Monday, December 30, 2013

Christmas goodies and oh no …

 

Good Monday evening Folks ~ I just heard a firecracker and know there will be plenty more of that especially tomorrow night.

With my Christmas bonus from work, I bought some plants at a good deal, and garden tools and potting soil. I still have money left over, that I’m planning to use toward kitchen and bath faucets.

Sprinklers, 5 bags of potting soil, 2 pots, two roses and a new pole cutter, which I think looks very cheap, sorry to say, and it’s Fiskars, and they are a good name.  HD did NOT have the heavy duty spring my ancient pole cutter had.  I may to go  a hardware store to see if they have one

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Pole cutter with tree saw too.

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A group of seven, Texas Sage, Tibouchina, azalea, alamanda, thryallis, Flax lily and African Iris.

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African Iris

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Azalea

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Flax lily bloom ~ tiny and sweet

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Tibouchina

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Alamanda but yesterday

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Opened today

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It’s amazing now different it looks from the back side.

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Starburst clerodendrums

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Starburst buds

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Mr. Lincoln a deep old rose scent

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A wonderful old rose scent and beautiful color, no name.

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I’m flowered out, which is a good thing. I look forward to enjoying these.

***

Here is my oh no. There’s another leak under the house. (There was the possibility that this might happen with some of the old pipe that was left.) I heard a strange noise coming from under the house at the back, turned the water off, didn’t hear it, turned it back on and heard it even more than before, so I hurriedly turned it off again, and remembered to turn the hot water heater off too. I set up a temporary dishwashing station, not the first time I’ve done dishes like this.  Did it years ago when we remodeled the kitchen. Smile  I do have a water connection that I can turn on that doesn’t turn the house water on, so that’s a good thing.  I filled up containers and buckets so that I can flush the toilet and have some water in here. I called my Brother In Law, the poor guy, with the news.  Bless his heart!!  It’s not easy crawling around under the house, at least it’s not real hot right now. Not sure when he’ll be able to do this work, so I’m ‘camping’ out here at Plum Cottage.

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I’m trying to stay positive about all of this, on top of having a flea problem too.  Down here it does not get cold enough to do away with them. I’ve never had to use Advantage II, have used Brewer’s yeast for years, no fleas.  Mark leaves the planet and the fleas move in. I’m using diatomaceous earth and vacuuming plus using the Advantage.  That stuff is ‘expensive’, even though I got a good price at pet meds online.

I had a sad dream the other morning right before waking up. I dreamed I was looking out the scullery window and saw something and turned around to tell Mark, and then it dawned on me that he wasn’t here and I started crying, the dream continued with me telling my friend Nanci about it and I cried more. Then I woke up and cried for real. Sheesh!

After coffee, I decided to write in the FNF widow’s blog, something I’d been thinking about, and got it posted and felt better.  You can read it here if you wish.

I hope to get a good sleep tonight, tomorrow is another day, may I rejoice and be glad in it. I choose to not let this stuff get me down.  It’s much better all the way around to be positive instead of negative.

Each day is a gift and I’ve been blessed in many ways in 2013, and am thankful.

Have a wonderful 2014.

FlowerLady

30 comments:

Ruth Hiebert said...

Your flowers are gorgeous,as always. It definitely is harder to deal with the house problems when one is without a spouse.Hope you get that leak fixed soon.

Julie said...

sorry to hear about the new leak! God bless your BIL, All your flowers are so pretty!

Terra said...

Hi Lorraine, that was a sad realistic dream you had and sorry to hear about your new water pipe woes.
I like the flowers you grow and your new choices, many of them are new to me. My most recent plant is a Pineapple Guava and also some Siberian Iris bulbs.

Nancy J said...

Lorraine, I do have to smile at you " Camping out" and one good thing, it is not snowing!!I'm sure it will be fixed soon. Beautiful flowers, I have a Tibouchina, and did a wall hanging, printed out the photo, did some stitchery magic, and voila, after some/many/ lots of hours, it was done, I'll post a photo soon on my blog. They are frost tender here, I nursed our plant, that is almost a small tree ,so carefully for 3 winters.I see they can be grown in a pot, maybe a different variety. Fondest New Year Greetings, Jean.p.s. Fiskars, a very good brand down here, hope yours works well!!

RockWhisperer said...

Lorraine, the flowers are lovely and I'm so sorry about the leak and the fleas. Maybe BIL can come soon.

