My formal living room couch belonged to my great-grandmother Helen, who I was extremely lucky to have in my life until I was 19 years old. She died about 5 months before her 100th birthday, in 1998. She and my mother, her granddaughter, were very close, and the couch passed to my mom after my great-grandmother's death, and then to me after my mother's death in 2008. It was meticulously cared for and looks brand new.
Along with the couch came the fabric remnants, and I had been wondering what to do with them - it seemed like a shame to toss them, but I have also been fighting mightily against the tide of crammed, jammed, unused and unenjoyed stuff in our home. Running across pictures of framed fabric as art inspired me to do just that with the remnants, so I took a stab at it last night and was thrilled with how easy it was and how beautifully it turned out! I found two matching picture frames at our newly opened HomeGoods store (there was great rejoicing among many of us in Huntsville last week!) this past weekend. I traced the back of the fabric with a pen, cut, and voila! I didn't even need staples or glue, the picture glass holds the fabric in place perfectly.
I still have more fabric, and I hope to do this with several more frames to give to my mom's sister and other family members as gifts!
I've been fascinated with the idea of a household god ever since I first saw it as the title of a fantasy book published years ago, and of course, I had to know more. A household god or deity is a common, widely-held and ancient belief across cultures - you can get the whole history here but it would include sometimes a small idol worshiped in the home. I don't actually worship objects, but I do believe our homes and what we have in them are gifts from God, and many of these things that seem to serve no other purpose than decorative can also be representative of beautiful memories, especially things that remind us of friends and family, whether these dear ones are still alive or have passed on.
Within three years (from 2008-2011) I lost my beloved mother, her parents, and my darling mother-in-law, and one of my very closest friends moved permanently to Australia, so the things I have that belonged to them or were given to me by them are especially meaningful, and I do feel their beautiful spirits every time I pass from room to room and see them.
Here are some of my little household spirits!
