Friday, September 28, 2012

I am thankful for . . .

Good afternoon Friends,

It is almost time to fix supper and I’m happy to report that my first item to be thankful for is that DearHusband is going to be eating talapia, mashed potatoes and a veggie for supper instead of more soup.  Last night along with soup, he had a little meatloaf, which I was having, and then he had a couple of bites of pumpkin cookie. Hurray! The soups have been delicious, but soup gets old eating it two times a day, with smoothies for breakfast. He did tell me each night that the soups were good.  They were and I will be fixing them again especially now that cooler weather is coming.

The second thing I am thankful for is that on the 28th is the four year anniversary of this blog. I want to thank all of you who visit, who leave comments, who have become followers and friends, for those who have prayed and sent good wishes. From my heart, thank you. Here is a link to my very first post, Beginnings.

Next on my thankful list is our home and gardens here on 1/4 acre. It is paid for, and even though our cottage is tiny, it is our home sweet home. We have a workshop, a barn, a storage building, (that we built ourselves with permits) two storage sheds and our stationary ‘caravan’. These past six weeks of stress for both of us have made us appreciate so much. Our home is easy to heat and cool. It ‘should’ be easy to keep spic and span too, but I’m a procrastinator and would rather be out in the gardens, or needleworking,  or reading blogs or helping DH with projects. Although, there have been no projects being worked on lately due to unforeseen circumstances. We’re taking things slow and easy. I have gone into our little caravan to sit quietly, ponder and pray. It smells new, it is a sweet little work in progress and we’ll really enjoy finishing it up after this hiatus from it. 

Next, I am thankful for my job. I’ve been working there almost 16 years. The last 4 years I’ve seen my pay and time cut at work, but at least I still have the job and we are surviving.

Then my gardens give me much to be thankful for as you all know.

This first photo is of a rock bordered bed filled with ferns, aloe, begonias, one caladium that shows up every year, a couple of other things and no doubt some weeds and a rose called Maggie.

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These are the blooms that these begonias have, this begonia is blooming in a pot elsewhere.

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Pretty rain flower.

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Yellow datura grown from seeds from Nell Jean, of Seed Scatterer.

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Here I am standing just inside our driveway gates. I had mowed earlier and it always looks so nice after doing that. I noticed that the cereus cactus bloomed again. I don’t know how many times it has bloomed this year, several. You can see how high they are up in the pine tree.

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Closer view.

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Here they are, their night of glory being past. I really need to get my progression pictures up of one of these lovely blooms from bud to it’s closure.

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From the driveway, this is looking east at our little cottage. This is our entry. The window to the left is the living room, you enter into the kitchen, and the scullery is to the right. The corner iron supports of the screened porch were found curbside. The people had taken these down and put up 4x4 posts. Their loss our gain.

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You can barely see my shed these days, and if you look closely you can see the open gate where you enter into the secret garden behind our cottage.

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You can see the driveway and gate to the left in the picture below. Where the worn patches of grass are on the bottom, is the driveway area that leads to parking area and out buildings. The secret garden is behind the greenery on backside of this little garden area and you can see my ‘solar dryer’ where I hang out the laundry. The picket fencing was found curbside in 2-3 ft. sections, unpainted.

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Here’s a glimpse of the ‘caravan’, Rebecca and Karen. Smile Also little back entry into the garden area. It needs weeding in there desperately. All in good time.

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This is an azalea that I got for my birthday in March. It has bloomed several times since then and I am really happy with it and love the color.

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This is a sweet Penelope rose bloom.  So different than how it looks when it has fully opened.

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Here is a bloom on the wane from my climbing Maman Cochet, still has some beauty and scent.

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None of us knows what any given day will bring us. Times are rough and may get rougher with the economy here in our own country and with the global economy. I try to keep a positive outlook but things have me apprehensive that’s for sure. Our country was #3 on the list of great countries to live in, now it’s down to #18. That is horrible. More rules and regulations are being laid down that we must follow or else. What happened to our ‘freedom filled’ country? What happened to being praised for being brave to start your own business and make it into something that will support you and/or others? There’s more that I could get going on, but I won’t.

I started this last night and am finishing it up this morning. We have more rain expected over the next few days. Thunder is rumbling as I type. The temps are in the mid 80’s feeling like the mid 90’s. At least we had a ‘glimpse’ of autumn the other day, so we know it’s coming.

I am thankful for all of our days, for each breath we take, each meal that we have, for fresh water, a roof over our heads, books to read, music to make our hearts soar.

I am thankful for my DH, for the love we share. For all the many things that he does around here to care for our home and creatively also. For all the love and encouragement he has given me through the years.

