Friday Flowers #15

As I sit by my window, it is raining...a soft, steady rain..and it is cooler, much cooler...
Oh, glorious fall..you are so welcome this year.  It has been a tumultuous year to say the least..
Starting in February when the ice storm caused so much destruction...we need a breather.. Can any of you relate?

Battling a pinched nerve in my lower back since early summer (it is all better now thanks to my awesome chiropractor)..then a wasp sting in the nerves of my forearm put me out of commission for almost 3 weeks and I couldn't even type with my right hand....it is much, much better now too..I tend to keep to myself and be quiet until the storm passes.  But, it has not been an easy year for us, at all.
Now that I can see the light at the end of the tunnel, I can share it with y'all...no pity, please or worry..

We are healthy and happy now..just a little timid and a little battle weary.....hahaha  I promise, that will pass too...

I have certainly enjoyed our spider lilies this year.  The rain from earlier in the summer made them very happy...

I hope your summer was a good one.  Nevertheless, it is finally fall..and for that I am very grateful..

Welcome, welcome....in every garden, a little rain must fall....so the flowers can bloom....

Thank you for stopping by...

See you again soon..

Love,

Mona

Flower Filled Life

There are moments in life that change us....shake us to the core...and set some things right in our soul...and answer some life questions......

Yesterday was just such a day for me....I don't really believe in coincidences because there is Someone that is guiding my life..it is not just happenstance.....Here is the little story about my discovery.....

We were greeted by these gorgeous dahlias as we entered Sweet Onion Restaurant in Waynesville, NC..  I had found it in an online search for good restaurants in the area... I immediately got out my phone to take a picture..even while she was trying to seat us...I cannot turn away from a beautiful flower..it was 12 inches across..  I started laughing at the beauty and the hostess said....You should see all of the dahlias in the bar area..  I thought oh, yay.....a bigger bouquet so I will go look...

Y'ALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is what I found....the colors are faded looking in the pictures because it was dark in there and I only had my phone camera..but...they were magnificent...a hundred or more blooms...I was about to have a fit..a good fit..
Bryan went on to our table and I hopped around in the bar taking pictures and giggling with happiness at all of the flowers..all of the wait staff were busy arranging small vases of them and putting them all over the restaurant...on every table and in every nook and cranny..

They were awesome y'all.....I mean you would not believe the size and the perfection of the blooms...Life altering.
and let me tell you why.....

After I was seated, the hostess came to our table to tell me she had put the prettiest dahlia on our table...

I continued to smile and  have a royal flower fit..it takes a flower person to understand that phrase..lol

The hostess said the older gentleman that brings these to us is upstairs if you want to meet him..YES!  I do...I need to see someone that can grow these gorgeous flowers..I went to introduce myself to him and he was quite reserved and introverted..told me a little about where he is from...he grew up in a small south Georgia town just like me...he had my attention then...He lives 6 months in Balsam and 6 months in FL ..I was complimenting him so much and he was pretty humble....

I found out from the hostess that this man brings these flowers to the restaurant every Monday and GIVES them to them...  people, he GIVES them away......he makes this restaurant a beautiful flower filled building because he wants to..and he spreads the beauty......so I started to think over my life..and how I love to grow flowers..I mean LOVE IT!!!!  and the memory of my Grandmother loving to grow flowers and to give them away like this man does...hmmm...  I have minimized my desire to grow flowers and to give them away as nominal and insignificant...so I have let it slip..the giving them away part..I still grow them...

That man was going to quite a bit of trouble to grow, pick, and transport those dahlias...but the reward of seeing everybody's faces light up is so worth it all....just to spread some beauty in this world...

The food was lovely too....By the time we had eaten and passed by the bar on the way to the front door..the flowers were completely gone..not a trace anywhere in the bar of the beauty that was there 45 minutes before.....

Talk about perfect timing.....we showed up at just the right time for me to experience a life changing event......
Buckets and buckets of flowers given away by a gardener just like me...that does it for the love of flowers.......

Since all of the pictures were taken with a phone camera, I started not to post this, but...it is too good to keep to myself.....watch for the signposts along the path of your life..the ones that say...THIS is the way...yes, you are on the right path.......and share what you have..GIVE it away...that's the best way for others to be touched by your passions too....

If you are ever in Waynesville NC on a Monday..stop in for lunch at the Sweet Onion Restaurant  or any other time....it was a beautiful experience and wonderful food.....

Thank you for stopping by today....

Love,
Mona

I am linking to  A Return to Loveliness.. 
                       Inspire Me Tuesday
 Come and visit.....

