Paint’s Chips

Do you know what I like to do on Saturday mornings?

 

I like to read blogs with a warm cup of tea in hand. Lipton tea with milk. And one packet of Equal.

 

The house is quiet. The kids are upstairs sleeping, hours away from waking up. Mike is rustling around: wrangling laundry, checking email, taking his shirts to the cleaners. The pup is curled up next to me taking a morning nap. Much needed after a rough night of 12 hours of sleep …

And here I sit catching up with, what feels like, old friends. Even though many of the blogs I read — and my blog friends — are new too me. But I can feel their old souls coming through in their words …

 

and their pretty pictures.

 

I’m always so happy when my favorite blogs share a new post on a Saturday morning.

 

It gives me a thrill.

 

So I thought I would start posting on Saturday mornings too. With the hope that I’m someone’s favorite, and that that someone is so happy that I’m sharing something new …

 

something new they can sit back and enjoy in their quiet Saturday morning house. With a warm beverage in hand. Perhaps with a snoozing pet curled up next to them?

 

And I’m calling these Saturday morning posts Paint’s Chips.

 

In what feels like a million years ago, I started a second blog. It was going to be all about paint-related features. I’m not sure why I felt it needed to be on a separate blog. Why not just do that here, on It All Started With Paint?

 

And I tried to find the link to that Paint’s Chips blog, but can’t find it anywhere. I think the powers that be at Blogger saw no activity and pulled me off the air.

 

Although I’m calling my Saturday morning posts ‘Paint’s Chips,’ it’s not always going to be about paint projects. I plan to share a little of this. A little of that. Things that caught my eye. Made me think. Inspired me.

 

And with that said, let’s start with a little inspiration. I spotted this on Facebook a few months back and it really spoke to me.

 

 

Which says a lot, because I am not the inspirational quote type of person. Truth be told, I’m more of a make fun of the inspirational quote type of person.

 

But this one rang true. Especially in light of my recent decision to focus on what I love to do in 2015.

 

For even more inspiration, my beautiful friend Nancy Sharp has written a beautiful story about writing the story you want to live. It perfectly sums up a lot of what I’ve been feeling lately. Okay, with the exception of the cancer part. But it still resonates with me. You can find it by clicking here …

 

The very same Nancy Sharp has also written a memoir, Both Sides Now. It reads like a moving love story to her first husband; a husband she lost to cancer at a very young age.

It’s a page-turner. Which isn’t exactly the way you would describe a memoir. But it’s beautifully written. Emotional. Moving. And it proves that what you see on the surface doesn’t always reflect what’s happening behind closed doors. I always envied my friend Nancy because, from all outward appearances, you would describe her as a woman who had it all …

 

undeniable beauty …

 

smarts …

 

sharp (pun intended) style …

 

gorgeous husband …

 

and yet behind that perfect, beautiful exterior, she was struggling with hardships beyond anything I have ever experienced. Her inner beauty and strength shine through.

 

As an aside, the song Both Sides Now has always given me goose bumps. Hauntingly beautiful; much like Nancy’s book.

 

I’ll leave you with a link to one of my very favorite blogs … and bloggers … that I like to catch up with on my quiet Saturday mornings. With a warm cup of tea-with-milk-and-Equal in hand. And a snoozing puppy by my side. She’s a beautiful lady who is witty. And wise. You can find her blog by clicking here …

 

Happy Saturday to you all!

 

And now I have to get up from my warm, comfortable spot on the couch and take down those Christmas decorations. I wonder if I can get that snoring pup to help …

Linda