Seasons of Life

Greetings from Plum Cottage in s.e. FL. Here it is the start of another weekend and time keeps zipping right along. These past two months have been seasons of change, not only in the weather patterns, but also in the times of life.

At the beginning of February my favorite aunt, my dear husband's aunt, had a stroke at home, and fell and broke her hip. She was taken to the hospital and they did surgery. She would be 92 this year.  She was then put in rehab. She had another stroke and went to be with God her Father, on the 18th of March.  She is survived by her only child, our cousin Faye. Before my Aunt passed from this life to the next,  Faye's husband suffered the exact same kind of stroke her Mom had had. He passed away a week to the day from when her Mom left. This has been really, really rough for Faye so I am asking prayer in her behalf that she will have the strength to get through each and every day. I ask prayers for myself as well that I will be comforting support since I've already been where she is in being a widow.

I've been re-reading 3 different books in my personal library for widows as it's been 6 yrs and 4 months since the start of my widowhood journey and I wanted to refresh myself with dealing with grief from the beginning. While doing this reading, I realized that I've come quite away since those first few weeks/months. God has been my strength. I prayed, read the Bible, books, devotionals, I cried. Grieving is different for every one. There is no right or wrong way. There is no time limit. To be of help to widows, we need to be compassionate and encouraging. We need to be there for those who need someone to listen to what they say or don't say about their feelings. Be supportive, give help where help is needed. Do not be overly helpful, or pushy. But be there for them when they need someone. Pray for them.

The blogging community, family and friends, church family, have all helped in my growing through my grieving and I thank each and every one of you for your love, prayers and encouragement.

We widows can not only survive but thrive. God has a plan for our good, He hears our hearts cries, He is with us every step of the way.  I am so thankful to Him for what He has done, for what He is doing and for what He will do.

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Part of my surviving/thriving mode, (even though I've had some slumps), has been working in my gardens. Gardening in s.e. FL is a year round project, so it is never done, and my tropical, cottage gardens can and do turn into a jungle quickly. I've been working outside in the mornings trying to get caught up. Summer's heat and humidity will be here all too soon and working outside past mid morning will not be a good thing then.

My dear husband is the one who came up with my online name of 'FlowerLady', because of my love of flowers and because I was out in my gardens among the flowers, when I wasn't working at my job. He always knew where to find me. He once said I was 'the girl with far-away eyes' (line from a Rolling Stones song) when I was out among the flowers.

These days I am working on grouping potted plants into 2-3 main areas making it easier for me to water, etc.

Below is an area that really needed some serious weeding. This is my clothesline/caravan garden area, before and after. It could be better, but it is forward progress and I am happy with that for now.

Now for some blooms.There are so many things in bloom right now, and the air is filled with scents. It is absolutely wonderful. There are at least 3 different jasmine perfuming the air, roses too, a scented geranium, a faux orange bush and more that I can't think of at the moment.

This rose did not have a name tag when I bought it, but the color and the scent made me put it into my cart. I think this was from Home Depot.

If I new the name of this one, I don't remember it, and it has no tag.

This little sweetie is 'Kathleen'. I've had the mother plant for many years now, this one is a cutting that rooted. She has a nice delicate scent, and is one of my favorites.

This is 'International Herald Tribune'

Yesterday I did some errands, one of the places I stopped at was The Dollar Store for some tissue paper. I looked around while there and bought some Easter candy, 2 pkgs of cup cake liners, 8 pkgs of flower seeds 25 cents a pkt. 

 
I moseyed over to the little book section and found a real gem, at least it is to me. I had seen the author of this book in Country Living Magazine many years ago and loved her style. This is a lovely hard back book with lots of wonderful photos and history of 'Magnolia Pearl'. Price ~ $1.

I highly recommend this book for inspiration and eye candy. 

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I think tonight I will fix tacos for supper, my favorite comfort/happy meal.

Count your blessings, take nothing for granted, grow and learn through your circumstances whatever they are.

Kindness matters, so be kind.

Have a wonderful weekend ~ FlowerLady

Wonderful eggs by Vital Farms

Good Thursday afternoon Folks ~ thought I’d share some delicious eggs that I found at my local Publix grocery store. I thought I would like to try some eggs produced by ‘happy chickens’. 

Oh my goodness. First off, the carton caught my eye, and even though the price is steep, $6.29 a dozen, I decided to try them. These aren’t for cooking/baking with, but for eating as an egg. You can check their website out here. 

EDIT: 04-05- These eggs can be used for cooking/baking with, I didn't mean that they couldn't. It's just at this price, and on my limited budget, I prefer to eat them as eggs for breakfast, lunch or supper.

 I was not disappointed, the yolks are this wonderful golden color, and the whites were custardy instead of rubbery.

I have tried a couple other brands since, but to me this one is the best. I looked up local farms and farm raised eggs run about the same price.

For all of you who have chickens and get your own fresh eggs, you are blessed. I’ve been watching homesteading videos and chickens take work, but they are a joy to interact with and they give you food to eat. I will drive to my local Publix and pick up a dozen when I need them. 

That’s it for this post. I had written the company telling them I would do a post on them on my blog, so here it is.

Happy Spring to some and Happy Summer to others.