When the Forsythias Blooms..... or Phenology...

forsythia blooms

When the forsythia blooms..........well, it is blooming in my yard....and this is a sign...but, a sign of WHAT??   I know that it is a sign but couldn't for the life of me remember what it is a sign of..so my researching brain kicked in and I googled the phrase... :-)   and lo and behold it is actually a named science with studies and even it's own Wikipedia page..  so you know it is real if Wikipedia says so..  wink, wink

Here is a little bit of what I found..

"Phenology is derived from the Greek word phaino , meaning to show or appear. Phenology refers to recurring plant and animal life cycle stages, such as leafing and flowering, maturation of agricultural plants, emergence of insects, and migration of birds.  It is also the study of these recurring plant and animal life cycle stages, especially their timing and relationships with weather and climate."



" Phe-nol-o-gy is the study of changes in plants and animals as they respond to weather, climate, and the seasons. Each spring we anxiously await the first returning robin in the hope of warmer weather. That is a phenological event. It happens every year but the return date depends a lot on the weather. Migration and flowering are two more examples of phenological events."

 Then I started pondering...if we have signs in our life but we don't know what they mean....well, that could be a problem.....it is not because we are not warned or encouraged..it is because we are DULL of understanding....it isn't the sign with the problem, it is US!   

I am an avid gardener...I pay attention to my yard, or so I like to think. this yard is my baby...and I care deeply for it....so when we were riding down the road the other day and Bryan said, did you see those yellow flowers blooming?.....in our yard.... 

me  ...  HUH????  what flowers???

B... those little yellow ones by the driveway (that I had just walked by to get in the truck)

WOW!   I had definitely missed it..when the forsythia blooms... cause I didn't even see them blooming..and we have about 5 HUGE bushes bordering our driveway so it's not easy to miss.

This little slice of our life got me wondering about all the signs we have every day in our life.......

we know to STOP when we see that red sign.....my favorite one is 'KEEP MOVING' and you wouldn't believe how many people STOP at it...

Yes, we have signs all around us...we need to pay attention to them and if we don't know what they mean...search it out!!!  don't ignore them...and heed what they are telling us.....

I love my home..I am passionate about the way I furnish it...down to the smallest detail...and I am also an avid thrift store shopper...so when I found a magnetized spice rack with brand new spice containers, I saw that as a sign that I was on the right track in homemaking....I had just the weekend before been in Atlanta with Betsy looking through The Container Store for magnetized spice containers.....we couldn't find any but there they were in just a few days. at the thrift store I regularly go to...and all for $3......it was a sign of encouragement for me....something I had wanted and it was placed right in front of me ..I could have ignored it but I have tried to train myself to pay attention to the signs in my life.....

there are also signs that warn us of danger ahead, or to turn around, or that we are headed in a wrong direction.....

It is important to know the signs and to read them...and to do what they say...it is a fun thing to do a little research about......

what are the signs in your life?  are they telling you that you are going in the right direction?  or are they telling you to turn around..get on another path? 

I like signs....

oh, and the forsythia thing?   it means that the soil is beginning to warm up when the forsythia blooms..

from Organic Gardening....

In the case of those show-off forsythias, once they bloom, it's the perfect time to do the following tasks:

• Remove mulch from irises and other perennials that you may have mulched heavily to prevent frost heaving.
• Install floating row covers over cabbages if you have issues with cabbage worm.
• Prune your roses. By the time the forsythias bloom, evidence of winter kill on your roses will be easy to spot. Healthy canes will be a greenish-brown color, and dead canes will be black. You can prune to remove this dead wood, as well as to generally shape and open up the plant.
• Direct sow seeds for cool-season crops such as lettuce, greens, chard, peas, radishes, and carrots.
• Plant potatoes.

None of these are set in stone, obviously. For example, many of us try to have our peas planted by St. Patrick's Day. But this provides a good general guideline for figuring out when the time is right to take care of certain tasks.


I hope you enjoyed this little bit of gardening wisdom.....

What are the signs in your life and what do they mean to you?  I would love to hear about them....

thanks for stopping by today...come again soon..

                                                      Mona

only a visionary will appreciate this..  :-)  my garden spot

The Path

Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path.

 But the way of the upright is like the light of early morning, getting brighter and brighter till the full day.

path

1.a way beaten, formed, or trodden by the feet of persons or animals.

 

2 a narrow walk or way: a path through a garden;

 

3. a route, course, or track along which something moves:

 

4.a course of action, conduct, or procedure:


These things have been stirring in my spirit.....what does my path look like?  am I on the right path?  and is it getting brighter and brighter?
Sometimes there is not a lot of definition to the path I am on...there is a faint outline and I know I need to keep moving forward but there is not a lot of clarity...not a really good , clear place to place my feet...

