Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Little did I know ...




Little did I know how the previous post was going to play out in today's happenings. We don't know why sometimes we feel compelled to do, say or write certain things, we just do. Sometimes we get glimpses, sometimes we find out, and other times we are left wondering.

I work part time, and have been for the 12 years I've been working this job. Just before lunch my boss called to ask me a business related question, then he brought up work this week. The economy is NOT what it has been in the past, as we all know, and in my job, people don't spend when the economy is down. So, I will be working less hours a week and be taking a cut in pay, until things pick back up. My boss hates to do this but in order to keep things going, this is the way it has to be. He told me to think about it and call him back later. DH and I talked about it, and at least I still have my job, just less of it. :-) Things could be much worse. I called my boss after lunch and told him ok and he said this is just for the time being, then he sighed and said Thank you.

After I got off the phone and thought about the situation, I thought, how's that for the thought posted in my earlier post ~ Life is not a having or a getting, but a being and a becoming.? Hmmmm. I am a being, what am I becoming?

Guess that is my thought to ponder today.

We are in God's tender loving care regardless of circumstances. May I rest in His care, with peace and thanksgiving in my heart, trusting Him to work all things out.

We are not in debt. Our little cottage is paid for. I'm thankful for my DH and the love we share. I have lots of flower seeds from fellow gardeners to plant in my gardens. We have food to eat, clothes to wear, and much more. When we have to cut back sometimes, it makes what we have all the more special. I hope to mosey along with the flow, taking each day as it comes, seeing the joy and beauty in each one.

FlowerLady




Life is ...



Life is not a having and a getting,

but a being and a becoming.

Matthew Arnold



Friday, February 20, 2009

Fortnight Lily ~ Dietes iridioides




Many years ago I bought this wonderful plant at a local flea market. It is a real joy when this plant is in bloom,and it always makes me feel happy.

These are evergreen perennials with spreading fans of stiff, leathery sword shaped leaves up to 2 ft (0.6 m) in length but only 0.75 in (1.9 cm) wide.


The upright clumps of leaves are held in a vertical fanlike planeand they spread on creeping rhizomes which sometimes ascend a few inches. The 2-4 ft (0.6-1.2 m) flowering stalks, which are perennial, are branched and stiffly wiry, bearing a succession of short-lived irislike flowers throughout spring and summer. The flowers, rather flattened and nearly 3 in (7.6 cm) across, are milky white with yellow markings on the three larger tepals. (The three petals and three similar sepals of iris flowers are collectively called tepals.) Fortnight lily fruits are 1-2 in (2.5-5.1 cm) football shaped, three-sided capsules.

For more information about this see Floridata.






Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Don't Let Anyone ...




Don't let anyone rob you of your imagination,

your creativity,

or your curiosity.


It's your place in the world; it's your life.

Go on and do all you can with it,

and make it the life you want to live.

Mae Jemison






Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Chrysler Imperial ~ part 2

Here is a picture I took today.
You can see how much more the flower has opened up.
The scent is a heavy and wonderful old rose perfume.
Just beautiful.

FlowerLady











When you take a flower in your hand and really look at it,

it's your world for the moment.

I want to give that world to
someone else.

Most people in the city rush around so,

they have no time to look at a flower.

I want them to see

it whether they want to or not.

Georgia O'Keeffe

Monday, February 9, 2009

Chrysler Imperial

This is one beautiful, heavily scented red rose. DH picked this one out at a local garden center a few years back. The color attracted him, and when I got a good whiff of the scent, that was it. The petals looks like rich velvet. If you buy this, you won't be disappointed.

Below is a little info on this wonderful rose.

One of my favorites ~ FlowerLady

Guide to Antique Roses

Hybrid Tea Rose - Chrysler Imperial

1952

This rose was one of the first roses to be involved in the promotional marketing of a consumer product, the Chrysler Imperial car. We can only hope the cars bearing this name performed as well. Lovely, long pointed buds open to globular flowers of dark velvety red. The 4-5 inch blooms contain a strong citrus scent . A must in any of our flower arrangements, we enjoy the striking color and the heavenly fragrance. The bush is nicely shaped with semi-glossy foliage.

