Homemaking
Colorado Cottage Kitchen Makeover|Plodding Along
May 27, 2020
Hello friends and welcome to segment one of Our Colorado Mountain Cottage.
This is a mix of a Jemma Tale and a home makeover, because while my home was getting a physical makeover I was getting a spiritual one.
Today we are going to take a look on how we took our rather dark and dreary Kitchen to light and bright and how plodding led me to spiritual growth.
For those of you that have been with me on my blogging journey from the beginning, I want to give you a big virtual hug and say thank you for plodding along with me!
I appreciate YOU!
Seems the West has always whispered our names and beckoned for our return year after year.
To some this may seem eccentric,to us (perhaps more of me, than we, it was vital)
It really is true that the Mountains do call many of us all throughout our lives.
For the past 40 + years I have plodded to the West, to vacation, build a home in Idaho, to spend time with my Mom and Dad, care for them when they were ill and eventually send them to heaven.
We embraced our new neighborhood, made some dear friends, camped, hiked and gave our Colorado Mountain Cottage a complete update plus a Kitchen Makeover.
We truly are blessed by support and the love of Family and friends as they come from near and far.
We have had a right jolly good time exploring Manitou Springs, Pikes Peak, The Crags, Mount Herman, Estes Park, Breckenridge, Beaver Creek and beyond.
The Mountains called, we went and we embraced every moment of this journey.
No matter where we are called I truly believe we must go with great heart, faith and perseverance.
So as Winter settled in, the North wind blew and big beautiful snowflakes swirled around outside Dave and I took on our Kitchen Makeover and general overall home improvements with a undaunted zest and zeal of people a good 20 younger than ourselves.
I am not even quite certain where that energy came from other than from above.
We had family coming to visit us beginning in June and by golly we were going to have our home ready for their visits.
We plodded along through stiff backs, crooked fingers (from sanding) and went to bed early!
Now the definition of plodding is not flattering...
But If Jesus and Thomas Edison can plod then so can I.
We plodded with sandpaper, hammer, nails, paint, faith, love and anticipation of our families visits.
Before Photos of our Colorado Cottage Right HERE.
Sprucing up the kitchen has been a neat process.
It has been sort of a metamorphosis.
The neglected, old and dark surfaces have been brought back to life and to the light.
We added a brand spanking new Bosch appliance package to the kitchen when we ran a new gas line for the new gas range.
Then we topped it all off with subway tile, white granite counter-tops, lighting and white cabinets.
Sort of like baking and icing a cake, I suppose...
Summer arrived flowers bloomed and family visited.
We were thankful.
I have come to the conclusion, for what it's worth...that plodding is what we all do, all of our lives.
We have choices on how we go about plodding -we can do it with a hopeful heart or a grimace on our lips.
Setting goals and working toward a greater good without becoming complacent is a useful life skill at any age, and anywhere.
During our Cottage Kitchen Makeover I discovered that Faith and plodding may take us to many unexpected places.
Our move to the West has been delightful, enlightening, beautiful and also painful and agonizing.
I have grown spiritually through a variety of ways; Bible Study, discipline, walking, hiking and meeting remarkable women who's faith is as big and as strong as a 14er.
It seems to me that I may have received as much of a spiritual makeover as our home did a cosmetic one and it all began with plodding.
Please join me next week for segment two of our cottage makeover and the rest of the story...
Thank you,
Jemma
Looking for More inspiration? Visit my friend Life and Linda
This is a mix of a Jemma Tale and a home makeover, because while my home was getting a physical makeover I was getting a spiritual one.
Today we are going to take a look on how we took our rather dark and dreary Kitchen to light and bright and how plodding led me to spiritual growth.
For those of you that have been with me on my blogging journey from the beginning, I want to give you a big virtual hug and say thank you for plodding along with me!
I appreciate YOU!
Seems the West has always whispered our names and beckoned for our return year after year.
To some this may seem eccentric,to us (perhaps more of me, than we, it was vital)
It really is true that the Mountains do call many of us all throughout our lives.
For the past 40 + years I have plodded to the West, to vacation, build a home in Idaho, to spend time with my Mom and Dad, care for them when they were ill and eventually send them to heaven.
So when career opportunities popped open in Colorado a few years ago and a half a dozen family members encouraged us to follow our hearts, combined with their own excitement that they too would join us for a few good Mountain adventures.
We took a big breath, a big leap of faith, and made a tortuous and prayerful decision to sell our French Country home in Texas.
Saying goodbye to a life we knew and family and friends that we love and embarking on uncertainty was a leap of faith.
We truly felt we were being called to the West and not just to play and work but to be of service to who ever it was that passed through our front door.
Our first year living among the Pines in the lovely neighborhood of Wissler Ranch went smoothly.We took a big breath, a big leap of faith, and made a tortuous and prayerful decision to sell our French Country home in Texas.
Saying goodbye to a life we knew and family and friends that we love and embarking on uncertainty was a leap of faith.
We embraced our new neighborhood, made some dear friends, camped, hiked and gave our Colorado Mountain Cottage a complete update plus a Kitchen Makeover.
We truly are blessed by support and the love of Family and friends as they come from near and far.
We have had a right jolly good time exploring Manitou Springs, Pikes Peak, The Crags, Mount Herman, Estes Park, Breckenridge, Beaver Creek and beyond.
The Mountains called, we went and we embraced every moment of this journey.
No matter where we are called I truly believe we must go with great heart, faith and perseverance.
So as Winter settled in, the North wind blew and big beautiful snowflakes swirled around outside Dave and I took on our Kitchen Makeover and general overall home improvements with a undaunted zest and zeal of people a good 20 younger than ourselves.