I think that it will get clearer as I move along ..I have been this way before and I know it is most important to keep on going..not get stuck and sit down.....not wait for someone else to do it for me....to KEEP ON putting one foot in front of the other.......I get so involved in watching my steps that I forget to look up.......

I forget that there is LIGHT right over me....that looking down will not help me get there faster..and being too careful is not beneficial to me...it involves taking risks to stay on this path....throwing caution to the wind.  I am a seasoned walker.....I know how to do this...this moving on is familiar to me and new at the same time.....just right above my head.........

this.....

COLOR...and lots of it..there is not darkness.....there is LIGHT.....and that must mean I am on the right path.....that is what His word says....it gets brighter and brighter..........

so when it seems like this.....obstacles.....or trees down across my path....I need to just step over them..or jump over them......or cut them up and make firewood if I want to stay there that long .....which I DO NOT!   but the main thing is even when there are things in my way, don't let that stop me...stay on the path...and there will eventually come a clearing..  a place of rest...a broad place    a place I can move around a bit more freely.....

 He brought me out into a spacious place; he rescued me because he delighted in me.

I encourage you to keep walking..   make sure your path is leading you to Him......that is where I find myself this day......the path is not clear but it is filled with hope and light.....and I know I am on the verge of this spacious place......

I stand on the edge of a clearing.......and I continue to put one foot in front of the other....as this path unfolds, I intend to stay on it....no matter what.....


thank you so much for stopping by today.  I would love to hear from you...leave me a comment...where is your path ?    I am not always in the woods, but sometimes that is where I am ...It's a good thing I love trees.... 

I hope to see you again soon... 

JUST ONE CRAZY WOMAN....

That is all it takes...just one woman or one man.....and the courage to do something different....one of the sayings my husband has quoted often is this one..... 

Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results

but you know what???? it is not easy to change things..especially when it is the way things have always been done.. in  a family, or really, in any situation.   There has to be a resolve to stand firm even when it is against the status quo...I heard a famous psychologist. say that 'we teach people how to treat us'..and when there is emotional abuse in a relationship, WE have to be the ones that say NO MORE!   you cannot treat me like that...self respect is costly..and not popular  but it is necessary for life...and peace and a life submitted to God...let no other person call the shots over and for your life..Be a woman of freedom...FREE to be ME!!!  or you!! 


so it is with real joy that I share this video this morning...it just absolutely hit the spot.....I know you will see better after you watch it...







"Here's to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They're not fond of rules, and they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify and vilify them. About the only thing you can't do is ignore them because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as crazy, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do."


thank you for stopping by today....be courageous...live your convictions...and let's stop the madness...one woman at a time.....hope to see you again soon...

Coffee and tomato sandwiches..

What????  do these have to do with one another...ummmmm  nothing..really...they are just  two of the things that happened at our house this past week. 

If you have never tasted Community coffee, maybe I can persuade you to find some and give it a try.  I think you will be glad you did...we buy it by the 2 lb. bags and have it shipped from here ....I used to run around to all the grocery stores trying to find it and just decided this is the easiest way for us to always have some...We have been drinking this coffee most of our married life.  we used to go to a little Cajun restaurant..Gautreau's.... when we were dating and I loved, loved their coffee....they would make a fresh pot of cafe coffee for me and I would drink most of it after a dinner of blackened catfish..we would buy it there when they had it and bring it home to enjoy...oh, how we loved that little restaurant.  it is now gone but I have fond memories and we still drink the Community coffee...My husband introduced me to the Cajun flavors with this coffee being one of my favorite....he lived for a time in Mississippi right before I met him...it was the VERY WORST time of his life but the silver lining is this coffee and our being familiar with Cajun food...I have quite a collection of cookbooks that I have read over and over trying to learn to cook this wonderful food...and acquired a taste for all things Tobasco.  LOL.  anyway a very good thing came from a very bad thing in my husband's life...he came out of Mississippi with a taste for all things Cajun and a divorce....funny how life acts like that sometimes  all of the time....something good comes out of something so bad....

and all last week we were sick with an awful summer cold..too hot to be outside and mosquitoes the size of small dogs.......but one day, there was a RIPE tomato.....so we had these so, so good tomato sandwiches...all while we had stuffy noses and couldn't really taste it very good...LOL   but the tomatoes are beginning to ripen..Cherokee Purple is the first this year..an heirloom with a purple color and green seeds...when I tried to feed these to my Daddy several years ago, he could not eat them...said they made him sick to look at them cause they didn't look right..LOL  old people can be funny!!  believe me, they taste good......

so we have had our first tomato sandwich of the summer.

when I started writing this morning I was on a ramble, not knowing where I would end up but now, I think I do...

