Monday, December 13, 2010

Brrr !!!

Here we are cozily in our little cottage awaiting another cold front, and this one is colder than the last one we had. Right now at 7:15 p.m. it is 49 and feels like it is 37, because of the wind that we are experiencing. It has been horribly windy all day long. We are not used to this kind of weather. :-) It used to be cold like this when we were kids, but through the years it got warmer. Last year was our first really cold winter in a long time. Here we are having colder temps even earlier this year than last. Tonight the expected low is 28 and with the wind, will feel like it is 14. I did not cover any plants, I did bring some plants inside, but that's it. We are more or less protected by privacy fencing and hedging. ~ We just went outside to move my potted bay tree to a more protected area.

I want to thank all of you who left comments about our Christmas tree and decorations. The only ornament that I made in the pictures on the tree was the red crocheted piece with flowers. The other hand made ornaments were from others. The little ballerina my late MIL made in a porcelain class that she took. This is one of my favorite ornaments. She also made the lace angel hanging over the arch that leads to the Nativity and Heavenly Host area. Twelve of the ornaments along the ceiling are DH's from when he was living at home. Mr. and Mrs. Lion were the last two ornaments given to us by DH's mom before she passed away. DH made the creche. Mary, Joseph, Baby Jesus, the three wisemen and the donkey and cow, are little mud figures made in Spain, that we bought when we lived there in the early70's. I always go out and pick rosemary to put in the creche, as rosemary is for remembrance. In the silver s & p shakers at the front of the creche we have frankincense in one and myrrh in the other. The foil star in the shelf of angels was made by us as newlyweds in Spain. I got the idea to hang ornaments along the ceiling many, many years ago. I went around the ceiling with little brads and hammer in hand, placing the nails about 4" apart. I use Christmas tree hooks to hang them.

Today we did errands and one of our stops was Home Depot. We stopped at their Christmas tree display to see if they had any trimmings. DH had seen some the other day. I asked the salesperson there if they were free and he said yes, so I took a couple of nice smelly branches, thanked him and wished him a merry Christmas and we continued on our way. They do smell nice.

I made two loaves of Avocado Bread today, like zuchinni bread, only made with mashed avocados. I'll let you know how they taste. They smelled yummy while baking. Tomorrow I want to make banana bread, using up three ripe bananas.

Ok, before I fall asleep here at the keyboard, here are some pictures for your viewing pleasure.

The first three are Dainty Bess.









These next two are La Marne.






Confederate rose is next.






Here we have St. Vincent's Lilac.



And last but not least, tiny orchids, which are now indoors until the cold weather is past.



******

If we had no winter,

the spring would not be so pleasant:

if we did not sometimes taste of adversity,

prosperity would not be so welcome.

Anne Bradstreet

******

Zone 10 ~ s.e. FL

10 comments:

Mama Mess said...

I loved hearing about your decorations and the reasons behind them. That makes it so much more special!!

Hope your garden survives your temperatures! I surely did not know it got that cold in Florida!

Susan said...

Your flowers are so pretty...love Dainty Bess. One nice thing about roses is that they are cold hardy. You won't have to worry about all of your beautiful roses. I'm afraid that tonight is going to be really devastating. I'm hoping the temps won't drop as low as they say. Once can always hope. Avocado bread...sounds very interesting. Do let us know how it tastes. Stay warm!

BernieH said...

Those little orchid flowers are just so gorgeous ... and so is that Confederate Rose! Lovely flowers.

I wish I could send some of our heat and sunshine over for you. It's amazing how the weather patterns seem to be changing around the world. We haven't had rain like we've had this year ever since I was a child ... and the 'wet' seasons over the last two years we haven't experienced since then either!

Lemon Verbena Lady said...

Sorry you're feeling the cold, FlowerLady! Only we in the frozen north should be punished for loving the ice and snow! Hope you get warm soon!

Merrie said...

The pictures from your garden make me want to get in my car and drive straight through to Florida again! I do hope things warm back up for you. I heard on the news this morning that the orange crops are in trouble down there and I thought of you. Keep warm!

NanaK said...

Oh, Dainty Bess is so beautiful! I just love those single roses. I enjoyed hearing the stories behind your Christmas decorations. Stay cozy and warm in your Plum Cottage.

Karen said...

Oh no, you are not supposed to be that cold in Florida! I hope all your gorgeous plants pull through, those temps must be breaking records left and right.

I love your flowers, they transported me back to warm and balmy days just looking at them. The orchids are especially beautiful.

Reading about your Christmas ornaments brought a smile to my face. Every one of them has a story, don't they? The memories are what makes them truly special.

shadesofidaho said...

Thanks so much on the how to on hanging the wall ornaments.

I really like the way you photograph the centers of your lovely flowers too. I have always found the centers to be so interesting.

I can hardly believe we are almost the same temp as you right now.34 right now. Only we have a little over a foot of snow. Stay warm.

Chris

Corner Gardener Sue said...

I had to laugh, because I had a post with the same title the other day. My brrr is colder than yours, but yours is not supposed to be as cold as it is, so I feel more sorry for you than myself.

I enjoyed your blooms. That yellow one reminds me of okra. I think someone else noticed that on a different one you or someone else posted on recently.

I enjoyed reading about your ornaments, too.

sweetbay said...

Oh, I do love Dainty Bess! She is beautiful.