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Across the Fence:  Are you a nester?  |
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flowerkeeper
Farmgirl in Training
21 Posts
rhonda
beaumont
texas
USA
21 Posts |
 Posted - Apr 25 2005 : 7:52:31 PM
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Are you a nester? Nesters are those among us who feel a deep-down joy whenever we arrange flowers, or fluff a pillow, or stir the soup. We find something wonderfully fulfilling about tending our own space, something therapeutic about discussing life's challenges around our own kitchen table, something restorative about the quiet comforts of our own home. Whether we've been aay from home for a month or a week or from 9:00 to 5:00, our hearts sing when we open our own front door.
To identify the home of a nester, you seldom need to look farther than the entryway. As soon as spring arrives, a pot of pansies will suddenly appear on the front step, a rocking chair or wicker chair will find a place on the porch. In summer, look for window boxes overflowing with petunias or bright geraniums and Old Glory wafting in the brreeze. Come fall, swags of Indian corn and crocks of chrysanthemums signal a nester-in-residence. And as winter holidays draw near, nesters will deck every window with wreaths, ribbons, and candlelight.
Whenever a nester doesn't know what to di with something, she puts it in a basket. Our baskets hold mail, produce, toys, towels, magazines---even other baskets.
Rearranging furniture comes as natural to us as changing clothes. Don't be surprised to find chairs and sofa in different positions---perhaps even different rooms---each time you visit a nester's home. This may be confusing for visitors, but it's normal for nester's.
Pillows---lots of them---feather the nest. Whether faded, beaded,, hand-made, or tag sale finds, they serve as inviting antidotes to life's rough spots---physical or mental.
Nesters believe in thepower of books; their bookcases overflow with volumes they have read and reread, cherished and loved. Shelves hold childhood favorites, classics, volumes of poetry, and of course, tons of cookbooks. Coffee tables hold tomes devoted to home decorating, antiques, and travels to Rio and Paris and Tuscany. Favorite magazines are stacked and kept for further refrence. You never know when a nester may need further reference.
In every room are candles. Tall, short, chunky, tapered, and usually triple scented delights are waiting to cast a warm glow.
In the kitchen, a teakettle and a coffee pot always stand ready on the stovetop. A nester takes every opportunity to invitte others to relax with a cup of coffee or tea---or enjoy one in solitude.
Some nesters collect things: blue and white china, copper molds, cookie jars, art, vintage linens. Finding and living with the objects they love is an indescribable joy to nesters.
For the nester, decorative objects tell stories and hold memories. Children's plaster handprints from kindergarten may hang on a wall. A card from a special someone may be in a frame. Grandma's handmade quilt may adorn the guest-room bed. Each piece is significant and special.
You might not recognize a nester when she's out of her preferred domain, camouflaged in a business suit or a uniform or dress attire. But it's a strange fact that on weekends, nesters often dress alike. Well worn denims and khakis are favorite pieces; they dress them down with t-shirts and dress them up with a string of pearls.
There's reason to believe that nesters are born, not created. It will not be surprising if, in the amazing new mappings of our genetic codes, scientists someday note one peculiar little gene to designate the nester. It will probably be shaped like a house...
all that glitters is not gold, and all who wander aren't lost.... |
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MeadowLark
True Blue Farmgirl
2206 Posts
USA
2206 Posts |
Posted - Apr 25 2005 : 8:14:55 PM
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Hi Flowerkeeper! You've got the nester profile down to a science! Did you write this yourself? This probably fits all of us on this site in a lot of ways. Thank you for this...I really enjoyed it. Jenny
"Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field. I'll meet you there." Rumi, 13th century. |
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Aunt Jenny
True Blue Farmgirl
11381 Posts
Jenny
middle of
Utah
USA
11381 Posts |
Posted - Apr 25 2005 : 10:24:51 PM
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Now I know what I am..a nester...I loved your writing...and the truth of it!!!
Jenny in Utah
Bloom where you are planted! |
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pnwchica
Farmgirl in Training
46 Posts
Suzy
WA
USA
46 Posts |
Posted - Apr 26 2005 : 02:19:26 AM
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What a wonderful writing ... I am a nester! Yahoo, now I have a label that I love!!!! I've moved many times in my life, as a military brat, then a military spouse, and now as a single woman; no matter where I've lived, I've made it home. My children are each able to make their rooms their homes in a few days or less. No matter where I live, there are certain pieces, such as baskets, the cookie jar, special pictures and books, that when set out within the first day .... it is home.