I am thankful to God for our many blessings. For giving us strength, for filling our hearts with peace, hope, love and joy.

FlowerLady Lorraine

***

"Winter is an etching,

spring a watercolor,

summer an oil painting

and autumn a mosaic of them all."

Stanley Horowitz

19 comments:

Rebecca said...

Be still my heart! (It speeded up considerably at the sight of the caravan...)

I'm thankful WITH and FOR you, Lorraine. The way you appreciate your 1/4 acre & have developed it so beautifully and creatively inspire me.

Godliness with contentment IS great gain, as the Bible says.

I share your concern for our country and constantly pray for wisdom to know how to live/plan for the days to come (like the Proverbs 31 woman)...

I loved this entire post and am thankful our paths have crossed.

Leslie Kimel said...

I just loved taking this little tour of your garden--it's delightful, so creative and unique. I always enjoy hearing about your cooking--everything sounds so delicious.

sharon said...

thank you for the tour.the little garden caravam is cute.I am astonished that you had so many cereus!!..you need to make a cutting that will be low somewhere where you can smell the blooms and take pictures.You truly have the gift of sharing ...there are so many lurkers that hardly post anything.so I am thnakful to have someone that reads what I have to offer..you are inspiring..

Jane said...

I'm so glad your DH is starting to heal. Life is always sweet if you live with a grateful heart, isn't it? I always love touring your sweet little home!

Lynn said...

You have much to be grateful for. Thank you for the glimpse into your home site. It is truly inspiring to see as I to am also having a good laundry day for solar drying. Happy weekend wishes for DH getting back to your good cooking.

Lemon Verbena Lady said...

Thanks FL for blogging and coming around to visit my herb garden and give us your perspective on life. Hope DH gets better. He can't help it with your great cooking! Hope all is well in FL, FL! xxoo Nancy

Anonymous said...

What a beautiful post, FlowerLady. And I love it when you welcome us into your gardens. . . .

Nancy J said...

Thankfulness,garden clothesline, beautiful flowers, and you sharing all with us, we can be thankful for all our friends across the world. Fond greetings from Jean.

Annie said...

Aren't we lucky when we stop to count our blessings. That cactus up the tree is amazing. How did it get up there?

Antique ART Garden said...

As usual, I love your postings. Sorry to hear your husband has been ill. When are you two going to take a picture as a couple, and put it on here for us? I have told you before, you are a blessing~don't forget it! Love & hug, Gina

Sheri - Creative Spaces Landscaping said...

Your little slice of heaven is nestled in a picture perfect corner of nature's perfection! Hard to believe you live in S. Fl, lol! Wishing you and your loved ones all the very best with many wonderful moments to look forward to!

Happy Gardening & best wishes,

Sheri
www.pompanobeachgardening.blogspot.com

Cassundry said...

What a great post thank you!

jerilanders said...

Dear Rainy, I am so sorry that I had missed your last few posts and knew little of your DH's health. I want you to know you are both in my prayers.
I too have much to be thankful for.My home, gardens, farm friends and most of all, my Husband. But I too fear for our country's future. It is hard to believe how far we have fallen in such a short time. Freedom is fragile, Liberty is something we take for granted until we have none. Like you, I could go on and on about it. We should email and rant.

sweetbay said...

Good to hear your DH is doing better! The cactus climbing way up in that tree and your neighbor's plumbago are amazing.

gld said...

Reading this was a lovely way to start my day. You always make me feel better and remind me to never take anything for granted. Like you, I am very grateful for every thing we have and that I share it with my husband each and every day.

Enjoy your weekend.

Dirt Princess said...

I love the caravan. You have so much to be thankful for and you are lucky enough to see your blessings :-)

Anonymous said...

Lorraine, I really enjoyed this post. You always do such a good job of reminding me how much we can do with a little, in all ways. You are just about the most positive person I know.

I'm so glad DH is feeling better, I have been plagued with neck cramps in the past. I was told it was the reaction of the muscles to too little calcium.

Growing older certainly has it's challenges, with us it seems like it's always somethin', but we forge ahead. There's only one alternative, afterall.

Thank you for being you, and for publishing such uplifting posts. Hugs

Corner Gardener Sue said...

I haven't been reading blogs as much lately. I'm glad I made it here to see the wider views of your place and the caravan.

Yes, we have much to be thankful to God for.

Andrea said...

I've seen parts of your area in the past posts, but this is the first time to see that tall pine being enveloped by the Cereus. I didn't know it can grow that high. And i wonder what are those seemingly thick vines which served as the climbing support for the cereus. You said it is not well-scented, maybe it is the Epiphyllum which has more scent. I have lots of it and it's not as high as that, so taking photos at close-up is not so difficult. I've posted it too a few months ago.