The Guest Room

"Honey!  The girls are here!  They just pulled into the driveway!"

Well hi!  Come on in!  We've been expecting you!  We're so glad to see you!  How was your trip?  Let me help you with that bag.  Here.  Let's just take everything up the stairs now.  Your room is down this hall, right across from the bathroom.

Oh!  Do you like it?  Yes, it is a bright cheery room, although the afternoon sun will bake you like beans, so we tilt the shutters to make it a little cooler.  The quilt?  Oh, no, I didn't make it.  We found it at Walmart last Christmas in a quilted bag that included the pillow shams.  I just love it and keep it out year around.

Do you recognize that green chest?  Your grandmother painted it and your grandfather put on the hardware, although she always says he put the handles on upside down.  

I don't like blank walls -- to me they are a canvas waiting for design.  Yes, these are some of my "friends" leftover from when your cousins were small.  Do you know who made the two sock monkeys? Your mother!  If you lift up their hats a little you can see that she embroidered her name there.  

This is a sweet sentiment by Flavia that a neighbor gave to me many years ago as we were moving across the country.  I think it's just perfect for a guest room.

Yes, I do all my own stenciling.  It's an incredibly inexpensive way to decorate and with the letters, you can personalize to your heart's content.

Yes, I did make the wall quilt.  It was part of the publicity for a collection campaign at church several years ago for the Alternatives Pregnancy Center.  

(Laughter and nodding)  You do get a Christmas tree, even in July!  Storage space for all of our Christmas trees can be a problem, so we keep this one up all the time.  I hope to make some ornaments special for this tree but just haven't got around to it yet.  We almost always have overnight guests on Christmas Eve, so they get to have their own tree and drop off to sleep with the twinkly white lights on, if they want!