Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Plum Cottage happenings and Thankfulness



Good morning Folks ~ This will probably be my last post for a few days, as I'll be spending time in the kitchen cooking and baking, eating and enjoying the day with DH, then working at my job Fri and Sat.

I want to say a big thank you to all of you who read and comment here on my blog. It is still amazing to me and I am thankful for friendships made here.

I am thankful to the two buyers who have bought my beaded/embroidery works. One was before I even had the shop set up, and the other just after it was set up. Thank you Ladies.

I'm thankful for the 'freebies' we find curbside. I know this kind of shopping isn't for everyone, but we enjoy it. Just the other day, I looked across the street and saw a box of angle looking stuff overflowing a box, I didn't have my glasses on, and told DH about it, thinking it might be iron parts or something he can use. Well, what he walks back with is a box full of VHS movies, that had just been thrown all in the box, which is why I saw angles. We got around 40 good ones, and 30 that are mostly children's movies that must have been stored in a shed and gotten damp and moldy. We still have our VHS rewinder, and it still works too. These movies were not rewound. Over the years we've found so many useful and artistic things that others just throw away.

I'm thankful we have our little cottage and food to eat. At one really low time in our life, we picked dumpsters behind the grocery store for food. We got fruit, veggies, bread and some times cheese. We ate and never got sick. Times have gotten much better for us, (that was about 30 years ago), but going through that rough time makes us appreciate the many blessings we enjoy now.

I'm thankful I'm able to cook and bake, garden and craft. Thankful I still have my job, even if it is now only two days a week.

I'm thankful to God for His love, forgiveness and tender mercies. Thankful for the freedoms we still enjoy in this country.

I'm thankful for DH's love and encouragement and all that he does.

I wish all of you a wonderful Thanksgiving day celebration.

Here are some pictures for your viewing pleasure. Click on pictures to enlarge.



Penelope next three pictures.







Louis Philippe - Florida Cracker Rose

The next pictures are of the east side of our cottage. The wall below is the 'scullery' wall. You can see through the open lattice door into the secret garden. DH hung these two bird cages for me the other day. The pot on the left has green and white spider plants. The pot on the right has spider plants also and orchids growing in it. The Mexican pot that DH bought for me recently is only sitting on the bench temporarily. This area is on the north side of our screened porch off the kitchen.


You can see that the house paint is peeling and we hope to pressure wash and paint once it gets cooler down here. We already have the paint, and I'm ready to freshen it up and the color will be more plumy once again.

The 'secret garden' door is closed, and you can see 'last years' Christmas wreath. :-) The iron piece leaning up against the door will hang over the white outdoor bar once we have the house repainted. I may paint it white, or leave it as is. Haven't decided yet.





Here is the screened porch, which is the main entry into our cottage. The porch sure keeps the mosquitoes from coming into the house so much. Plus it's a nice place to sit.



Here is the south side. I did some clean up of fallen leaves, hung the piece of wall art, and rearranged some pieces. I love sitting here and Tork, our outdoor/indoor feline girl likes to sit in my lap here, especially in the summer in the shade of the big tree.








Below are Apple Snail shells that DH found in a nearby canal up on the bank and some at the waters edge.


I love the sunlight shining through the colorful shell interiors.



******

It is a glorious privilege to live,
to know, to act, to listen,to behold,
to love.
To look up at the blue summer sky;
to see the sun sink slowly beyond the line of the horizon;
to watch the worlds come twinkling into view,
first one by one,
and the myriads that no man can count, and lo!
the universe is white with them;
and you and I are here.
Marco Morrow

******

Zone 10 ~ s.e. FL

21 comments:

Mama Mess said...

Such a beautiful love filled post. You have a thankful and peaceful spirit Flower Lady. I'm thankful for the blessings God has given you and most of all that He has given you such a loving and calm spirit. Blessings are always there, even when we have to look hard to find them!

aims said...

I adore your beautiful plum cottage Flowerlady! I can feel the peace emanating from it and your gardens are something I've always dreamed of having. Alas - I've not got an outdoor green thumb at all.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving my friend.

Gardener on Sherlock Street said...

Have a happy Thanksgiving!!!

Sandy said...

I enjoyed reading today and viewing all
of your beautiful pictures. Thank you
for sharing your rich life of love and
appreciation with us. God is so good,
giving us all so much to be thankful
for.
Blessings,
Sandy

Kit said...

Have a very wonderful Thanksgiving! Enjoy all that sunshine and warmth. I am soooo thankful to have you as my friend. Love, Kit

Floridagirl said...

What wonderful Thanksgiving thoughts today, Flower Lady! I too am so very thankful for all the very simple things and for life itself and hope that I will never become complacent in this "luxury" I now live in.

Love your cracker rose shot, BTW! My very favorite of all blooms. I was just nose-deep in some this morning. And love the color of your cottage!

denimflyz said...

Have a peaceful and lovely Thanksgiving Holiday, FlowerLady, hugs and smiles to you my friend.
We have much to be thankful for, even in tough times, and during this time, we need to be even more thankful and ask for blessings every day.
Enjoy the holiday.

Lemon Verbena Lady said...

We are all thankful for you and DH, Flowerlady! You do live in a beautiful part of the world except for the 2Hs! Happy Thanksgiving to you both!

sweetbay said...

A lovely post for Thanksgiving. It's obvious that you love life, your cottage and your husband very much.

NanaK said...

You have written wonderful words of thankfulness today, FlowerLady. I will be pondering my own thankfulness this week and agree that God gives us so much. We need to slow down sometimes and acknowledge Him.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Karen said...

Thank you so much for this post, it helps me to focus on all the good things in my life, big and small! I love your garden and your cottage, everything is so intimate and you can tell love blooms there.

May you have a wonderful Thanksgiving, and hugs to you both!

Anonymous said...

Your blog always provides a nice "lift" for my day! I do so appreciate your grateful spirit.

We have had our struggles, too. Many times I think adversity should be experienced by everyone so that they don't take the good times for granted.

Hugs to you, and have a good holiday. --Ilene

jerilanders said...

And I am thankful for you, your consistency, positive attitude, sweet personality and your lovely gardens.
About your curbside findings, my daughter in law and son recently moved to NYC and she nearly furnished their apartment with sidewalk throwaways!

Lona said...

Hi Flowerlady. You and your DH have a wonderful and Blessed Thanksgiving. I want to be at your house where it is warm. LOL!
Hugs, LOna

YayaOrchid said...

Just stopped by to wish you a very Happy Thanksgiving!

Autumn Belle said...

This is a wonderful post. You have a lovely garden, a warm and cosy home. I love your flowers, and the meaning quote. Happy Thanksgiving!

L. D. said...

Your photos are always wonderful. You cottage is more than a house as you have made it into a beautiful sanctuary in the jungle. Have a great Thanksgiving day.

Catherine@AGardenerinProgress said...

Happy Thanksgiving! Really if we sit back and count our blessings it seems that most of them don't really cost much, if anything. I just love your blog, it really has been very inspirational to me many times. I had sort of a rough year just overworrying about stuff and I can't tell you how many times something in one of your posts changed how I was feeling, I really mean that!
I loved getting a current tour of your garden, it looks so warm there!

Priscilla @ Homegrown Delight said...

What a beautiful and genuine post. We have so much to be thankful for. You're inspirational and God bless your heart. Hope you had wonderful Thanksgiving and thanks for sharing your lovely garden photos!

Sandra said...

I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I'm so stuffed I can barely move LOL

Hugs,
Sandra

Rebecca said...

I love this post! It is so interesting. You have such a knack and decorate the way I would if I had access to the same items :)