• About

Renee Writes Now!

~ Observations from a Writer-in-Residence

Renee Writes Now!

Monthly Archives: July 2012

Building a home

24 Tuesday Jul 2012

Posted by ReneeWritesNow! in Uncategorized

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Architecture, arts, Build, Home, Louis Kahn, new creation

  • Not only find the quality of materials but also discover the personality of materials. This notion has never been more poetically explained than by architect Louis Kahn when he said, ”I asked a brick what it wanted to be and it replied, an arch.”

 

 

  • Don’t squander your housing money on architectural fashion. Buy clothes instead. Concentrate on timeless elements for your home.

  

  • ” My precept to all who build is, that the owner should be an ornament to the house, and not the house to the owner.” Cicero

 

  • Consider the travels you’ve loved, the homes that have entranced you and the objects, rich in detail and character, that express your most essential self.  In these experiences are the memories, images, and  words that can spawn a new creation. Convert those feelings into a form.

Find reasons to stay at home

20 Friday Jul 2012

Posted by ReneeWritesNow! in Uncategorized

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

homesickness, travel

  • Find reasons to stay at home, and not because of illness.  Resist the urge of always having to go somewhere.

 

    • “The worst feeling in the world is the homesickness that comes over a man occasionally when he is at home.” –Ed Howe

 

    • In your life at home, dedicate yourself to the art of living fully. Fill your home with priceless memories as well as breathtaking dreams.

 

Home: Celebrating the Spaces of Your Heart

A housewarming gift

18 Wednesday Jul 2012

Posted by ReneeWritesNow! in Uncategorized

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Gift, Housewarming, Inspire

 

  •    Buy yourself a housewarming gift.    (At least once a year!)

 

Home: Celebrating the Spaces of Your Heart by Renee Garrison and Tom Szumlic

The new and beautiful will follow

16 Monday Jul 2012

Posted by ReneeWritesNow! in Uncategorized

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

closet, Design, drawers, order, organization, Storage, wardrobe

There is some kind of natural order to cleaning closets and drawers.  You take stock of who you are and who you want to be. Something magic happens in these exchanges. The windows are cranked open and a new exchange of air is made. Things are passed on to siblings, relatives, or the community.  Something happens….a new beginning.

( So here’s the ultimate cosmic question: What happens to missing socks?)

* Cleaning drawers and closets is a bit like pruning plants: The new and beautiful will follow.

 * We connect closets with clothes. If your walk-in closet is big enough, why not put a desk inside? 

* Our wardrobes, drawers, and closets are houses for our personal things. The design, selection and construction for these little homes deserve the same attention as their larger prototype. 

* Good storage and good  design is measured in inches.

* “Our life is frittered away by detail…simplify, simplify.”    ~  Henry David Thoreau

Clutter isn’t sexy

12 Thursday Jul 2012

Posted by ReneeWritesNow! in Uncategorized

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Bedroom, clutter, Houses, inspiration, Rhett Butler, sexy

The bedroom is the original set for intimacy. Make it and keep it seductive.

 

 When Rhett Butler carried Scarlett upstairs, he didn’t throw her on a bed surrounded by unpaid bills and dry-cleaning.

 

    Frankly, my dear, clutter isn’t sexy.

 

    The bedroom is a tranquil cocoon where we let off steam and relax. It is the inner sanctum of one’s personal life and thus the area of the house reserved for the most intimate expression of our feelings.

 

  Of course, there must be surfaces around the bed for essentials like books, reading glasses or a phone, but jewelry, nail polish and other personal effects should be put in drawers. Dressing or undressing can be delightful if you’re not searching for missing lingerie. A well-organized bedroom saves time for the more enjoyable things in life…

Home: Celebrating the Spaces of Your Heart

Give your home a name.

09 Monday Jul 2012

Posted by ReneeWritesNow! in Uncategorized

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

abode, Community, Culture, golf clubs, Home, Name, possession, tara

Give your home a name.  (Tara has already been taken.)

 

 After all, a person’s name is their dearest possession.

 The challenge is to know your abode as subject – not as object.  If you were to name your place, what name would fit its character?  (Certainly both you and your home will change through the duration of this relationship.)

  • Consider the other things you have given a name to.  Pets? Golf clubs? Cars, perhaps?

