More than a blessing...

What could be better than playing trucks with your grandson? Well maybe having Elisa and Sadie here, too. Now that would be terrific.

Sunflowers and Herbs!

I have this crazy part of our gardens that is full of miniature sunflowers that dance atop 10' spires! I really did try to keep them tied up this year but they have still found a way to flop over and fill the pathway! I love them anyway. They remind of a daisy in their delicate petals (daisies are a favorite of mine) but they are so tall. I found a few black eyed susans to fill in and give some more interest.

I also have a wonderful herb garden outside of the kitchen - so I cut some of the sage, rosemary and thyme to use for greens - plus it smells heavenly - I often wonder how wonderful flowers must smell in heaven - I bet even daisies will smell sweet!

Needless to say, this arrangement is in my kitchen. I tied the stems together before placing it in the vase. I love how it looks just like a handful of gathered flowers - right from the garden!

From the Garden!

I really wanted to try and do a large arrangement with all kinds of flowers - the problem lies with having blooms that are tall enough and sturdy enough and still from my garden (the most inexpensive kind!) to create such an arrangement. I spent some time wandering through the paths of my garden and decided that a shorter but full arrangement would be a better choice. I chose pinks, purples and whites and added some great greenery and "feathery" branches - I love these tall slender branches that are adorned with a tender variegated leaf and now are bursting with delicate little flowers. I collected an assortment of blossoms and started cleaning the stems and soaking them in water.

Next - choosing a vase - why is this so difficult for me? I chose to use "oasis" this time - for the practice - and finally decided on an oblong crystal bowl. Al and I had picked it up at a "seconds" shop in Germany when we lived there.

After about an hour and a half and a few more trips to the garden - I finished it! Some of the flowers should have been picked a few days earlier so they would last longer in my bouquet but overall I think it turned out ok. Included were pink rose buds, dahlias, hydrangeas, white roses, a pink flower that I have no idea what it is, sedum and blue astilbe.

Directions

Following the road God has planned for me has taken a direction I never imagined - I thought somehow my life would continue on the path forever - at least until Al and I were very old and we would join each other in Heaven after we had spent many more years happily here on earth. But my plan was not God's plan.

These gladiolas remind me of that - the yellow ones so bright and standing upright - heading in the right direction. The glorious fuchsia colored one I found lying on the ground bending in three directions yet still determined to bloom. Is this what God wants from me? Even when I am down, I must continue with His plan for me with determination and "bloom where I am planted!"

I couldn't leave the fuchsia blossom outside - it couldn't stand up - so bringing it in to join the others and letting it bend in all directions makes me smile when I walk past it.

I am pretending that this is a very contemporary design making its own statement!

A Little More Practice

Summer is quickly drawing to a close - or at least the calendar says so. I know that the flowers will soon be giving way to frosty mornings so I am determined to keep practicing - these are lavender and ivory calla lilies and pale pink roses from the yard. I should have photographed them right away as the roses appear they may shatter at any moment. The calla lilies will last a very long time, though. Another blessing - my gardens so full of different flowers to play with.

True Blessings

This past week started out with a few challenges - trying to get the camper out of the garage to check out what was broken, trying to find someone who could repair it before the weekend and organizing part of the garage. I did manage to move the camper out and discover the problem but was unable to find a repair shop that could even look at it let alone repair it for another two weeks. That was a challenge yet I know that Amy, Forrest and Ephraim had a great time camping using their tent and Ephraim slept for 12 hours one night! Thus the blessing!

Onto organizing the garage - so once I had the trailer back in the garage and because I had previously moved "stuff" around, I decided to try and put some order to the shelves. Well things were going ok, until the shelf fell down on me and the two coolers (which have sat peacefully up there for over a year) collapsed and landed on me. I said (to myself) "Alright then, I will clean this up a little and head to Home Depot to buy a shelf that I know will not fall from the wall." The blessing was that I really did want to put up some more shelves in that spot so now I had the opportunity and the bruises on my arms are only slightly greenish blue now.

I still tried not to be upset - although I did wonder why these things happen when I am only trying to take care of our house and "stuff".

The last calamity of the day was moving a simple box of boots over to a corner in the garage but alas I bumped a small wooden collapsible table which then fell against my shin and made a nice carving on my leg down to my ankle. This time I did not hold it together and cried out why am I having such a day when I only want to take care of things. I was upset with Al because he was gone and not here to help me and upset with God because Al was with Him.

Now really if Al had the day to spend with Jesus over helping me in the garage --how could I really be mad at him? Somedays I feel that I can still hardly breathe yet those days I know that Jesus is somehow holding me up a little more.

Nothing really awful happened to me - I survived the crashing coolers and tables and was able to laugh a little about it the following day (after my pity party!) But the real blessing that afternoon was spending time with Ryan at the nursery and Home Depot and having my neighbor bring over the most gorgeous star gazing lilies from their farm. They truly are the biggest blossoms I have ever seen. They were so beautiful I didn't even want to try and rearrange them. Thank you Daisy.

Thank you, Jesus, for providing the moments in my life so I will stop and recognize your blessings.

Old Fashioned Lace

I have been thinking of doing something with these blossoms from my yard for several days. Both the allium and the Queen Anne's Lace remind me of an old fashioned garden. They both appear very delicate - yet the allium (a part of the garlic family!) is quite durable - I can play with the blossoms in my hand and they don't fall apart. I know the Lace is more delicate but I love the airy feeling it creates. I added the two lilies for a second focal point at the base of the arrangement. I set the flowers in my dining room and it looked more formal and then in my kitchen where it took on a more whimsical tone. I think I like it in the kitchen - the red vase on the dark green counters with the cherry wood in the background helped the arrangement standout.

I am so thankful for the abundance of flowers in my yard to fiddle with and especially to our Creator who designed so many wonderful patterns, colors and shapes of flowers for us all to enjoy.