjoy your day, Brenda.
What a great post! I love your green area it’s lovely and so serene. Your L-shaped desks will be fabulous for you – large surfaces are so great to work on! What sweet daughters you have! And Steve is a wonderful neighbor and friend to you:-) Lastly, but most poignant to me, was saying that you are going to focus on what you CAN do and not what you cannot. This is something we all have to accept as we age, in verying degrees depending on our circumstances, but nonetheless we all need to remember this on a daily basis. A quote from the Dalai Lama:”In order to be happy we must first possess inner contentment; and inner contentment doesn’t come from having all we want; but rather from wanting and appreciating and being grateful for all we have.” Have a lovely day and I can’t wait to see your new houseplants!