Rose Gardening Made Easy


The buds are elegantly tapered and open into high-centered flowers up to 5 inches across, with a rich, deep, velvety red color. The strongly scented flowers start blooming in late spring and repeat throughout the summer, with another good flush of blooms in the fall.

The foliage is semi-glossy and deep green with thorny canes. The rose grows to 3-6 feet tall and about 3 feet wide, showing more growth in warmer climates.

This rose plant has a fairly stiff, upright form, so it looks best if planted in groups of three or more, for a more bushier look. The fragrant, long-stemmed rose flowers make excellent cut flowers, so you might want to grow these roses in a cutting garden with good sun exposure; a sunny site is a must, as it is not shade tolerant.

Dave's Garden

Propagation Methods:
From herbaceous stem cuttings
From woody stem cuttings
From softwood cuttings
From semi-hardwood cuttings
From hardwood cuttings
By grafting
By budding
By simple layering
By air layering
By tip layering

These next two pictures are taken outside this morning, before I picked it to bring inside. The scent has been filling the air of our little cottage all day long. I can just imagine what a vase full of these would be like. Wonderful!





These next pictures are as the rose is opening, a few hours apart. I'll try to remember to count the total number of petals this has. There should be between 40-50 petals.










I hope to take a picture in the morning to show how much more it will have opened.

That's it for tonight.

Hope you all get a good night's sleep, and wake up rested, and ready to head into the new day.

FlowerLady

******


How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God!

how great is the sum of them!

If I should count them,

they are more in number than the sand:

when I awake, I am still with thee.


Psa 139: 17 & 18

Friday, February 6, 2009

Butterfly Lessons

******

Oh how I love to watch the butterflies.

Flitting about on wings powered by the sun's warm rays.

From flower to flower by the hour,

they sip the nectar that sustains them in their flight.

God says,

Take heed my child, as you watch these 'flying flowers'.

See how they gently, unfearingly go about their way.

They are in my care,

as you are,

even 'more' than they.


Flowerlady ~ 16 June 2008







































******


Gardening is medicine

that does not need a perscription...

And with no limit on dosage.

Author Unknown

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

A Heart-warmer



I just received this from a friend
and it really touched me, heart and soul.

Have a nice evening ~ FlowerLady



Tuesday, February 3, 2009

A Sweet Give-Away



Good morning everyone.
Sharon has a wonderful give-away for the month of February.
Visit her blog The Old Oak Swing to see what it is.
The drawing will be held on the 28th of this month.

FlowerLady


The Old Oak Swing Giveaway

Sunday, February 1, 2009

Sunday Lunch

Today is a tad chilly, and partly cloudy so I made Oat Potato Sandwich Bread in the bread machine, and a homemade vegetable/chicken soup. This was our lunch along with a Beck's beer that we split. It was all yummy and homey on this Sunday afternoon.

Below is the recipe for the bread if anyone would like to try it. I sure enjoy my bread machine.

Oat Potato Sandwich Bread

1 1/2 lb. loaf

1 1/4 c. water
1 tbs. olive oil
2 tbs. honey
3 c. bread flour
1/2 c. instant potato flakes
3/4 c. regular or instant oats
1/2 tsp. grated lemon peel
1/2 tsp. thyme leaves
17 grinds on the pepper mill for some pepper
1 1/2 tsp. iodized sea salt
1 1/2 tsp. yeast

Put water, oil and honey in your bread machine. Mix all other ingredients except the yeast, into a bowl, stir around to mix all together. Add to bread machine. Make a little well in the dry ingredients, add the yeast into well. Close the lid. Choose basic cycle and medium crust and start the machine.

Enjoy.

FlowerLady











Whispering A Prayer


Hear my prayer, O God;
give ear to the words of my mouth.
Ps. 54:2

******


Blessed be God,

which hath not turned away my prayer,

nor his mercy from me.

Psa 66:20


******


Make a joyful noise unto God, all ye lands:

Psa 66:1


******

Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all the earth:

make a loud noise,

and rejoice, and sing praise.

Psa 98:4


******


Steve Vai

Whispering A Prayer

live at the Astoria in London





,