Hello, Part 2

Hello.

I’m Dianne, aka Mom, or “Gigi” to my grandchildren.  I’m a court reporter.  Or I was before taking early retirement a couple of years ago.  Now I get to nurture and explore the right side of my brain -- you know, the creative, exciting side.  I love this freedom to pursue whatever piques my interest.  And tons of things do.  But my home is, and always has been, my sanctuary, the place I am my best self.




  For a little bit on how I got to this point.  My mother was a stay-at-home mom who did most things well.   Cooking, sewing, flower arranging.   She spent all day cleaning.  Seriously.  All day, every day.  As pristine as it was it never felt, well, very homey.  I vowed to one day have a home that was comfortable, or at least try to.  I’ve always worked outside the home and have never been the housekeeper my mother was.  But I did succeed in making it comfortable and inviting.

I love to cook.  I love to decorate.  I love flowers and gardening.   I love color – even though it took me decades to realize my preference had a name.   Warm.  I love warm colors.  Changing-leaf colors make me happy.  Fall.  Golds, reds, oranges, greens.  And purples, blues and pinks.  And whites and greys and blacks.  Okay.  So I love all color.  But I love warm colors most.

Furniture refinishing, repairing, refurbishing and painting began in 1997.  I hired an artist named Christy Smith to faux paint my office.  It was stunning.  Stunning.  I was mesmerized by what she created.  I had to learn everything I could about how she did what she did.  Christy graciously shared her talent and even allowed me to “help” on a couple of her commissions.  She also helped me refinish my headboard and armoire.  After that, I looked around my home and pretty much started painting everything.  Courtney jokingly told her brother, “Don’t sit down, Mom will paint you.”  At least, I think it was jokingly.  I had the bug bad. 

My “hobby” took a back seat to reporting after moving to Atlanta in 1999.  Now that I’m retired I again have time to work with furniture.  I love it.  It’s taken over my life.  My comfortable and inviting home is neither comfortable nor inviting.  In fact, you can hardly get in the door because of the pieces waiting for a face lift and “finds” I couldn’t pass up.  Thank heavens a dear friend allows me to put pieces in her booth at a local antique mall.  She also introduced me to the “secondary market.”  That’s another name for thrift stores, consignment shops, roadkill.  Sandee took me to my first estate sale and I’ve been head over heels since.

I once heard that you’ve found your true passion and perfect job when you  have a hobby that gets totally out of control and then someone pays you to do it.  Looks like I’m one of the lucky ones.  Oh, and Courtney just told me to make sure I let you know I'm the verbose one.  So until next time, it’s been great meeting you.  I’m Dianne, Mom, and verbose – two out of three ain’t bad.