FlowerLady

Spirit Lifters

 Good Wednesday morning dear Friends ~ It is partly cloudy, there's a gentle breeze, it is 72 degrees F at 8:58 a.m. EST. 

Yesterday morning when I went outside for a morning walk around, I was blessed by the scents filling the air, seeing all of the different blooms and by the birdsong that filled the air. I was thanking God for it all when I came to the main garden, I saw that I had forgotten to turn off the sprinkler. Oh no! Thankfully, it wasn't full blast, but still, I have to pay for water, and hopefully this little mishap won't be that expensive. I turned off the faucet, continued to walk around enjoying the beauty and telling myself not to let that ruin my morning. 

Below are some of the blooms I enjoyed.

The first orchid is from dear friends Nanci and John.

These next orchids are Miss Joachim, a Vanda orchid I believe. They grow all over the property. Break a piece off with some hanging roots and they will grow anywhere.

I think this is another Vanda, although I'm not certain. This was a friend who moved to CA 32 years ago.

 

These next photos were taken this morning.

This little orchid is another prolific grower, spreads like crazy.

Here is a shot of it blooming along the fencing by the caravan/clothesline garden.

This little rose is a 'carpet rose'. Very sweet.

These next two shots are of 'International Herald Tribune'.  

Another view of orchid from Nanci & John.
Love the sunlight and shadows on the petals.  

  I believe this is 'Prosperity' rose. Really delightful with a delicate sweet rose scent.  

I got an email on Sunday from a dear sweet friend, Kris at 'Junk Chic Cottage', telling me I would be receiving an early birthday present. A lovely devotional she thought I'd enjoy. The author of this book has written several others you might want to check out on Amazon.  
It came in yesterday's mail and I love it. Thank you Kris.

It came in a lovely gift bag.

I read through the titles of 90 devotions and chose for my first reading 'Growing as God Intended'. It was inspired by Proverbs 31:16. "She inspects a field and buys it. With money she earned, she plants a vineyard." 
Below is what spoke to my heart.

Ok, that's it for now. I need some breakfast as it's 10:18 a.m. already. Time zips along when working on a post, editing photos, etc.
Enjoy every day you are blessed with and thank God for all that He has done, for what He is doing and for what He will do in the future. You are in His loving care. Trust Him.
FlowerLady

Joy and giving thanks

Good Friday morning dear Folks ~ Thank you all for your comments on last post. There is always something to deal with in our lives, and hopefully we can handle them, learn from and grow through them. 

The month of March is marching right along. This is my birth month. I will be 70 years young on the first day of spring. Where oh where has the time gone? I met my dear husband on my 17th birthday. We didn't start dating until months later, but meeting him was a best birthday gift to me from God. Little did I know that we would end up marrying and having 43 years together. 

I am thankful for this 70th year birth month. Yesterday I was blessed with having a new 'handyman' come here to Plum Cottage and take a look at my list of projects and doing some of them. I was told about him about 3 months ago, but didn't meet him until a week and a half ago at church. He can do LOTS, including crocheting. He told me that when he saw some crocheting that I am working on. He is going to be able to help me clear this property of 'junk' and needless to say, I am thrilled to bits. He is a curbside shopper, a dumpster diver, has a sense of humor and I thank God for him. He and my dear husband would have gotten along just fine. I've been praying for help for the past 6 years. We don't always have our prayers answered when we want them. We must have faith and be patient, trusting God that He will work all things out, for His honor and glory and for our good.

I 

 
I have

Yesterday Dale fixed outdoor faucets for me so that now I don't have to drag hoses around. I have the usage of all faucets again. YAY.

My living room ceiling fan light pull chain would no longer work, it was stuck, I tried several times and it still wouldn't budge. This happened right after I put new bulbs in it. Well, yesterday I pulled on the chain to show him my problem and lo and behold the chain worked!!! I looked over at him in shock and he said that happens a lot when he goes to work on something for someone. He suggested I make sure to pull the chain straight down.

He changed out light bulbs in two ceiling fixtures.

The fan for the 'power' part of my desk top computer was what was making the noise, so he took that out and home with him so that he can get the right size for me. He was going to see if he had any in his computer stuff.

He hung the architectural piece that has been sitting on my living room floor for months, and he cut and put up the mantle shelf for over the TV.

Two views of the mantle at two different times of the day, daylight and evening.

 I love the whole look!!! My DH would love this and I know he will thank Dale when they meet in eternity.

Now for some color and beauty from the gardens. I wish you could smell all of the wonderful scents that are happening here. Just heavenly. Jasmines, roses, lime and lemon blooms, other scented flowers also. 

                        The next two roses are 'Carnation Rose'. A nice scent. 

George Tabor Azaleas 

Louis Philippe rose with a wild flower that grows all over the place.

This is climbing 'Maman Cochet', with a wonderful scent.

The frog prince has laid his crown down on a mushroom.

    Peach hibiscus.

                                  

'Prosperity' Roses'

'Sandpaper vine' called this because of the texture of the leaves. Also called 'Queen's Wreath'.

 
There are more pictures but I'm waiting for them to be downloaded, so I will end this post now.

          Have a wonderful weekend and remember to set your clocks ahead one hour.
                                                              FlowerLady