Monday, June 21, 2010

New Beginning Day 5

I hope you had a wonderful weekend. Father's Day does not seem to be as big of an occasion as Mother's Day, but it is not any less important.

I have a few pictures of the outside of the house. This is the back deck. The screened portion is a very lovely closed in patio off of the kitchen and living area.

Here is the side yard.

The little side patio off of the guest bedroom.

The house is going to look so different when we get the keys today. All the furniture will be moved out and we will be looking at a clean palette.

For the New Beginning Day Five giveaway, I'm sharing with you a Bow Tuck Bag, similar to the one that I showed when I first started blogging.

And inside will be a few little surprises :-)

Day 5 - To enter this giveaway, please leave a comment on this post telling me two things. First, who had the biggest influence on your life growing up, and second, who inspires you now. Be sure that I have a way to contact you. The giveaway ends tonight, but if you this is the first time you have visited, you can still go back and enter any of the other giveaway days.

We sign and close on the house this afternoon. Thank you for celebrating New Beginnings with me.

49 comments:

Melanie said...

Congrats on the new "cottage"-- a wonderful new place for quilts...

Betsy said...

Lovely home. Congratulations.
Growing up I was inspired by my cousin Edith who had 2 parents where as I lived in poverty with a single mom raising 3 kids in the projects. I always wanted Edith's life.
I inspire me now. I got out of the projects, educated myseld and now I have the life Edith had.
Thank you for the chance to win.

Becky said...

Good luck with the closing and move! Lots of stress and hard work. Yes, I could move right into your new home. Too bad it's in Florida and not Georgia:)

Growing up my cousin Peg was my inspiration. She is a year and a half older than me. She just knew things that I did not:)

My principal friend Vivian is an inspiration today. She brings the best out in folks. She works tirelessly for teachers and kids. She is also blessed with the gift of laughter.

Have a fabulous day!

andsewon said...

Oh I am so excited for you!!!!
My Great Aunt Mary was a needed influence in my childhood.She also allowed me to sew! Today I find inspiration from so many talented and giving bloggers such as yourself!

Enjoy this wonderful day!
Dreams do come true!
Hugs,
Lola

Pat / Silver Thimble Quilt Co. said...

Fabulous new home! I have loved every photo. Enjoy enjoy..it is so much fun to have a new home to "put your stamp" on. I can see lots of tea cups and quilts. Send more photos.

Pat

Crispy said...

Oooo I love the porches and deck!!! Such a lovely setting!!

I think my biggest influence was my high school English teacher, Mrs Marshall. She was such a generous soul.

My influences now are the farmers in this small community where I now live. They just take every thing in stride...the good and the bad...and are willing to lend a helping hand to all. One of the favorite things that was said to me was by one farmer who lost a barn full of turkeys after some flooding. He said "Ya know, them turkeys, they can't swim so good" and then he laughed.

Crispy

Nancy said...

congrats on the house...

my dad was a huge influence on my life growing up. unfortunately he passed away 36 years ago at the age of 47... i miss him every day.

now my influences are my grown daughters who are strong, independent and are raising the most amazing children...

Vintage Sandy said...

What a lovely new place you have, soon to be called home "CONGRATS"! I would have to say my Mom was my biggest influence in my life growing up she was wise,kind,and a very loving & caring person...today I have a best friend who I admire for her loving and very forgiving nature she's had alot of problems of late yet she forgives & goes on!! Love your purse fingers crossed!

JoAnn ( Scene Through My Eyes) said...

Ohhh the excitement - we've bought two houses and each time the excitement was so great. A clean slate - a new place - new plans. I'm so happy for you. We bought our current house 2 years ago and we still marvel at the joy of it.

My 4th grade teacher, Mrs. Shelton, was a fabulous woman, always saw the positive in me and encouraged me even into my adult years and remained a friend forever. Today I am inspired by my friend Linda - she's upbeat, positive, happy and will go anywhere and do anything - she seems to draw others to her and always has a place in her heart for each person - making them always feel special. She says that each day she tries to be a little more like her mother - what a gal.

Amy Friend said...

Good luck today! My answer is my mother for both questions.

Anonymous said...

What a lovely back yard. I'll pray that today goes very smoothly for you with the closing and all.

Growing up I was a girl scout and very inspired by Juliette Gordon Low, the founder of Girl Scouts. She was always giving and teaching the girls she led. As an adult, there have been a few ladies that I have known that have a lot of children. They give me great inspiration, knowing that if they can do it, so can I (even though I only have 6 children.) They have giving me tips and, more importatntly, good examples through the years.