Bless,
Suzy
Looking for new beef recipes, frugal & gardening tips, farmhouse remodeling & ez home recipes. |
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bramble
True Blue Farmgirl
2044 Posts
2044 Posts |
Posted - Apr 26 2005 : 09:32:28 AM
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Flowerkeeper--You have definitely described me, so a "nester" I shall be! This is a wonderful description of what it feels like to make a place your "home" and the feelings you get from doing so. Thanks so much for putting into words what we all have felt in our hearts about our homes. This might be required reading for future farmgirl partners out there that just don't get "it"!
with a happy heart |
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jpbluesky
True Blue Farmgirl
6066 Posts
Jeannie
Florida
USA
6066 Posts |
Posted - Apr 26 2005 : 11:09:06 AM
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It just occurred to me that this common love we have for our homes and land is the reason why I love coming to this site and reading and chatting here. It is because we are all nesters, lovers of the safe and cozy, the simple and beautiful, the made-by-hand. I have to nest - even if it is a hotel room, or my office at work (when I used to work). I even find myself straightening and arranging in stores! Now that is bad! It brings me joy to see something look inviting and warm. I am not happy if I do not feel that way in my home. I love to look around and see the fire burning in the fireplace, or the sun on the windowsill, or the towels hung clean and soft on the bathroom racks. I even keep my cabinets and fridge looking nice and inviting. And yes, I move the furniture around and re-arrange my stuff all the time, because it makes me feel like I have created a new still life to look at. As my mom used to say to me "You always did love to play house, and I guess you always will."
jpbluesky
"Keep us here, all simply in the springing of the year." From A Prayer in Spring by Robert Frost |
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MeadowLark
True Blue Farmgirl
2206 Posts
USA
2206 Posts |
Posted - Apr 26 2005 : 11:17:26 AM
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I guess I am a "super nester". I always had the habit of rearranging all the furniture in our tiny apartment as a newlywed that my husband would trip on something when he got home late at night. One time when I came home from work I found shoes underneath the legs of my furniture. My husband said my furniture walked all the time and needed shoes...
"Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field. I'll meet you there." Rumi, 13th century. |
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greyghost
True Blue Farmgirl
650 Posts
Lynn
Summerville
Georgia
USA
650 Posts |
Posted - Jun 25 2005 : 5:16:22 PM
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OMG - this is me to a tee -from the wardrobe to rearranging furniture and a teakettle on the stove! Thanks for posting this :)
As someone who currently is remodeling our new property - which came with a "little house" and a "bigger house" - it was refreshing to be reminded of things that in a few months, I'll be able to partake in again. Right now the DH and I are crammed into one little bedroom, which functions as a kitchen, office, and place to sleep. Can't cook, no stove. House is in such bad shape the toilet threatens to fall through the floor! So hard to "nest" in situations like this.
It's a nice incentive to keep working so hard on the "little house" so we have a nice place to live in, and I can have my teakettle on the stove again. Right now everything is in boxes, in storage. :( |
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shepherdess
True Blue Farmgirl
359 Posts
Robin
Eatonville
Washington
USA
359 Posts |
Posted - Jun 25 2005 : 5:35:33 PM
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I am and always will be a NESTER.I can't wait to do something neat in my house or yard everyday. This was great
Farm Girl from Western Washington
" From sheep to handspun " |
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countrymamma
True Blue Farmgirl
78 Posts
Rural Manitoba
Canada
78 Posts |
Posted - Jun 25 2005 : 5:43:32 PM
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A nester I am. What a great description, I love it.
~Carol |
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Eileen
True Blue Farmgirl
1199 Posts
Eileen
USA
1199 Posts |
Posted - Jun 25 2005 : 7:05:25 PM
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A lot of this describes me too. I always felt like I had a new house on the days that I rearranged all the furniture, took down the lace curtains for a wash and rearranged all the things on my shelves. It is always so much fun. Now I find myself doing similar things in my out door rooms. I can hardly wait for my husband to get home tonight to help me move the lawn swing to a new part of the property so I can have a different view while swinging on it with a good book in the afternoon. Digging yet another garden spot to plant the rooted cuttings from my favorite perrenials to create another old fashioned english country garden area to feast my eyes upon in the dewy mornings while I wander around in my bathrobe with a cup of coffee enjoying the morning sounds of the birds waking up.
Gathering scented roses to perfume my living room.
I am definately a nester.
Eileen
songbird; singing joy to the earth |
Edited by - Eileen on Jun 25 2005 7:07:03 PM |
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bubblesnz
True Blue Farmgirl
291 Posts
helen
New Zealand
291 Posts |
Posted - Jun 25 2005 : 10:53:02 PM
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| Love the description!! Yes I am a nester too, (actually a closest messy nester) |
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therusticcottage
True Blue Farmgirl
4439 Posts
Kay
Vancouver
WA
USA
4439 Posts |
Posted - Jun 25 2005 : 11:22:28 PM
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Wonderful description! I am definitely a nester. There's nothing I enjoy more than being in my home, working in my garden, or rocking in my wicker rocker on my front porch.
