Lemons into Lemonade

My parents were here for a week, and they left today. Which has been a bit hard. I think it's always tricky when family or friends come to visit and then must inevitably head out, back to their own lives in their own parts of the world... leaving us feeling a bit sad in the wake of their departures.

But this is our own doing. The result of our choices. So there's that.

Nana (now Num Num) and Papa helped us do many things in the house: a new laminate kitchen floor (sitting for at least a year in our garage and now wonderfully installed inside the house!!), a beautiful copper-colored backsplash for the stove area, lots of food in the fridge, new mats for the floor, a new computer and desk for me (which will also be a "family" computer), and lots of fun new toys and clothes for Ari (who really got some amazing gifts for her bday thanks to the generosity and thoughtfulness of our friends and family).

One thing that sticks with me from the week is our new "button" lamp in the living room. It all began with my wanting to rearrange the furniture so it felt less cramped and better defined. About two hours later, with all of us tired and sore from moving, shifting, etc. - the room was back to its original state... there being no good alternative to the arrangement already created by Andy.

BUT... we did move one lamp, which left us in need of a light source next to the couch. We decided to go for a table lamp, and my mother kindly went out and bought one during the week. Not a beauty at all... kind of a cheap find, but functional. Unfortunately, when she attempted to remove the ugly ribbon snaking around the shade, she created two tears in the lamp... and so it was even uglier!

We spent nearly a whole week with that ugly lamp, trying to find an alternate shade, or debating how to fix it... when Mom came up with a brilliant suggestion: buttons. I just happened to have a canister of antique buttons that my grandmother had kept. And so we set about selecting the most interesting ones in multiple shapes, colors, and sizes. We decided to do a random design and just zen our way through it.

Luckily, it turned out quite well, and the lamp has become a thing of beauty and happiness that we all agree is just about the cutest thing we've ever seen: