Wow, it's February already! New macro lens for iPhone!!

Greetings Friends ~ Where did January go? Time is zipping right along at a fast pace. We've had some cold temps for us down here in s.e. FL, high 40's and 50's. Today it is gloomy, with drizzle or light rain. I had wanted to work outside, but not in this weather. I decided to work on editing photos and writing up a new post. Doing this always take hours, literally.

The more I use the Gimp photo editing program, the easier it is remembering how to do what. I'm getting back into photography and posting to this blog more.

Now for some pictures from my overgrown gardens. This first one is beautiful lichen growing on a huge, old jasmine branch.

Last month I ordered a Xenvo Pro Lens Kit for my iPhone. I was having a time with my chip from Canon PowerShot camera with the new Windows 11. In that camera I had a great macro capability and the iphone's camera just doesn't do what I wanted. I googled macro lenses for the iPhone and came across this one, great reviews. I have to say that I REALLY like it and the more I use it the better I will get with taking macro pictures. The lens does make the phone heavier, and trying to hold it in place about 1/2"-1" away takes some getting used to. I love the way the background is out of focus and just what you are up close on is clear.
 

 

 

Below in among all sorts of things is the 'reed orchid', which grows like a weed here. This is a group of buds, only about an inch in length.

 Here is a close up, taken with new lens. What a surprise the ant was!

This sweet little plant is called 'Scorpion Tail'. (Heliotropium angiospermum) It is a Florida wildflower. It is only about an inch to 1 1/2 inches long. I got this a year or two ago. First photo is with camera lens.

This is with the macro lens.

Next is a flowering plant that spreads all over the place and takes over if you're not careful. I'm not sure what it is. My mind says wild petunia but I can't find that by googling.

 

 

 

Below is the rose by True Bloom, 'True Sincerity'. I took some Christmas $ and bought two pots of roses. Here is a gardening tip for you. I saw it on you tube a few years back. When you buy a plant, look to see how many plants are in the pot, a lot of times, there is more than one. You then take it home, take plant out of pot, spray the dirt away with water, gently separating the roots from each other repot into separate pots. Free plants for the price of one. ;-)

In this case, there were three roses in the one pot. The other pot 'Alfred Sisley' only had two in it's pot. I don't have pictures of that rose yet. 

These were all taken with the macro lens.

 

These pics were taken a couple of days later. This first one was taken outside while the rose was still on the plant, backlit by the sun.

 

 

 

I picked it and brought it inside to enjoy.

 

With some time & practice, I will take better pictures. 

That's it for now.

Enjoy each day our Creator God blesses you with. 

Take the time to look for the beauty in His wonderful creation. 

He made it for us to enjoy, 

to be physically, spiritually and mentally nurtured. 

To make us think of Him and to be drawn to Him.

He loves us.

Thank you for visiting ~ FlowerLady

 

Belated Christmas Greetings

Greetings from Plum Cottage this last week of 2023. 

The end of this year was a bit rough for me. I caught a cold/bug the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, so that I had to forego dinner plans with friends, Christmas caroling, three Sunday advent services, no ladies Bible study. That lasted about 3 weeks, totally draining me of all energy. Then as I was feeling better from that I got a bad toothache, cheek swelled. Had an infection, found a holistic dentist who fit me in at 5 pm on a Thursday evening. 2 1/2 hours in the chair. Did pretty good until the end when I was starting to 'feel' what he was doing. Not good. He had already pumped me with numbing agent, but the infection was keeping that from doing what it should be doing. So, he got one tooth out, had started on the second when he had to quit. He wrote me prescriptions for pain meds and an antibiotic. Made an appt for the following Monday morning.

A friend had taken me to the dentist, and when she saw me she suggested I go home with her so that she could take care of me. I was really loopy and emotional and agreed, thankful for her kindness. Miss Tork would just have to survive without me for one night. ;-) We both survived being separated. (We also had two days of winds from that tropical storm, gusts off and on all day of 38-40mph. I prayed that she and the house would be ok while I was away.)

The antibiotic took care of the swelling and infection. Pain med took care of the pain. Monday morning I was only in the chair for an hour, rest of bad tooth out and the infection taken out as well. Have had to eat soft foods ... I'm now doing much better, eating more solid foods. I have a follow up appt on the 4th.  This dentist was so kind and gentle, a real blessing for me.

