What Makes Your House A Home? #HomeSweetHome

I saw that line somewhere in the past few weeks, “what makes a house a home?” So, what does make your house a home? Photographs? Knick knacks? Memorabilia? Furniture? Accessories? Art works?

In my home, my treasures are what I display on my shelves. Never mind my art, that is an entirely different blog post that I will save for later….

My shelves tell a story of time, a story of my life. Books I have collected since I have lived on my own since I was 18 years old. Collectibles I have chosen since living in Idaho. Treasures from my Mama from Ecuador. A vase from my Dad’s sister, my Tia Dora. A framed photograph of my Mama and my mom’s sister, my Tia Laura, my namesake (as well as my Abuelita, Laura). Photographs of my siblings, my parents who passed away 20 days apart in 2006, and lastly my love Paul who died in late 2014. Definitely bittersweet.

And yet, life story on every shelf. I will take you on a trip of my own memory lane…. PS I apologize for the dark pictures. The wood paneled walls keep the house dark and yet home=ey

This is the top of my favorite mid-century modern hutch, one that I talked Paul in to buying. Yes, I kept it. He didn’t really want to buy it so I paid for it. We displayed his baseball memorabilia. It now has my china and vintage glasses along with a few recent purchases that gave me joy. Candles. A distinctive wood art piece that is an obvious puzzle and yet whimsical. My Tia Dora’s split vase. Paul’s Rubik’s cube.

Inside the top shelf of the hutch has timely items: my hula girl from 2005 when I went to Mexico to spend a week at a surf camp. My recent purchase of a wood carved cat with mice for the hors d’oeuvre forks! An antique tea bag holder. Glass bird figurines. A small ceramic bird vase that I have had since I first moved to Idaho. Vintage glasses. A crystal vase that Paul and I purchased.

Then, the other shelves. My spiritual shelf, mostly Buddhist books by Thich Nhat Hanh, a Vietnamese Buddhist monk. I belong to a sangha, a Buddhist community I mediate with, share my Buddhist practice, and we follow the teachings of Thich Nhat Hanh. This sangha and my practice brings peace inside my heart. God takes care of the rest of me! A small Jerri Lisk painting brings this shelf home to Idaho.

The shelf dominated by two handmade bears. These are memory bears, made from my favorite button down shirts that Paul wore to work. I had the same bears made for his daughters, but given their grief at the time, the girls were not told the bears were from me. The books are books I have kept for decades, books that I know I will read again, given the chance.

My photograph shelf has my absolute favorite people: my siblings, my parents, my Mom & Tia Laura, my friend Joan who introduced me to my first Thich Nhat Hanh book and framed pictures of Paul and I. A pewter dish full of beach collectibles from the week Paul and I spent in Oceanside, Oregon. A crystal ball I have always wanted to take to my real estate listing appointments!

Lastly, one of my favorite art pieces, purchased at the 22^nd Annual Valentine’s for AIDS at the Flying M in Boise, Idaho. These give me great joy every day. They remind me of the fact I moved to Idaho and first to Ketchum. They remind me of the stunning aspen trees that are abundant in the right habitat here in Idaho. They remind me of the Spring when their limbs have buds that eventually turn in to leaves. They remind me of the summer when the ground is blooming with wildflowers below. They remind me of the Fall, when their leaves display the colors we all wish we could keep forever, but the leaves fade no matter what we do.

What makes your house your home?

#home #homesweethome #tinyhouse