New Name

I have decided to rename the blog site as I realize this is so much more than a restoration project. The blog allows people to glimpse the lives of the animals and people that it nurtures. This wonderful old barn has a soul, and it was sitting there just waiting..... waiting for someone to love it back to its former glory. It has wrapped itself around us and wiggled into the crooks and crannies of our lives.In return, it has given Francis and I a " child" if you will of our own, something that we do together, a passion shared. Our family members stroll up when they visit to check out new developments.It has renewed old friendships, allowed me to dream (it really doesn't matter if they all come true) and soothed old wounds. This summer, it will allow me to develop a new relationship with my step grandchildren and perhaps my grandchildren as I  introduce them to the glory that is horses......My Mum says I got my passion from my great aunt Jane ( who I am named after- my middle name is Jane)... and so just as the barn reaches out to my soul I like to think Great Aunt Jane is smiling down on me with delight as she watches me indulge our passion ...Even my Gran is part of this journey as I used my inheritance I received upon her death to buy my saddle- my Passier- which I could never have afforded otherwise. So out of loss comes joy which I think is a valuable lesson; out of the dark comes the sunshine and hope of new tomorrows and dreams. I am following my very wise son's advice  who always has said since he was a teenager ,"dream with your eyes wide open"- I think I understand that now
Hmm... it happened again... this entry rather developed a life of its own and went off on a bit of a tangent but hey I'm learning some of the most interesting journeys are not the ones we start out on, but happen when we just follow our heart and let life take us where it will
Its funny by I get up everyday and the first thing I do when I get to the kitchen is to look out the window and gaze at the barn. I'm not quite sure why... its not going anywhere. But it has always provided solace to my soul, more so now that I know she knows we are loving her back to life. And yes, the barn is most definitely a female entity-- she reminds me of my grandmother, or the grandmother of Downton Abby fame- you know the one I mean- the grand matriarch who watches over the family from a distance- uttering the silence or Tut-tuts of faint disapproval or the gentile smile of approval and affection. I feel the barn's presence wrap herself around me and offer comfort ( ok by now you feel I'm a raving lunatic) but I can't explain it any other way- that old barn gives solace to my soul and gladness to my heart; she has brought so much good into my life.As Marina my friend would say, since we started this project, so much in my life has "flowed". Okay,not everything is perfect and there are hiccups along the way, and no all the foundation work has not done exactly what we hoped ( we still have a bit of dampness coming through), but overall, the barn has been the catalyst for so much good and love....
Hmm.... big sigh.... maybe restoration project really was the right word after all???.... the barn project has certainly restored a lot of things in my life-