Incidentally, I was also a Girl Scout leader for several years, but gave it up after I had my 3rd boy. ; )

Have a wonderful day!
Kristen
kvogel at davisp dot com

ledamewood said...

Congratulations on your new house, and you will make it a home very soon. Fill it with love and you're halfway there.

The person who had the greatest influence on me growing up was my father. He had an engineers mind and a love of life and people. He died young, age 46, but he taught me to challenge myself, think things through, and enjoy people. I was so shy as a child, it took me a while to conquer the latter.

Greatest inspiration today is my mother. She has also passed, but she is always with me when I'm working on a quilt, thinking about a quilt, or playing with fabric. She was an amazing needleworker.

Lynn D in NC

QuilterMary said...

GREAT house!! What a wonderful beginning to the next part of your life.

Biggest influence - my Dad. He taught us (me and sibs) honor and committment, that your "word" meant everything, and that family was not just blood relations.

Inspiration - my daughter Sarah. She is beautiful, inside and out. She's courageous and gentle. Sometimes I look at her in wonder - did I help her become the woman she is?

Bree said...

Such a gorgeous house! Sigh.
It's funny that you ask about my biggest influence and biggest inspiration, because the first thing I thought when I saw that purse was how perfect it would be for my grandmother. My grandma is my absolute best friend. We're 1500 miles apart now, and talk daily. She was the rock when I was a kid - I spent endless saturdays at her house because my dad forgot he had visitation that day. She taught me to sew and we share the passion for quilting now. She was both the biggest influence and my biggest inspiration. She's got a heart of gold and would give the shirt off her back to a stranger. She's the reason I'm inspired to give quilts to my local hospital. And that purse is totally her style :)

bmcelroy@Tampabay.rr.com

Unknown said...

Beautiful yard, I suppose it was my mum who inspired me as I was growing up, she always gave me a great example to follow. Now it's my kids, it's great to see them make a life of their own and be independent and succeed.

Lis Harwood said...

Thank you for sharing New Beginnings with us. I hope you will be extremely content in your new home. The biggest influence on my life as I was growing up (a continuing process) was my mother. My inspiration today is harder to pinpoint but I am incredibly proud of both my children. My son is successful in the classic good job, well paid, great qualifications sort of way, my daughter is raising her son who has Down's Syndrome, single handedly and doing a fantastic job of it while also studing for a degree with the Open University, she is an inspiration to everyone, a real wonder woman.

Vail said...

Such a beautiful place and such a shady back yard. You'll definitely enjoy that.

My mom and my fifth grade teacher were my biggest influence when I was growing up. I know I became a teacher because of Mrs. Burgett. She was a great teacher. Now I think I am influenced by my children and grandchildren.

vail in tn
vgneal at bellsouth dot net

SewCalGal said...

Your new home is absolutely beautiful. Love your backyard too!

Your giveaway is wonderful. I love, love, love this purse!

SewCalGal
www.sewcalgal.blogspot.com

Anonymous said...

I want your house! It is absolutely gorgeous but then this is why it is yours today right? How exciting and your taking time to blog bonus gifties for a few lucky ones who visit. The biggest influence in my life while growing up...oh gosh I think there were so many minor influences and the biggest didn't come until 1989 when she introduced me to quilting, hummingbirds, and life. You see Barb was an older lady that was already a grandmom. She lived just two houses down from me and always invited me in to see her latest quilts. I always said I could never do that and she always assured me could since I already made all my own clothing, cross stitched etc. Barb's love of life, birds, animals...just sitting and listening opened my mind and soul. Barb has been gone many years now. Do you know I still can't use the featherweight she left me? I cry every time I go to use it and this makes seeing my piecing a bit difficult. I bet she is smiling as I am.
Honestly my inspiration comes from blogging friends. I do not live near family or any relatives and they are not quilters anyway. I love visiting blog buds to see what is going on in their lives and truly become inspired in many ways through many of them. I sit here with envy of your new home and the fun day you'll be having. I'm not there with you, nor have I met you but feel the joy you experience today....if not for blogging.

Unknown said...

My dad was the biggest influence on my life growing up. He taught me to be independent and to never say give up. One of his sayings was "Can't never could because can't never tried."

My Mother is my inspiration now. No matter the struggle she may go through, she goes through it in faith, knowing better days are coming.

quilterships@yahoo.com

Sandie @ crazy'boutquilts said...

Your new home is just beautiful! Love the yard and screened porch. You will make many happy memories there. Biggest influence~ my Mom, she could sew anything and everything! Taught me to be creative. And as for inspirations~ again, my Mom, and all the wonderful quilting bloggers I have yet-to-meet, but so enjoy their blogs. Thank you for the fun!

Margie said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Mandy said...

This biggest influence while growing up was my dad... and although we're still really close, I'd have to say that my Nannie wins now. She's a 66-yr-old widower and she still works and quilts! She is usually more alive than I am at 24.

Margie said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Margie said...

It must have been my grandmother that influenced me the most, as I love the quilting, crochet, knitting, etc. that she so loved doing. Also, guess I learned from her that you throw nothing away, not even a small scrap of material. LOL

Margie said...

I'll get this all said right pretty soon. Wanted to also say I'm enjoying all the pictures of the house and can't wait to see the ones after you add YOUR touch. Take Care

Susan said...

Congratulations again on your beautiful new home! I'm looking forward to seeing the "after" pictures!

Allie said...

I got chills when you said you sign and close today - I'm really looking forward to seeing your special touches on this beautiful home!
Biggest inspiration - my grandma. I adored her. I was closer to her than my mum. I never heard her say a bad word about anyone - she ALWAYS had something nice to say. She was my Wild Irish Rose. Today, it's my friend Shirley, I've known her since I was in 6th grade, she's 80 years old and you'd swear she's in her forties! She's a master seamstress and we love to spark each other's creativity, and she has a zest for life that can't be beat. Last year she went parasailing for the first time, and this year she's taking a ride in a hot air balloon. Like my grandma, her faith has been a rock to me many times.

That bag is too darling, Jocelyn!

syocom said...

Hey! My grandma taught me to sew and quilt. Where my mom does not do anything crafty in the slightest. (It's funny actually) My inspiration now comes from so many places but when it comes down to it there are really only two. Me and my future kids. It is an escape for me and I love making baby quilts, they are just so much fun.
sly.swimmer@gmail.com

Wendy said...

Beautiful house ... thanks for sharing the pictures! Congratulations on the closing :)

The person most influential to me growing up would be my mother. She was/is a very hard worker, but an even more determined mother. I hope to do her proud.

These days, I am most inspired by not one lady in particular, but a world of inspirational women that have the courage and talent to forge this world of quilting that I am so enamoured of. There are so many willing to share their knowledge for my thirst of learning. The world of the internet has opened to me and I am most appreciative!

Thank you for sharing!

omashee aka Barb said...

Congratulations! Here's to a smooth signing & move. Hope the photos will continue as you make this lovely home your own.

Please enter me in your giveaway. This bag is sooooo me!

My greatest inspritation has always been my dad. When he was alive he always encouraged me. Even now I find that I turn to thoughts of him when I make major decisions.

My inspiration now is my dearest and oldest BFF, Pam. We have been friends since before we started kindergarten. She has gone through so many trials and difficulties in her life. Even now as she faces the end of her time on earth her courage and unconditional love amaze me.

Cyndi said...

Jocelyn, your new house is beautiful and I know you can't wait to make it your new home!

Growing up, my inspiration was my grandfather. He was such a wonderful, kind, generous man and had such a heart for God. He stepped in and filled the father role in my life after my dad deserted us (after being married to my mom for 20 years!). He protected and guided my mom (his daughter), my brother, sister and myself and made sure that we grew up trusting in the Lord. He passed away 21 years ago and I still miss him every day.

Now, my inspiration comes from so many wonderful people in my life, but I'd have to say my friend Dee is a huge inspiration to me. She is 70 and I honestly don't think there is anything she cannot do, or try to do. She is always positive and has so much energy...she inspires me to try harder every day!

That bag is adorably cute...love it!

XOXO,

Cyndi

Lisa said...

Your new home is lovely and congratulations on a new beginning.

While growing up as one of two daughters to a divorced mother, the most influential person in my life has been my mother. She has always made herself available and is a positive influence, so kind, generous and thoughtful. Somehow she always knows just what to say, and when to let me learn.

Now, she is fighting leukemia and still she is an inspiration not only to me, but to the many patients, nurses and doctors who encounter her. One nurse recently told her that she's is pleased to know such a person and asked to join her on daily walks. She is truly a beacon and I am blessed to know her. Please keep her in your thoughts during her battle.

Andee said...

Congrats on your new house! My inspiration was my Grandma Char...she was a generous lady who always had a smile. She had money and and an easier life and still taught me that we should share what we have, because others have so much less. I admired her ability to sew, keep a clean house, cook well and bring her family together and hope to be that type of grandma one day.

Rita said...

Congratulations on your new home! Growing up my mother was a big inspiration. Today, I would have to say my biggest inspiration is my husband.

Terry said...