Kay
Proud Member of North Clark County Farmgirls |
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Alee
True Blue Farmgirl
22941 Posts
Alee
Worland
Wy
USA
22941 Posts |
Posted - Jun 26 2005 : 07:18:00 AM
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Meadowlark-
ROFL!!! That is funny! Your DH sounds like he has a great sense of humor.
I am a nester too... when I have the time and energy. For the most part I get so tired that I don't have the energy to clean, polish, perfect around my place even though I want to.
Ciao
Alee |
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amaron
Farmgirl in Training
12 Posts
12 Posts |
Posted - Jun 28 2005 : 11:10:47 AM
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| My husband never understood why I unpacked everything in our suitcase whenever we went anywhere - for a night or a week. Frankly, I didn't either. But now I know!!! It's because I'm a NESTER! I'm so glad to have such a great name for my "condtion". |
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pegC
Farmgirl in Training
16 Posts
Peggi
New Jersey
USA
16 Posts |
Posted - Jun 30 2005 : 06:48:04 AM
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Wow! I have a "label" now! My husband often jokes he never knows what he will come home to. People are amazed I can rearrange a room that seems to have so little and make it look so cozy. I like to rearrange the furniture and the decorations with the seasons. More in the winter, when we are inside more. Less in the summer so the home feels as open as the great outdoors in some small way.
Unfortunately, I am a bit of a pack rat. But each piece has a story. A rotary telephone my kids love to dial and "call" people on, a cuckoo clock I got on the cheap at a sale because the man on the side is broken (and I will fix him someday), the dining room set that was my in-laws very first furniture purchase in their new married life 56 years ago...
[quote]Originally posted by flowerkeeper
Are you a nester?
Jersey Farm Girl in Training |
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sqrl
True Blue Farmgirl
605 Posts
Melissa
Northern California
USA
605 Posts |
Posted - Jul 11 2005 : 08:44:35 AM
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I love this, it's wonderful to find once again so many ladies just like me. When we moved into our new home last Jan. I had the place looking like home in a week. I can't live out of boxes, everything must find it's place. I surprised everyone when they came to visit, they said it would have taking them weeks to get there, that would make me crazy. It's wonderful to know there are many of us out there. I love changing the house for the seasons. Opening all the windows on a new spring day and cleaning all the winter out of the house. I also love finally closing the bedroom window cause it's getting too cold out. And wreathes, baskets, boxes and tins. Drying herbs in all the corners of the closets. Putting the down blankets away and pulling them back out again when they're needed. The smell of burning leaves in the cool air of autumn, jarring up tomatoes at the end of summer. I could go on and on. It's all about life and it's changes and where you fit in and making that place cozy.
Blessed Be
www.sqrlbee.com |
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ArmyWifey
True Blue Farmgirl
712 Posts
Holly
Abilene
KS
712 Posts |
Posted - Jul 11 2005 : 3:58:05 PM
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Yes. Although my nest changes every 2-3.5 years so far! I love to decorate (have been told I should charge/have a business)-- antiques, old photos, anything farm or cabiny, ranch house!
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As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord!
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PhillyfarmGirl
True Blue Farmgirl
59 Posts
Yael
Philadelphia
PA
USA
59 Posts |
Posted - Jul 13 2005 : 5:02:00 PM
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Except for the rearranging furniture part, this description fits me exactly! How neat is that to know there are so many of us out there! I LOVE IT!
All the best!
~It is easy in the world to live after the world's opinion;
It is easy in solitude to live after our own;
but the great man is he who in the midst of the crowd
keeps with perfect sweetness the independence of solitude.~
~Ralph Waldo Emerson |
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luvnlife
True Blue Farmgirl
82 Posts
Michele
Quincy
WA
USA
82 Posts |
Posted - Jul 18 2005 : 3:52:56 PM
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My dear husband has been calling me a "nester" for years. He equates it with the homey surge that pregnant women get right before they go into labor. I love to rearrange furniture. I now have my heavy couch sitting on sliders so I can move easier. lol I'm forever puttering around the house, or out in the yard or in the barn. Being a nester is a way of life that can't be unlearned. Hats off to all my sister nesters!
Dance like no one is watching! |
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MeadowLark
True Blue Farmgirl
2206 Posts
USA
2206 Posts |
Posted - Jul 18 2005 : 4:01:48 PM
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Michele, You are a woman after my own heart! I loved rearranging furniture when I was younger and stronger! My DH put shoes on the couch and chairs one day when I was at work and when I came home I found a note from him that the couch was always walking and needed shoes! You are so right Michele, it is a way of life, ingrained in our DNA!
"Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field. I'll meet you there." Rumi, 13th century. http://www.xs4all.nl/~josvg/cits/sb/sb101.html |
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Across the Fence: Are you a nester? |
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Are you a nester?