After over 5 weeks of not being able to do any gardening, I finally was able to get out and mow and trim the front hedge. That felt so good. I had the window of opportunity yesterday as today was predicted to be rainy and it has been all day so far. It's been staying around 60-62.

 December is a hard month for me as that's when my dear Mark was called home to be with Jesus, on the 9th, 11 years ago now. His birthday was the 20th, and then there's Christmas. On the 9th I started decorating for Christmas and that was good for me. I've enjoyed the lights, color and joy of seeing it all, being thankful for the real gift of Christmas, which is the celebration of God coming into this world as a little baby. Since I was recuperating from teeth being extracted, I had Christmas here with Miss Tork, and since Jesus is always with me, I truly was not alone. I was able to go to the last advent service Christmas Eve morning and it was wonderful and great to be with church family again.

I hope you all had a time of remembrance of why we celebrate this particular holiday during all of the happy festivities. As a believer in Jesus, I believe that Jesus is God in the flesh. He is Immanuel. He came as a babe, born in a lowly stable, to humble parents. He came from the richness of heaven, to die for all of humanity, for our sins. One day we will be with Him in His richness, see Him in all of His glory, where we will be forever young, thanking and praising Him for His great love forever and ever. Something to look forward to.

A beautiful you tube video came up on my feed, and brought me to tears with its message for all of us. I want to share it here.

Then this came up a day or so later. Another beautiful piece seen from different perspectives.

May we all be drawn closer to our Savior, Jesus, God Almighty.

~~~~~~

In thinking of this past year, about things that have come my way, my word for 2024 is, 

Perseverance ~continued effort to do or achieve something,
even when this is difficult or takes a long time.

In Romans 5:1-5 we read:

 Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,

through whom we also have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand;
and we celebrate in hope of the glory of God.

And not only this, but we also celebrate in our tribulations,
knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance;
and perseverance, proven character;
and proven character, hope;
and hope does not disappoint,
because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts
 through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

~~~

In 1 Thessalonians 5:18 we read:

Give thanks in all circumstances;
for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

Is this an easy thing to do? No, but when I am thankful I am more at peace.

Philippians 4:6-8

Be anxious for nothing,
but in everything by prayer and supplication,(earnest or humble request)
with thanksgiving,
let your requests be made known to God;
and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding,
will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Finally, whatever things are true,
whatever things are noble,
whatever things are just,
whatever things are pure,
whatever things are lovely,
whatever things are of good report,
if there is any virtue
and if there is anything praiseworthy
meditate on these things.

As we move into 2024, may we go in faith. May we see beauty in each day. We don't know what tomorrow will bring, but we do know that God holds everything, past, present and future in His hands. He is working all things out. Evil will not win, it has already been defeated, it just doesn't know it yet, but it will.

Be well, find joy in each day that you are blessed with, be thankful and spread love and light wherever you go.

God bless all of you.

FlowerLady

 

Thankful greetings from Plum Cottage

 Hello friends, sorry for the long absence, I hope to be blogging on a more regular basis. I just got a larger monitor which is a great help for aging eyes. I have many photos to edit, lots of flowers, etc. Fencing is still coming along. ;-) House projects are ongoing.

It is hard to believe that our celebration of Thanksgiving here in the US is this Thursday. This year has zipped along so fast. I will be celebrating with a sweet family from my church and am looking forward to a day of laughter, love, good food and thanksgiving.

 I have so much to be thankful for. This little cottage, lots of flowers, butterflies, bees, birds, including several fast flying hummingbirds, two outdoor feline visitors, food to eat, a comfy bed to sleep in, hot and cold running water, friends, family, a Bible believing church, and much more.

I am learning to be thankful in all circumstances. To be found in 1 Thessalonians 5:18, (NASB) is the following:

Rejoice always,
pray without ceasing,
in everything give thanks;
for this is the will of God
for you in Christ Jesus.

Last night I watched a you tube video about being thankful and part of the msg was about how when we praise and our hearts are filled with gratitude to God, we are energized. 

When we dwell on negative things in our life, we become filled with 'dis-ease' in body, spirit and mind. The more we are thankful, the better we feel even though our circumstances may still be the same. Our hearts grow lighter, our faith stronger in The One who loves us deeply.

Below are some other scripture verses about being thankful.

Philippians 4:6
Do not be anxious about anything,
but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving
let your requests be made known to God. 

Psalm 136:1
Give thanks to the Lord,
for he is good,
for his steadfast love endures forever. 

Colossians 3:15
Let the peace of Christ
rule in your hearts,
since as members of one body
you were called to peace.
and be thankful. 

Colossians 3:17
And whatever you do,
whether in word or deed,
do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus,
giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Psalms 28:7
The LORD is my strength and my shield;
my heart trusts in him,
and he helps me.
My heart leaps for joy,
and with my song I praise him.

Psalms 95:2-3
Let us come before him with thanksgiving
and extol him with music and song.
For the LORD is the great God,
the great King above all gods.

2 Corinthians 4:14-18
We know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead
will also raise us with Jesus
and present us with you to himself.

All this is for your benefit,
so that the grace that is reaching more and more people
may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.

Therefore we do not lose heart.
Though outwardly we are wasting away,
yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.
For our light and momentary troubles
are achieving for us an eternal glory
that far outweighs them all.

So we fix our eyes not on what is seen,
but on what is unseen,
since what is seen is temporary,
but what is unseen is eternal. 

******

What we see can weigh us down, or draw us closer to Jesus our Great God, as we thank Him in all things. We as believers in Him are not promised a life with no problems. We are promised that He will be with us always. We are to take heart.

 Psalms 27:14
Wait for the LORD;
Be strong and let your heart take courage;
Yes, wait for the LORD.

 Joshua 1:9
Be strong and courageous!
Do not be terrified nor dismayed,
for the LORD your God is with you
wherever you go.

Psalm 31:24
Be strong
let your heart take courage,
All you who hope in the LORD.

 ******

Here is a new song we have been singing in church the past few weeks. This is a you-tube version. The other night is was going through my mind all night, but, what a great song to be being repeated in my mind.

 My pastor shared an interesting tidbit yesterday. He was talking about being happy and a list of the most thankful people in the world. The Jewish people, in spite of all that they have gone through and are going through, are at the top of the list.

Americans celebrate thanksgiving once a year.

Jewish people celebrate thanksgiving once a week, on Friday, with their shabbat.

As Christians we have the privilege and the choice to celebrate thanksgiving each and every day for all that God has done and is doing in our lives.

It is our choice.  Do we choose to be thankful?

Because of God's great love for His creation, He took on flesh, came as a babe into this world, His name is Jesus. He gave His life to pay for our sins, past, present and future. He rose from the grave, defeating death, so that we may live with Him forever, made perfect and pure by his great sacrifice.  Each day we are blessed with is a gift. God loves each of us and wants a close relationship. He is lovingly waiting for you to call out to Him if you haven't done so already. 

******

Enjoy all of the prep work for celebrating this Thanksgiving. Enjoy the day whether you are by yourself or with others.

May you be inspired to be thankful every day.

Count your blessings. 

Happy Thanksgiving ~ every day.

FlowerLady

 

 

I'm fine. house projects, heat advisories, hibernating

Greetings Folks ~ the past few months have been full. We've had heat advisory warnings for over a month as the weather has been horribly hot and humid. Two more sections of fencing were put up just as this hot weather started so we took a break on doing more. Then my friend Sean who has been doing my fencing work, with my help, has a pulled tendon in his lumbar region from years of sports and heavy lifting with the job he has. So fencing is on hold for the time being until he can heal up. It's still too hot really, so hopefully it will be much cooler when he's ready to put up the next couple of sections of fencing. I am grateful for what has been accomplished. The last time he was here we just cleared stuff away from the old fencing. Stuff is growing back though with all of the rain we've been having. ;-)

Hurricane Idalia went up the west coast of Florida, I'm on the east. What a lot of damage has been done in FL, GA and the Carolinas. I just saw today that three typhoons converged on an area in China and there is great devastation there. The fire in Maui, just horrible. So much tragedy the world over.

There is another possible hurricane headed this way, hopefully NOT. We should know more this weekend.

House projects: laminate flooring was buckling in the kitchen, my dear BIL came to check things out. He took up flooring where we had cut a hole in the floor about 9 years ago when he repaired leaking water pipe under the house. Well, what he found had me in tears. A broken floor joist, but the worst thing he found was the caved in OLD cast iron sewer pipe. This house was built around 1950 - 1951 and cast iron is what they used back then. So, I asked at church is there happened to be a plumber in our church family. There is. He came to Plum Cottage, assessed the work, had two young plumbers from his company come out to do the work. They were here around 5 hours, one young man was doing the work under the house, cutting out the old pipe, grinding off connecting ends for the new PVC pipe, chipping/grinding out concrete. The other one handed down tools, etc. on his belly on the floor most of the time. They did a fantastic job. The owner of the business who came out to assess the job, did not charge me at all.  What a blessing that is for me!!

God sent a young man who does lawn work at a great price, for those who need help. He had seen me one morning as he drove by and wondered 'does she take care of that herself'. I had been out front working on my hedge. Later I found a note and his business card in a baggie tucked by my mailbox flag. For years, since my dear husband has been gone, I have prayed when I am out there working, that some lawn maintenance people would stop and see if they could help and give me prices.  No one ever did until now. This young man works for his dad, and they just live one street over. He has wondered who lived here for years, now he knows. He has spent 15 hours so far and done a great job. There is still more work to do, but I can only afford a little of his work at a time. I am so thankful to God for working this out for me. What a difference in how it looks around here with  the overgrowth being taken care. I felt like crying looking at before and after pictures as to how bad it had gotten around here, since covid happened. I lost my umph,  but with the work that Luis has done, I am feeling motivated to get back out into my gardens and keep on top of things as much as possible. Although, right now, I'm basically just keeping up with mowing until all of this horrible hot weather is over. It's been in the 90's and the real feel temps have been around 100-103.

I will post pictures later. This post is just to let you know I'm still alive, just hibernating.

I thought I had a horrible car problem, thinking it was the transmission, but what it was was that I had accidentally knocked the shifter over into manual.  I didn't even know you could do that. Anyway, that gave me quite the scare. Another nice young man from church helps out the elderly with all kinds of things and he works on cars and he changed my oil, put in a new oil filter, put on new wiper blades, air in tires, at No cost to me.

God is certainly taking care of this widow. I've now got to see about ripping up the floor and replacing the broken floor joist. Right now I'm basically tiptoeing around the area. Replacing the old sewer pipe was the most important thing that needed fixing.

I have termites also, so am going to look into the 'non-tenting' solution. Have heard it is good and you don't have to leave your house, take out all of your food, etc.

I have been stressed to say the least. Have been reading my Bible about not being anxious, listening to or watching devotionals about trusting God to work things out. Learning to 'cast all of my cares on Jesus, because He cares for me'. It is a 'daily' casting of cares. I am learning patience, learning that He is in control, that He knows what is best for me. I'm learning to be thankful in all circumstances. He's not done with me yet and still has plans for this widowed FlowerLady.

Ok, I think I've caught you up on all of what's going on down here at Plum Cottage. Thanks for checking up on me.

I am so looking forward to fall. This coming Friday will be the 54th anniversary of when my dear husband and I said 'I do'. I sure do miss him, the missing never ends, the grief is less, but can be  triggered at times. I watched a Hallmark movie the other night and when it ended I sat in my chair sobbing. Sigh! I miss the laughter, conversations, working/playing together, fixing our meals and making special ones for special times. I miss the twinkle in his deep brown eyes, his deep bass voice,  I miss his ways of showing me he loved me.

Friends, love your spouse, let them know how appreciative you are and how much they mean to you. Each day is a gift with many opportunities to show love and our loved ones need to know they are loved. We will be loved in return. We don't know if, how or when our lives could be changed in a minute. Be kind, show all of the love you can. Be thankful. 

It can be so easy to get discouraged, but faith in God, can lift us out of gloom. We have not been promised a care-free life, but we have been promised that He will never leave or forsake us. We are precious to Him.

Flowers are still blooming and giving me great joy. I am thankful to our awesome Creator for these gifts. I will close this post with the picture below of a lovely hibiscus and a bit of decorative rusty iron.

 

 Love, hugs and prayers, 

FlowerLady