As a family, we are quite well off for paintings.
To my surprise, I find I really REALLY enjoy buying them. The Rye Society of Artists' summer show as an unmissable part of Sussex summers when the children were small, and I always came home with a poster to fram at the very least. Meanwhile, OH's parents had an impressive, and eclectic collection in their home, some of which we inherited a few years ago.
As most vicarages don't have the sort of wall space that permits an expanding art collection, I've been under very strict orders not to buy anything for some years - but when we arrived here in May of last year it became obvious that none of our existing art works looked happy over the mantelpiece in the sitting room.
Everything else had found a happy home - but that left us with a serious gap.
Very serious.
So the chimney breast has been bare and void...waiting, waiting....without any of us having any idea what it might be waiting for.
Until November, that is, when these appeared.
Though I really hadn't expected to, I fell in love at once - and after some negotiation, it was agreed that if I never have another Christmas or birthday present ever again (or something like that - I didn't SIGN anything, so I'm hoping there may in time be room for manouevre ) OH and I could give each other a Piper print for Christmas.
So...the blank wall still waits.
But it waits in hope.
There will be something beautiful there before too long - and, for the first time since childhood, I am preparing to be beside myself with excitement at the prospect of opening my present on Christmas day.
Sometimes the waiting is pure joy, when you know that you are waiting for exactly what you need, want and long for.
That's kind of the point of Advent...
To my surprise, I find I really REALLY enjoy buying them. The Rye Society of Artists' summer show as an unmissable part of Sussex summers when the children were small, and I always came home with a poster to fram at the very least. Meanwhile, OH's parents had an impressive, and eclectic collection in their home, some of which we inherited a few years ago.
As most vicarages don't have the sort of wall space that permits an expanding art collection, I've been under very strict orders not to buy anything for some years - but when we arrived here in May of last year it became obvious that none of our existing art works looked happy over the mantelpiece in the sitting room.
Everything else had found a happy home - but that left us with a serious gap.
Very serious.
So the chimney breast has been bare and void...waiting, waiting....without any of us having any idea what it might be waiting for.
Until November, that is, when these appeared.
Though I really hadn't expected to, I fell in love at once - and after some negotiation, it was agreed that if I never have another Christmas or birthday present ever again (or something like that - I didn't SIGN anything, so I'm hoping there may in time be room for manouevre ) OH and I could give each other a Piper print for Christmas.
So...the blank wall still waits.
But it waits in hope.
There will be something beautiful there before too long - and, for the first time since childhood, I am preparing to be beside myself with excitement at the prospect of opening my present on Christmas day.
Sometimes the waiting is pure joy, when you know that you are waiting for exactly what you need, want and long for.
That's kind of the point of Advent...
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