I had several different ways I had thought of representing the February One Community words: STYLE – HEIRLOOM – HEARTBEAT – WARM. In the end, I decided to go with one picture that I think sums up the words.

The fireplace & mantel are obviously a focal point of my living room. And as I have looked this space “a lot” this winter, especially the last week of snow & ice & a bit of no power & 5 days of no connectivity, I see a representation of each of these words together in one spot.

Style – The plates on the walls are from adventures with family & friends – each tells a story. The street markets in Florence with my sister. A favorite potter from my time in Marinette. A plate from Rebecca’s trip to Turkey. A tile from La Purisima Mission in Lompoc, CA – a favorite place to go when we lived there. And more.

Heirloom – The pewter candlestick is from my great grandmother’s boarding house. These days, it houses an LED candlestick that comes on every evening. A connection from the past housing “the newest” light.

Heartbeat – The picture frames capture moments with those most dear to me. Times with these folks definitely top the highlight reel.

Warmth – This fireplace provides all sorts of warmth: both actual heat and visual warmth. For the most part, I rarely turn my heater on – instead, I turn this on for a few minutes & before long all is warm and the more minutes it is on the toastier the room gets & the heat flows back to the other rooms. Last Wednesday morning I had the fireplace on while watching the news about the ice storm when the power went out – I kept the fireplace on until power was restored 8 hours later – at times the apt was “too hot” & I might have had the windows open on a winter day, but I knew that I would want the heat that night if the power didn’t come back.

Connecting into One Community hosted by Sarah.