Every time you show us more of your lovely new home, it just looks better and better! I'm sure you're going to enjoy it! Now I hate to admit this, but I can't think of anyone who inspired me growing up. I'm not sure what that says about me, but I guess it is what it is. Right now the person who inspires me is my hubby, who gets up every morning and puts on his leg and goes to work even though he'd rather just stay home. If he can do that, I can surely deal with the kids and the housework and everything else I have to do day in and day out. :0)

Sinta Renee said...

Your new house looks so inviting! You are just going to love it there! My Aunt Barbara was a wonderful influence of grace & charm & a woman who sewed, canned & made a beautiful home. She made me my first quilt. Now, my husbands Aunt who is 80 and a breast cancer serviver is a great influence for being positive and young in heart.

Julia said...

Your house is soooo very pretty!
The person who was a huge inspiration to me when I was growing up was my grandmother, Honey. She was a true Southern Lady. She is the one who taught me to sew. I can see her now as she sat in her chair and sewed and tatted constantly. Who inspires me now? I will have to say that a lot of women inspire me including you and some of the other bloggers who sew, craft, etc....

Barb said...

How exciting to be moving in today...I am so happy for you and such a lovely home too.

My oldest son is my inspiration, he has lost over 100 pounds, he went through a really hard time and gained alot of weight, now he is on the losing side.

When I was growing up.....I guess it would have been my older sisters, even tho it was hard competing with them (I never felt good enough and still have the same issues) but they were great sisters.

Dresden Quilter said...

This may sound odd but Nancy Drew had a big influence on me. My husband and my closest friend inspire me now.

free indeed said...

Definately my parents as a kid. They both always instilled principles of honesty and hard work and pushed me to do my best at anything I tried. A love for books and reading (dad ownd a newspaper), alove for words and numbers. I loved math too. Mom always said if you can follow directions you can do anything and I have used that advice over and over in trying my hand at different crafts and sewing/knitting etc. I'm a 'Jill at all trades, master of none' sort of gal. :) Who influences me now? parents are gone; I've raised my kids and now am enjoying grandkids. Guess the influence comes from God's word and His work within me now. I hope to be a great example to my grandchildren and leave them with a piece of me somehow....they are little yet, so far, reading to them has been my little nook....the stages will change as they age too.
Love that bag you'll be giving away. I pulled out my summer purse a few weeks back to use and recently got grease on it from hubby's pickup :( so I do need a new summer purse in a bad way! hint hint!

Laurie said...

What a beautiful house! I'm sure you'll have wonderful memories in it.
My grandmother Emily had the greatest influence on me growing up. She taught me how to sew, quilt, garden and be happy living simply.
Today it would be my Mom! She's a rock whenever I need her.

Michelle May-The Raspberry Rabbits said...

Totally loving that house! Congratulations!
Love the bag too!

Loralynn said...

Congrats on signing on your new home! Here's to lots of beautiful new memories!!!

Growing up my Mom was my greatest influence. She was my whole world!

Now I would say it is my Grandmother. I look at the life she led and the things she did and try to have just a little of the enthusiasm she had for life!

Wendy said...

The person who influenced me most as a child was my older sister(4 years older), though she was not a positive influence. I did many things I should not have because I was watching and following her.
The person who inspires me most now is David from the Bible. He made so many mistakes, yet loved the Lord so much. God acknowledged this in Acts 13:22;
And when he had removed him, he raised up David to be their king, of whom he testified and said, ‘I have found in David the son of Jesse a man after my heart, who will do all my will.’
I want to be so in love with God that God will see that I am a woman after His heart.

Thanks,
Wendy

richshelpmate @ yahoo dot com

scottylover said...

Congrats on getting the keys!

The person who influenced me the most growing up was my mother. I looked to her for guidance and reassurance and she was always there.

Hmm...who inspires me today, I would have to say my friend Linda. She has been through a lot lately and still keeps a smile on her face and a laugh ready.

Sandy A

Mary on Lake Pulaski said...

The new home is so exciting! Congratulations! While growing up, my parents and grandparents were the most influential - we all lived in one home. Crowded with all of us (six siblings and me while we were in one house) but lots of love.
Now my MIL is very influential. She is 94, lives on her own, never complains and has so many friends. I can only hope to be like her.

Loris said...

OK that screened porch and yard is now making me jealous :-) You are going to have so much fun in your new home!
As to inspiration...probably my mom has inspired me the most before and now just because she is the one who made sure I knew about God's love for me. That has formed my life and my dreams.
Fun and thoughtful giveaway contest. God bless your new home!

Kim D. said...

Congratulations on the closing, I bet you are so excited. I hope you'll share photo's after you move in.
I'd have to say my mother was the most inspirational. She was rock solid in her faith, always positive and we knew we were loved. She taught me how to sew, and isn't that the most important thing? LOL