grace grits and gardening

ramblings from an arkansas farm girl

Stephen King should help pay for our move.

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What’s everyone doing this weekend?

I’ll be packing. I’ve been packing for two days, and I’m still packing books. How ridiculous. And yes, I’ve already driven a trunk load to Half-Price Books. Stephen King or John Grisham or some author whose work is filling our shelves should pitch in for the cost of our extremely HEAVY moving truck. Yes, we are book hoarders. Always have been. Always will be.

Stephen King should help pay for our move.

 

I read that you should only move books that are a) rare, b) have sentimental value, or c) will be read again. With these rules in mind, we still have enough books to lay end to end from Dallas to Fayetteville. That sentimental value rule gets me every time.

The process is sloooowwww because I find books that necessitate stopping, reading, studying.  The old book pictured below came from the Keiser High School Library. Obviously I didn’t steal it because according to the due date card, the return date was “Never Ever” (mysteriously in my handwriting).

old Keiser High School Library Book

Do you remember the post “Things I Don’t Need More of Even If I Live To Be 104”? Add to the list Christmas Cards! I have discovered sacks and sacks of brand new cards stuck away in closets or cabinets. I snagged them at after-Christmas sales. A word of advice…buying something on sale never to be used is not a deal.

Grace Grits and Gardening

Farm. Food. Garden. Life.

Smashing Pumpkins, Drown

 

history of things left behind

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We’ve quickly come to realize our new house is unique because of things left behind by those who came before. Three things in particular strike me as notable and interesting.

First of all, our front doorway includes a Mezuzah. The practice of hanging Mezuzot on doorways is a Jewish tradition that hearkens back to Moses. After receiving the Ten Commandments from God on Mount Sinai, Moses told the Israelites, “…write them on the door frames of your houses and on your gates.” (Deuteronomy 6:9)

The Mezuzah consists of two chapters from the Torah written in Hebrew on parchment, rolled into a scroll, inserted into a case, and attached to the doorpost. There are specific requirements as to how and where to affix the Mezuzah. Here’s the one attached to our front door frame.

Mezuzah on our door - Jewish tradition

I am humbled by the history of Mezuzah and feel having God’s word on our threshold can only be a good thing. This is part of our home’s history so I prefer to leave it. (Since John and I are not Jewish, I hope by leaving it we are not being disrespectful of the Jewish religion. Do any of my Jewish friends have an opinion?)

Our home was built in 1876. Until recently (twentieth century), families put tangible objects inside walls to protect their homes from evil spirits, ward off disease, and encourage fertility. When the prior owners renovated our house, they found this child’s shoe (a common symbol of fertility) buried in the wall. I plan to place it inside a display box to preserve it and show it off.

During renovation of our home built in 1876, an old shoe was found in the wall.

Child’s shoe found in the stairwell wall (pictured in background).

See these old bottles?

old bottles found buried on our property

These bottles were discovered buried on the property. Since this historic area of Fayetteville was a Civil War encampment, who knows! Maybe some of these glass bottles date to the Civil War? Regardless, I am in awe of the history and grateful the bottles were left for us. I’ll be displaying these in our home too.

Do you live in an old home? Have you found cool things buried on your property or inside the walls? I’d love to know.

Grace Grits and Gardening

Farm. Food. Garden. Life.

Old houses have stories to tell of family and friends; love and loss.

 

“If history were taught in the form of stories, it would never be forgotten.”
― Rudyard Kipling

 

New house. Crazy busy.

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This is an exciting and busy time for John and me. We close on our new (old) Fayetteville house today which I know we will love, love, love. I say old because it was built in 1876! We are fortunate to have found it thanks to our amazing realtor-friend, Paula Larson of Crye-Leike, who has our back, knows what we like and is willing to put up with us. (If you have real estate needs in NW Arkansas, I highly recommend Paula!)

our new house in Fayetteville!

Also, we have a contract on our beloved Dallas house. I don’t want to jinx it (knock-on-wood), so that’s all I will say about that.

And I have an editor! I will be working with a professional editor in December (she’s in high demand and has edited books for one of my favorite authors). My manuscript is in her hands. This makes me nervous-excited.

Everything seems to be falling into place.

The next few weeks will be crazy busy with Arkansas Women Blogger University coming up in Rogers. (I’m in charge of Instagram, so be expecting a flurry of IG-ing. And, if you aren’t following me on Instagram, I hope you will.) Then I’ll be back in Dallas packing up Worth Street to move our belongings to Fayetteville. By the time this all happens, it will officially be Fall. Football. Tailgating. I have a few Razorback football tickets. WPS!

I’ve joined both Ozark Writers League and Ozark Creative Writers and look forward to getting involved.

Lots going on. All good things:)

Grace Grits and Gardening

Farm. Food. Garden. Life.

 

Food. Farm. Garden. Life.

THANKS FOR READING!