We've used to get fleas in the house every summer, they've been hard to get rid of. Then we started putting those Advantage flea collars on the cat and dog and that took care of that. Since we've been out here we haven't used the collars and haven't seen any fleas in three years. Not sure why but not complaining!

We are getting some pretty cold weather and I have a bad cold.

Have a lovely New Year's holiday, we will spend it quietly. I always make a pot of black-eyed peas for New Year's Day, it's an old southern tradition, supposed to bring good luck for the coming year. Love and hugs, Ilene

M.K. said...

Thanks for these lovely flowers! Azaleas, in December -- that's amazing :) Seeing this post immediately told me, "you must put that rosemary plant in the ground TODAY." It's fairly warm, and we expect rain this week, so I'll get my strapping 19 year old son to do that job. He likes outdoor work.

I hope you get your water issues solved soon, but you're clever to set up an outside sink, and as you note, it's warm enough down in FL that you can do stuff outside and not freeze to death right now! Happy New Year!

Sallysmom said...

Lorraine, you are so resourceful. You know how to make do when necessary. This is a lesson that others need to learn instead of just sitting down and giving up. Thank you for sharing with us today.

Mrs. E said...

I like the idea of a word for the year. (The FNF blog) Your flowers and ambitious projects always make me drool and admire your skills! Have a lovely 2014!

My Grama's Soul said...

Good morning flower lady..it does sound like you have enough "troubles" at the moment. But I have to tell you....you certainly take to heart the quote : "Idle hands make the devil's workshop"...keeping busy is the best remedy.

Stay well.

Jo

Betsy Banks Adams said...

Happy 2014 to you. My wish for you is a year full of lots of JOY, PEACE, LOVE and BLESSINGS.

Sorry about the new leak. Hope you can get it fixed soon.

Happy New Year.
Hugs,
Betsy

tina said...

That is the EXACT same pruner I have had for about 7-8 years and I tell you it is awesome. No worries there as mine always gets a workout. You should see me jumping up and down while trying to prune a big limb. Trust me, I do it all the time.

Happy New Year to you! I hope you don't get too disturbed by those fireworks. I always hate to hear them but on the good note they let me know the new year is here as I get woken up. Oh well!

happyone said...

Oh no, hope the leak gets fixed in a hurry.
I love the first picture and all the flower are real beauties.
Happy New Year. May it be filled with peace and happiness.

Anonymous said...

The new leak sucks (well, I guess it really doesn't, it leaks). . . but it's truly a blessing having a BIL who's willing to help you.

Love the new flowers, of which I have many of the same ones in my garden now. Not the roses though - never had the knack for them. I just hope I don't kill Mom's.

I'm looking forward to 2014 . . . 2013 was a tough year with losing both my father-in-law and my Mom.

Good things are on the horizon FlowerLady!

Anonymous said...

I wasn't finished with my comment!

Love and hugs to you!

There, now I'm done.

:-)

Gardener on Sherlock Street said...

You got a lot of great things with your Christmas bonus. Good thing I can't garden when Christmas bonuses arrive here. I'd probably be at the garden center a lot. Hang in there camping! Those pipes just have had enough it seems.
(hug) Happy New Year!

Darcie said...

Coming over to wish you a Happy 2014! Sounds like you have had a couple more hiccups along your journey lately. I am so glad you have a BIL that you can count on. Aren't we so thankful for those that help us in our time of need? Hoping the next spell is a bit more smooth for you.

organicgardendreams said...

Dear Lorraine, I am glad to see that you treated yourself to some flowers, besides the practical stuff that you needed as well. The alamanda has an absolutely amazing color. I grow 'Mister Lincoln' in my garden, too, and can just attest, that it has an incredible nice and strong fragrance.
I am really sorry to read that you have another leak under your house. Having no running water isn't really fun :-(. So I hope that you get the help that you need to fix it very soon. Staying positive with all the challenges that you are facing is an art that needs to be cultivated, but I know that often it is the only way to deal with things otherwise it totally pulls you down. Wishing you that 2014 will be easier for you and that you will be happy and healthy as well!
Warm wishes, Christina

Becky said...

Gorgeous flowers and some wonderful new additions for your garden. I'm sorry sorry your plumbing woes continue. We are needing to have our supply line redone as the plumber we had out awhile ago said our supply line barely had any flow coming through to the house and I am afraid when that pressure is fixed more problems will occur. I hope you are able to get your problems fixed soon.

