September 11th

 This post isn't necessarily about the actual building process, but about what I learned about building a home with your heart.  Ya see, today would have been my mom's 72 birthday before cancer took her.  I think part of the reason why moving out of our home on Mackinaw Cove was so tough is because it stirred up so many memories of my mom.  I can't tell ya how many drawers I went through or boxes I moved that had a card from my mom or a special something she gave me.  

Every bit of my creativeness came directly from my mom.  I always felt like "My Mom Can Do Anything".  She made these valances with matching roller shades that hung for 11 years in our eating area and living room.  I never learned to sew because my mom was so good and I would just ask her, "would you make ________ for me?"  and the answer was always yes.  

My mom could upholster anything, 12 years ago she reupholstered this sofa for me.  She finished it right before Pete was transferred with his job to Kalamazoo. So the wing back and the sofa and the valances were all suppose to go in our 80 year old home in Grand Rapids.  With a little "Rita" magic, she changed the panels to fit our slider and altered the valances to a perfect fit.  This sofa is in sad shape, the fabric is almost worn through to the cushions.  I've taken many a nap on this couch and really don't know what I will do with it in our new house.  Thankfully my good friend Leone Kirklin is letting me store it in her basement.  There just isn't room for it at our rental.  The red wing back chair wasn't finished by my mom, she had started it and had it all apart when she started not feeling well.  All the fabric was off and the chair was in my parent's basement for over a year.  I remember the day when she said to me, "honey, I don't believe I'll be able to finish your chair for you, you better have someone else finish it for you."

Something else I treasure from my mom is this blanket she was making for Tori when she passed away.  This is her last stitch.  I remember many times she would be napping, wake up and finish a few stitches and fall back to sleep.  About a year after she died I took the blanket, her scissors, some embroidery floss all to Hobby Lobby.  I decided to have it placed in a shadow box.  I thought I was ready and could hold myself together while I placed the order...not so much.  I stood  in the framing department and sobbed, you know the ugly cry.  

I've decided that I will hang this blanket in my laundry room in our new home and design the room around it. September 11th means many things to Americans, but to me it's a reminder of my mom and her birthday. The crazy thing about it is, my birthday is December 7th, both dates our country was attacked.  How I wish my mom was here to be apart of this house building process with us, but I know there will be a little bit of Rita in this home too!