We’ve been on home tour before. We participated in the Munger Place Home Tour in East Dallas, so we know about the pain and pleasure of having a cleaner-than-it’ll-ever-ever-ever-be-again house. But there’s an unexpected side of Home Tour I’d forgotten until this past weekend when we participated in the Washington Elementary Home Tour. Things beyond the sparkle of the bathroom sink. Beyond the thrill of declaring that honey-do list nearly (because it’s never really) completed. Beyond the perfect blue sky of a day we had for it.
Things like:
- Meeting people who know people you know—like the man who went to school with Bobby George from Luxora and knows, without a doubt, to eat at the Dixie Pig when in Blytheville.
- Filling your house with fresh flowers from your garden (and your neighbor’s garden because she said you could) and remembering you can enjoy fresh flowers anytime and not only during special occasions. Yes, it can and should be a regular thing.
- Seeing blogger friends you haven’t seen in a few weeks and Dallas friends you haven’t seen in two years.
- Reliving the stories behind the artwork in your home because folks ask Who is the artist? and you are magically transported back to your dining room in Dallas where the painting hung for so many years. And just for a moment, you remember the many wonderful times you shared with friends and family in that dining room you sorta miss. And you can almost smell Thanksgiving, even.
- Hearing lots of folks say “I read your book!” or “I am reading your book right now!” and my personal favorite, “I LOVED your book!” PeopleIDon’tKnow which does a fragile writer’s heart good.
- Watching neighbors greet one another on your back porch or in your dining room, and even though you may not feel like part of the group yet, (because in a way you’re still new to the neighborhood), by the end of it, you’ll start to feel more at home as the lines begin to blur.
- You’ll see your house through fresh eyes as folks point out details you haven’t necessarily forgotten, but haven’t remembered to pay attention to lately.
- The next morning while you’re enjoying coffee on your clean porch and someone walks by, waves, and thanks you for opening your home to the neighborhood, you’ll feel like you shared a piece of history. And that’s a good thing.
Our home, circa 1875.
Grace Grits and Gardening
Farm. Food. Garden. Life.
And by the way……. see that candy dish on the table right up there? I will not rest until those M&Ms are gone. Ugh.
[tweetthis]Beyond the sparkle—the unexpected side of being on Home Tour. #historichome #homedecor[/tweetthis]
Musical Pairing:
Electric Light Orchestra, Mr. Blue Sky
It was a wonderful tour and thank you for opening your home. So glad it turned out to be good for you as well and not just a chore!
Loved your book.
Thank you Cathy! We enjoyed it— it was out pleasure.
All lovely bonuses to all that work. You’re definitely fitting in fine in Fayetteville.
Talya, I loved the book. I live away from Mississippi County … but the book placed me right back in the Arkansas Delta….as I was reading aloud to my husband, Doug, I would laugh and then cry….the emotions transported me to a place I’ll always love. Thank you for your talent and sharing with all of us….Gwen Sellars
It really was a good day. And, I agree. Part of the joy of the day was seeing friends you knew and not even when you were in their home. We toured the Wilkins and then I ran in to Ceri at a different house…I kinda felt like a stalker that I had just wandered her home. But then obnoxious that I was answering questions for you on your back porch…but that woman was so nosy! Your place is beautiful..and if you see my car in the driveway and I’m not in your kitchen. I’m snuggled up out back!
Talya, oh my goodness sweet lady, I can’t wait to meet you, I’m a Talya wannabe now, I plan to come to Eureka this Sunday for books in bloom at Crescent. I always open up to Southern Living’s last page, featuring Rick Bragg’s one page story on whatever his topic is for that issue. You write the same way, I just want to get an iced tea and settle down in my rocker. I loved your mention of collard greens being a side dish, I have three precious granddaughters, Lily Mae 7, Abigail Katherine 5, and Caroline Elizabeth 2, I want to engulf them with eloquent and kind ways of sharing how things that are important in life are not THINGS!
I have wanted to start a journal forever and have written many stories, one of my favorites was comparing our lives to roses, at one time I had over 300 in my yard, which I shared, in three stages, proper location, at His feet, proper planting, seeking instruction from His holy word, and finally proper maintenance, studying His word daily, but omit just oneof these three instructions, and our lives become weak,undernourished and eventually die, now 68 and full-time realtor, I don’t always have much free time, my sweet daughter, Katie Lil, often needs my help too, I have lived in Fort Smith for over 30 years now, and want to leave my grandchildren with happy memories of planting our garden, harvesting our first watermelon last year, cooking, water fights, and most of all, living a life guided by the fruits of the Spirit, I try to make bargains with God everyday to just give me 15 more years to be in their lives, I’m going through old recipes now discolored from water or smudged up, as I rewrote them on my iPad, wow I thought when did that happen, one of my fondest memories of my great grandmother was her cooking a big old cast iron pot on wooden stove full of turnip greens and corn bread dumplings, along with fresh fig preserves, hot buttermilk biscuits, fried chicken, iced tea, but most of all, just being in her presence, I loved snuggling in her old feather bed, going to Sunday school, reading the bible with her , RC colas and moon pies, but I dont ever remember going to a chain store to buy toys with her, as a child,I walked behind my uncle bob as he pushed a plow dropping butter bean seeds in the ground, picked tomatoes off the vine, eating them on spot, sitting on the front porch singing gospel hymns and on and on, from Elvis singing all shook up to Taylor swift, you have such a sweet, kind, southern way of putting life in words, don’t stop ever, God is truly using you as an instrument pointing others to simple things in life, I see what materialism does to people everyday, bigger is better, when in fact, less is more, I’m no longer impressed with stuff, money can’t buy happiness, I just can’t wait to meet you, ok, I need to stop, see what you did to me, sweet Talya, you inspired me, thank God you are back home, you had me when you said use collard greens as a side dish! Bless you and your precious family, come see us soon!!!??❤️??????? Forever fan, where do I join?
Love reading everything you write. I’m still remembering your book signing. 🙂