Anonymous said...

How lovely to be able to plant this time of year - even with the fleas! My Mom doesnt let the fact that my Dad passed away a few years ago, stop her from talking to him all the time. She still misses his companionship, and maybe he does hear her - who knows?

Deb J. in Utah said...

I love your flowers. They are so beautiful! So sorry to hear about your leak...hope you can get it fixed soon. Much love coming from Arizona along with wishes for a peaceful new year.

Thistle Cove Farm said...

Lorraine, I am so sorry for the plumbing problems but am glad you've someone to call upon. Around here, I have no one for plumbing so am asking God to keep this old house safe and sound.
Your sitting spot is lovely and I bet quite welcome when you're weary. I have hardly dreamed about Dave, perhaps twice in the two plus years he's been dead. Maybe it's because I spend most waking hours thinking about him and there's nothing left but sleep.
Happy New Year; God bless you and keep you.

Rebecca said...

I'm sorry you're having to camp out for awhile. (Good thing you've had prior experience!)

Sounds like you have plenty of projects to keep you busy in 2014 - and, as always, a lot of beauty around you to keep you inspired.

Happy New Year, Lorraine. May God's peace and presence cheer you when the dreams bring sadness and tears. Then, you in turn can comfort others who are experiencing some of the same emotions and challenges. ♥

jerilanders said...

Your plumbing trials and tribulations remind me of my 9 years as a single mother, the pipes froze and broke every winter, I remember it like it was yesterday. I am glad you have that brother in law to help out. For the coming year, I wish you nothing but happy dreams and quiet peace and contentment. Much love to you from the folk in the Hollow!

lil red hen said...

Happy New Year, Flower Lady!!
Thank you for visiting me; I've enjoyed becoming blogging friends with you in 2013 and look forward to reading more.

You asked me about the apron yesterday. I borrowed the pattern from my daughter, but it is a Simplicity, number 3949. I don't sell the things I make but usually give them as gifts. Thanks for your interest in them.

Your beautiful flowers are such a wonderful reminder of God's love for us.

Sandy said...

I am praying that this year will be filled with joy, good health, sweet rest, creative ideas, and wonderful friends. You are a blessing to so many, Lorraine, with your good attitude about life. May you find more and more of God's peace and presence as you journey on.
Love & Prayers~

Jillayne said...

Dreams and daylight... sometimes there isn't a great comfort in waking up when you know the dream is a true one... good to write about it though - writing always helps me when facing something I really don't care to...
I love the idea of buying flowers and plants with your bonus... we are so far from growing things here, except of course, evergreens! We have a fair bit of snow and it is very winter-like here but pretty... but Spring is a long way off.
I hope your fleas take a hike soon!

Masha said...

Happy holidays, Lorraine, and hope you will have a good new year. You bought some lovely plants. My tibouchina kept freezing to the ground here, and I finally took it out of its misery last spring. I am looking forward to pictures of yours, they have such pretty flowers.

Karen @ Pieces of Contentment said...

Hope the water leak is soon mended for you Lorraine - and the fleas too! Lovely selection of plants you have chosen. It's always a treat to buy new plants and enjoy planning where to place them.

One Woman's Journey - a journal being written from Woodhaven - her cottage in the woods. said...

Just checking in.
Everything looks beautiful.
Hopefully water problem is solved.
I awake to a 5 degree morning with wind chill less - not my kind of weather and dream of Spring and being outside in my garden.
Stay well
God is so good...

Tammy@Simple Southern Happiness said...

Just getting caught up on some of your post. I am keeping you in prayer, dreams can be good but then when we wake up, its not so good. I have them of my father and its been almost 10 years since he has been gone and I still miss him.

We almost have the same cutter, I do not know the name of mine but it looks the same accept its red. Its a great cutter and reaches up to 14 feet. The spring broke on it last year and I could not find a replacement so I had to buy a whole new head just for the spring but at least I have other parts should I need them.

Seeing all your beautiful flowers, its making me have spring fever. That flax bloom, its that from flax seed? is that the kind you eat? I by my own seed and grind them into meal and bake with them. Its great for lowering choloterol. So if this is the plant, the flowers are lovely!!

I do hope you get the leak fixed soon and things get back to normal or at least a dull thud so you can sit back and enjoy your hard work in the garden and your caravan.