I am not even quite certain where that energy came from other than from above.
We had family coming to visit us beginning in June and by golly we were going to have our home ready for their visits.
We plodded along through stiff backs, crooked fingers (from sanding) and went to bed early!
Now the definition of plodding is not flattering...
But If Jesus and Thomas Edison can plod then so can I.
We plodded with sandpaper, hammer, nails, paint, faith, love and anticipation of our families visits.
Before Photos of our Colorado Cottage Right HERE.
Sprucing up the kitchen has been a neat process.
It has been sort of a metamorphosis.
The neglected, old and dark surfaces have been brought back to life and to the light.
We added a brand spanking new Bosch appliance package to the kitchen when we ran a new gas line for the new gas range.
Then we topped it all off with subway tile, white granite counter-tops, lighting and white cabinets.
Sort of like baking and icing a cake, I suppose...
Summer arrived flowers bloomed and family visited.
We were thankful.
I have come to the conclusion, for what it's worth...that plodding is what we all do, all of our lives.
We have choices on how we go about plodding -we can do it with a hopeful heart or a grimace on our lips.
Setting goals and working toward a greater good without becoming complacent is a useful life skill at any age, and anywhere.
During our Cottage Kitchen Makeover I discovered that Faith and plodding may take us to many unexpected places.
Our move to the West has been delightful, enlightening, beautiful and also painful and agonizing.
I have grown spiritually through a variety of ways; Bible Study, discipline, walking, hiking and meeting remarkable women who's faith is as big and as strong as a 14er.
It seems to me that I may have received as much of a spiritual makeover as our home did a cosmetic one and it all began with plodding.
Please join me next week for segment two of our cottage makeover and the rest of the story...
Thank you,
Jemma
Looking for More inspiration? Visit my friend Life and Linda
Jemma, what a lovely transformation your cottage kitchen has gone through! It's so light, bright and cheery--totally you! You never cease to amaze me with your home, garden and craft projects! You have so many talents and it doesnt hurt to have a hubby with a few talents of his own. You make a formidable team!! Impressive! Enjoy the rest of the week. We are very warm and muggy here! Hugs my friend, Linda
ReplyDeleteGood morning dearest Jemma!
ReplyDeleteRenovation is what life is all about, isn't it! Whether it's a kitchen, a garden, a wardrobe, our thinking...we were born to engage in change. You have been faithful to follow a dream, to work with it, to reflect. What a joyous place, these spaces that you touch.
What a gorgeous place you have, Jemma, worth every bit of the hard work and love you have put into it. And sometimes, plodding is the pace we need in all aspects of our lives - if we're willing to move just a bit slower, taking special notice of the people and things around us, we are most likely to meet God there, too. Looking forward to your next post!
ReplyDeleteBlessings!
Wow your kitchen really is so pretty. Your re loved has brought such pretty and light into the kitchen. Glad when the mountains called you were able to answer that call. Life is ever changing and has no age limits. That is what I have found in my own life. There is always a special reason and the experience is soulful and lets our hearts and minds expand in life. Each move we have made in the last 8 years due to job changes seemed more challenging with each move. I thought I at 60 years old should not be doing these kinds of moves and should be settled. Well during my journey I have found I grew more in these challenging times and my soul was not ready to be quite settled just yet. I understand your sweet story so much. I cannot wait to read more. Happy Wednesday.
ReplyDeleteHugs,
Kris
You know it's sounds like you grew... It's always fantastic when God teaches us new lessons through our activity.
ReplyDeleteThere's nothing like walking closer with God that brings a wonderful calm to our surroundings. This makes me smile...
I can relate to that last statement, Our move to the West has been delightful, enlightening, beautiful and also painful and agonizing.
Just Change West to Delta...
Looking forward to the rest of the story.
Hugs Friend,
Carole
How sweet your home is. Remodeling a kitchen is a big undertaking. Kudos to you both for doing that making it something you love. Looking forward to seeing more of your lovely home. xoxo
ReplyDeleteIt's really beautiful, Jemma, and you've done such a wonderful job with brightening and beautifying. It's bright and so lovely. And you can take great joy (now) in having done this yourselves, plod by plod. Gorgeous images, each and every one.
ReplyDeleteIt is a beautiful kitchen! And I love following makeover stories. It was so much fun to follow your house in Texas being built and I know your decision to move and leave it must have been a compelling one. It sounds as if the mountains of Colorado is the home of your heart. Moving is so hard but I'm so glad that you're so happy there!
ReplyDeleteJemma, your kitchen remodel is gorgeous and I know the work involved, we have been there. That was a real life change to pick up and move from Texas to Colorado. I love that God was always at work in the midst of all of this and you recognized that He was. I can’t wait to read part two. Have a lovely weekend, sweet friend!
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful and brighter kitchen now! Our kitchen was a total gut job so we had to hire it out. I'm sure you are so happy that your makeover is completed.
ReplyDeleteYou have done a wonderful job on the make-over of your Colorado kitchen, Jemma. I am loving the white cabinets and white granite countertops, and you always seem to add a pop of color, which is cheerful. Your story is similar to mine, just taking a leap and having faith when I moved here to be closer to family. Although the house is older, they put in new furnishings, and I also have white countertops and white cabinets. The kitchen is a place we revisit every few moments of the day, so it's good that it has a fresh, clean look with lots of lighting. And yours DOES! Your yellow tea pot is delightful, and the yellow scale is charming. It all looks wonderful, Jemma. And it will be a nice gathering place when your loved ones come home. : )
ReplyDelete~Sheri