Lights of Bermuda

Many of you know of our obsession with lighthouses.  It is evidenced by my bathroom decor :)  My main goal while in Bermuda was to see both lighthouses, at opposite ends of the island.  Thankfully, the island is only 21 square miles so traveling to the far reaches was no problem! 

Our first day in Bermuda, we took the ferry and then a pink bus (gotta love the Bermudians' taste in colors) to the east end of the island.  We visited St. David's Lighthouse which is tiny compared to many, with about 85 steps to the top. 

This light is nestled on a hill with several privately owned homes which I assume used to be buildings associated with the light.  A quiet little area that is only disturbed by the planes coming into the airport near by and the scooter races down the hill.  We got to wait for the bus back with a group of school children.  Then we waited some more because there wasn't room on the bus with all the school children!

Our second day on the island was as beautiful as the first.  My husband and I visited yet another light.  This one has a much more impressive height and boasts views of the entire island.  It is the oldest cast iron lighthouse in the world.  I am proud to say I made it up both lighthouses in Bermuda!  Here are some pictures from the Gibbs Hill Light.

This one is definitely making an appearance on my bathroom wall in the near future!

The weather vane that used to sit on top of the light.

By the way, if you ever plan a trip to Bermuda, check out the gift shop at the Gibbs Hill Lighthouse.  Great prices on souvenirs like mugs, tshirts, magnets, etc!

One last pic and another example of the colors of the island.  We (and when I say we, I mean my husband because I totally missed it!) found this little friend on the walk down from Gibbs Hill.  He was very kind to pose for some photos!



A Heart of Thankfulness

Life does not always play out as planned!  I am realizing that over and over this week.  We returned from our cruise to Bermuda the other day and I had planned to post about all of our great adventures.  My intent was to share beautiful beach scenes and family photos as I got back into the groove and continued with my summer to-do list.  A rainy day, flip flops, and a slippery slope has given me a new perspective! 

Right now my left ankle and foot are several shades of blue and purple.  My most memorable souvenir from Bermuda is a sprained ankle.  Despite the change in plans and setbacks of only being able to move at a snail's pace, I am thankful for so many things!! 

Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.     1 Thessalonians 5:18 (NLT)

Maintaining a heart of thanksgiving allows me to focus on the important things in life instead of the things I cannot change.  My ankle and foot are not broken and I am able to hobble around for short periods of time without much pain.  I have seen a decrease in the swelling which was one of our big concerns at first.  My foot was huge and puffy!  Nothing seemed to help except sitting with it elevated.  That is the hardest thing for me to do!!  I do not like to be sedentary and I do not like to be dependent on other people. 

God has truly blessed me with the most wonderful and patient husband.  He truly complements me well!  The last few days of our trip were spent in our stateroom with trips out for meals.  No matter what I said, my husband would not leave me.  I tried to get him to go out and explore, attend events, and hang out with his family but he was faithful in his care for me.  We returned home and he managed to finish his chores outside and many of those that I wanted to do in the house before he needed to go back to work.  He made dinner, waited on me, pushed me in the wheelchair, and was there to support me every time I knocked myself off balance.  My husband has been great over the last few days even though I am a horrible patient and do not want to do as I am told.  He has done many things without me even asking, knowing that I HATE not keeping up with what I feel is urgent around the house (even though most of it can sit despite my sense of urgency!). 

We were able to have two awesome days in Bermuda with great weather.  I am full of gratitude for that and the fact that we have some positive memories!  Over the next few days, I will share more photos and stories. 

Bedside Lamp

Our bedroom formerly served as a walk in closet for the previous owners.  Walls lined with shelving and an abundance of clothes, many of which still had tags.  About 30 pairs of sunglasses and handbags.  It was amazing.....I am happy to say that I have contained my clothing to the small built-in closet and a dresser.  My dresser was a find on the buy, sell, swap board at one of the hospitals where I worked.  I purchased it for $25 to repaint but it sat in my friend's garage for awhile before I had a vision for it. 

It was a bit more of a project than I bargained for!  After removing the white paint, I discovered a dark red stain underneath.  I couldn't remove the stain so I figured paint should cover it.  Wrong!  That red stain bled through about three coats of primer and two coats of blue corn chip paint (I love the names for paint colors!).  I believe the third coat of paint finally did the trick!  The colors of the dresser match our bedspread that is an oversized Woolrich item spread that I found on sale at Target!  My texture of choice for the bedroom is burlap.  I used it to "sponge" paint on the dresser and cover the drawer knobs.  This was one of my favorite projects!

A few months ago I rescued a full-length mirror that had barely survived my college days and many moves after.  The mirror was fully intact but the backing was coming off and it needed some beautifying.  I reattached the frame and backing, painted the frame with paint left from the dresser.  I then added burlap and some painted dowels.

My latest edition to the burlap bedroom is a bedside lamp.  Until about a week ago, the room was lit by the ceiling fan light only.  This was great except the switch was by the door and not convenient for reading in bed, chatting before falling asleep, or leaving the fan on for warm nights.  We found a lamp base at a thrift store for $5.50 but no acceptable lamp shades.  I purchased a shade at Walmart for $4.50 which brought the total a bit higher than I wanted for this project.  I am thankful that the rest of the materials were ones I already had on hand:  paint (still tons left from the dresser), burlap, material from the curtains, and some ribbon from my scraps box.

I added texture to the base with paint and burlap.  Spray-on clear coat finished the project so that the paint would not chip off the ceramic surface.  I added a blue and brown tie to the shade with some hot glue.  I had originally pictured a more elaborate upgrade to the shade but opted for a simple look.  I wanted the focal point to be the texture of the burlap.  We are so happy to finally have a bedside lamp.  Now I just need to find/build that corner shelf behind the bed for it to sit on.....

Here is the final product!