 

  • Make a list of the homes or buildings in your community that have been given names. Is there any apparent meaning to them?

Home: Celebrating the Spaces of Yourt Heart

Inside and outside

05 Thursday Jul 2012

Posted by ReneeWritesNow! in Uncategorized

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Community, Homes

 

Here’s a revolutionary thought: Why not patronize merchants within walking distance of your home?  And yes, walk there!

The information age has reversed the concept of inside and outside… private and public. Television and the Internet give us access to the world inside our homes.  But we must go outside to reclaim the spirit of our community.

Photograph by Jamieson Thomas

Home: Celebrating the Spaces of Your Life

Back to school in July?

03 Tuesday Jul 2012

Posted by ReneeWritesNow! in Uncategorized

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

school, shopping, wardrobe

It’s 100 degrees in the shade, and Fourth of July fireworks haven’t even exploded. So why are darker shades of clothing and longer pants appearing in the mall?

Is it me, or are back-to-school sales pitches are starting sooner than usual?

The National Retail Federation estimated that nearly $70 billion was spent on back-to-school and college merchandise last year. That puts the July and August period ahead of all other holidays except Christmas, at $471.5 billion.

Still, the early arrival of fall merchandise irritates some shoppers (like me.)

“I came to buy a bathing suit cover-up for my vacation,” admits Cathy Earl of DeLand, Florida. Strolling through Macy’s one recent morning, Earl was surprised to see a lot of navy blue and brown items lining the aisles. “Summer has barely started and I don’t want to think about fall.”

The early push for back-to-school reflects the challenges facing many retailers in the current economy. It also gives parents more time to window shop before actually making a purchase.

Melissa Chrystal of Portage, Michigan, used to let son Will “scope out the stores’ before she accompanied him with her checkbook. And she has some advice for other parents embarking on the annual back-to-school shopping spree.

“Bide your time,” says Chrystal, the mother of three. “When school starts, kids are still wearing shorts because it’s warm outside. Sometimes stores overstock in anticipation of hordes of shoppers and the best bargains are from sales after school has started.”

Maybe retailers can wait until August to display their fall apparel, too.

Buy good tools and take care of them

01 Sunday Jul 2012

Posted by ReneeWritesNow! in Uncategorized

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Construction, Homeowner, tools

 

 Tools are basic to history and human development. Take care of them and they will take care of you:

 Don’t wait to replace handles and power cords.

 Try looking in garage sales or the newspaper for great bargains on tools.

 Consider a hardware store at the same level as a university and the people working there as tenured faculty. Students, submit to your teacher!

Always take an honest shot at repairing something before deciding to throw it away.

“Home: Celebrating the Spaces of Your Heart“

The Author

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 658 other subscribers

The Award-Winning Book

Recent Posts

  • The Land of Lost Luggage
  • All is calm, all is bright
  • A not-so-happy holiday
  • It’s a little like Thanksgiving
  • Reading Aloud to Children

Archives

  • January 2023
  • December 2022
  • November 2022
  • October 2022
  • September 2022
  • August 2022
  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • February 2017
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • May 2015
  • March 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • September 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013
  • May 2013
  • April 2013
  • March 2013
  • February 2013
  • January 2013
  • December 2012
  • November 2012
  • October 2012
  • September 2012
  • August 2012
  • July 2012
  • June 2012
  • May 2012
  • April 2012
  • March 2012

Favorite Things

aging Architecture artistic pieces arts author Awards book Book Expo. author books Build business children Christmas clothing Community Construction Conversation cooking creativity Design Dreams dress code entertainment environment Family fashion Florida Florida architecture food Gardens Health history Holiday Home Homeowner Homes Houses Housewarming Humor inspiration kitchen Life lifestyle literature love Memorial Day Memories mood Mother Mother's Day motherhood Moving nature New Home Preservation publishers read real-estate relationships Religion Residence school Sept. 11 Shelter style Support teenagers Thanksgiving transportation travel vacation wardrobe wedding Writer writing

Meta

  • Register
  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.com

Categories

  • Dementia
  • Teens Read
  • Uncategorized

Create a free website or blog at WordPress.com.

Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy
  • Follow Following
    • Renee Writes Now!
    • Join 294 other followers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • Renee Writes Now!
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Report this content
    • View site in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
 

Loading Comments...