Plum Cottage happenings - long winded ;-)

Hello Folks ~ Here we are into December, starting the second week with 18 days left until Christmas. Time is zipping right along. I hope you all had a lovely Thanksgiving day in spite of covid and it's rules. I did fix myself a nice dinner and was really pleased at how well it turned out. One of my best I think. I do miss fixing special dinners (and any dinner) for my dear husband, so it's not always easy to fix a special dinner just for one. Last year I did have my sweet widow friend Rita over and we had a nice time. This year we spent our Thanksgiving day alone.

I had bought a small young turkey breast and fixed it in the crockpot. No liquid required, I just made up an herbal butter and spread under the skin. Turned the breast upside down, and at the end of 8 hours it was so tender. I made a green bean casserole, mashed potatoes and a cranberry sauce with a bit or horseradish sauce and Greek yogurt added. Pkgd. cornbread stuffing was made up and baked with JD sausage added. It was all delicious. I didn't make any dessert though.

A couple of days later my friend Mary brought over some of her Thanksgiving dinner for me and it was all delicious as well, plus she made dessert. ;-) Leftovers have been much appreciated. There was stuffing, turkey, a sweet potato dish, mashed potatoes, a broccoli dish, 2 biscuits and pumpkin and a custard pie. Oh my, oh so good, lasted me 2-3 meals.

I have been dealing with tooth pain lower, right jaw for months. It would come and go, until last Monday when I could tell, I really needed to see the dentist. I called and was able to see my dentist the next morning. I'm telling you that the 'dread' of going and what will be done is much worse than the actual event. She is kind, funny and gentle. She put me at ease while the 4 shots of numbing agent did their work. That took the longest, because pulling the actual tooth was over in a flash. I had the $ to pay for it as I had sold something that gave me a little cushion. God provided once again.

We had temps in the 80's, then a little cold front came in and one night it got down to 48. For us down here in s.e. FL that is cold. But it only lasted a couple of days before it warmed back up. Tonight it is supposed to get down into the low 50's, then the next three nights down in the 40's again. Such a nice change from the heat and humidity that we deal with here. It is clouding up and windy, looks like rain, which will be ushering in this little 'cold' front.

With the cooler temps I have been motivated to work outside and am able to do so for longer bits of time. The overgrowth won't be taken care of all in one fell swoop, but a little at a time, makes me feel better.

I did this little bit below in a couple of hours. It's only half of the space, but what a difference.

 

On the other side of the hedge on the left is 'the secret garden'.

Way back in March just before covid happened, I had three guys from church come over and started work on fencing that needed to be replaced. We figured out what I would need, I gave them $ and they went and bought materials. Well, covid came down along with rules, regulations, lots of fear, etc.  This is how it looked in March, before clean up.

 

 

This was after.

The neighbors next door where this fencing work was being done between us, put their house on the market. So, I got in touch with the main guy who had helped in March and we set up a date for this past Friday. It ended up only being he and I. I enjoyed working with and helping him with this project. I have missed working with my dear husband as we did all kinds of building projects during our 43 years together. Sean and I also had some good spiritual discussions which was a blessing, especially during this time of isolation. 

Before he came, I had to get back out to the area and get rid of overgrowth that had grown back up since March. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I was thankful as I'm not getting any younger and I prayed and asked for prayer from friends for this 71 year young body to be able to work along side Sean. We did very well, working from 9:30 until around 1.

Here's how the area looked before and after. We had gone through rain and winds from Eta in the last month which didn't help the fence situation any, but it did stay up. All of that rain caused everything to grow all the more. ;-)

 The creeping Wandering Jew plant has taken over as you can see. It is a nice ground cover and tamps down easily enough when walking repeatedly on it.

 

While working on digging up old fence posts that were rotted, the neighbor lady came out and said hello. They don't live here now, they live in northern FL, she was here to do some work on their RV to sell it. Well, while talking she said, I meant what we discussed back in March. They wanted to help financially. She said when she was done with her work, she would go to the bank and give me a gift. 

Oh my goodness. God is so awesome. I had been able to just buy a couple of fence sections and some posts back in March just to replace the really bad sections. Well, she got the $ and gave it to me as Sean and I were done for the day and just talking. When she left and I saw what was in the envelope, I just couldn't help smiling and saying thank you to Jesus not only for their generosity, but that he worked it out that she would come down on the day we happened to be working on the fencing. They gave me $300, enough to buy two more sections to finish off the fencing between our two properties, and then to buy 3 sheets to start on the other fencing that needs to be replaced along the other neighbor's property. Back when dear husband and I had done all of the fencing it was around $20 a section, now it's up to almost $41. Yikes. The fencing all around this property is ancient.

Anyway, Sean and I talked and he's going to help me clear this property of 'junk', do more fencing, etc. so that I can be more at peace in taking care of this place. This is 1/4 of an acre. It has been a little haven since 1973 when we moved in here after hubby's discharge from the US Navy. We had lived overseas in Spain since 1970. Before God called my husband home, my husband told me to get rid of the junk, because he knew I would feel better if it was gone.

I couldn't deal with that right after he left this planet, but eventually, I did get rid of a little over 3,000 pounds of metal to the scrap yard and got a whopping $300. There is still more iron, lumber and other things dear hubby just couldn't let go to the dump when he saw it lying on the side of the road. Through the years, we used things, we sold some too and of course, I still have some laying around. So, I am appreciative for Sean's help in this project.

Please keep me in your prayers to keep positive and focused on Jesus. He is my strength when I am weak, He is my provider. I've had some depression these past 9 months, along with sciatica pain, dealt with heat and humidity, been stressed to a degree over the whole state of circumstances with health, relationships and finances around the world. We all go and hopefully grow through the problems that come our way. We can't compare ourselves to anyone else. This time of isolation has drawn me closer to God, made me appreciate so much more and makes me want to be a better person.

Miss Tork and I are still dealing with fleas, but they are a lot less!! She was in my lap one afternoon, when I looked down at her and saw a rainbow on her face. It was from a glass piece from a chandelier reflecting the sun's rays. She likes to sit in my lap like this when I'm here at the computer.

 I did 'start' to decorate yesterday, did a little more today, hope to finish tomorrow.

 

 Found this little gift in the driveway the other day.

With that, I will close with the following from a devotional I read this morning.

 

"We wait in hope for the LORD; 

he is our help and our shield. 

In him our hearts rejoice, 

for we trust in his holy name. 

May your unfailing love be with us, LORD, 

even as we put our hope in you."

Psalm 33:20-22 (NIV)

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Have a wonderful Christmas month, seeking the joy and beauty, giving thanks in all things.

Love, hugs & prayers,

FlowerLady