If you look closely in these gray skies, you will  see where the sky is beginning to turn blue.....in these clouds, there seems to be a silver lining...the rain is over and gone..the trees are so very green...the gray skies are turning to blue..and life is good....

no matter how awful life has been for me and you, there is ALWAYS something good that we can focus on.....Out of an awful, no good, terrible time in my husband's life that ended in divorce and all the rest that goes with it..........came our beloved Community coffee..the very thing that we wake up to every morning...a memory of good things coming out of the pits of life....and a love for all things Cajun....even if I am a true Georgia girl....maybe , just maybe I have a little Cajun blood in there somewhere.  :-)
when we think of planning the first real vacation we have ever had..to celebrate the end of paying child support...that we thought would never end.....but it did!!     my thoughts and heart turn to Cajun country...I want to go there and eat the food and drink the coffee there.and eat Boudin...and crawfish.in the real places..so we'll see what this next year holds for us..

I am so appreciative for your reading along today..and I hope you get some encouragement that no matter how discouraged and awful you feel today..there is something, somewhere in the midst of it all that will bring you encouragement...look for it.....search for it..and do not give up until you find it..it is like the grain of sand in that oyster that because it is an irritant, it gets attention from the oyster until it turns into a pearl..what is your pearl?

My pearl is Community coffee and tomato sandwiches.......

Looks can be deceiving

Isn't this lettuce just beautiful?  so cool and refreshing but if you get close enough to it and take a bite, the BITTERNESS overwhelms you...it is now in the compost pile..that is all it is good for

This rose that we call Granny is absolutely beautiful...it blooms all summer and the fragrance is divine..rich and heavy.....BUT...if you get close enough, the thorns will tear a hole in your arm...they are vicious.....all that beauty draws you in but you better watch out!!

This rose is so pretty but if you get close enough to smell, it has NO fragrance at all.and the thorns are awful.....so it is just pretty from afar........

My goal in life is to be who I really am..the woman that is the real thing..all the time..day in and day out...I do not want to have any bitterness that gets you after you get close to me..I had rather not be bitter at all....
I don't want to have any thorns that hurt you if you get close to me.....I had rather be thornless..
and the fragrance, well, I want to have an aroma that draws you in so I can love you...not so I can hurt you.....
I think this is a worthy goal as women..to be sweet, thornless and fragrant..and to be able to love no matter what..

Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain,
         But a woman who fears the LORD, she shall be praised.

thank you for visiting my blog......I love reading your comments.they mean a lot to me....

If you can't say something nice

I am a true Southern Belle...I even went to charm school when I was a preteen..I learned about manners and being a lady..it is something that is so ingrained in me that it has become second nature. it goes along so well with being a Christian woman...being mannerly..and being kind to one another...it seems I have had a rash of unkind remarks aimed at me over the last 6 months..I am sure I am not the only one this has happened to...I thought this little video was appropriate this morning...and yes, there are ALWAYS exceptions but this is on my heart for this morning...I don't believe it is ok to just say whatever comes into your brain.. ...we need to filter our words through love and kindness...and relinquish the need to control anybody else..I am committed to being a woman that is kind and loving..and I encourage you to be the same..

So here I am this morning, hoping to spread a little kindness and encouragement..
and thankfulness for you my readers. and all of your kindnesses shown towards me..

For the Beauty of the Earth

This morning has been an up and down morning...sometimes I wonder about me. :-)
I grabbed my camera and outside I went...the roses are blooming among lots of other flowers but this morning I was hunting the roses....I don't really see myself as a rosarian..I am a novice but I do love my roses and Bryan has given me many over the years from The Antique rose Emporium out of Texas...they are beautiful....it didn't take long before I was humming an old familiar song.....For The Beauty Of The Earth.

it took a while to find it on youtube but I finally found a good arrangement to share this morning..Enjoy the music while you see the roses I found today in my garden...

Cecile Brunner

Heritage

Iceberg

Cecile Brunner

double Knockout rose

madame isaac pereire

granny grimmetts

I hope you have enjoyed the roses....they reminded me to STOP and smell them..and the day seemed a little brighter.
thank you for reading along with me..

A little encouragement

Yesterday as I was browsing in an antique mall, I came across something that made me say  "I have to have that!!"

First a little explaining and then I will share it with you....We own a window and door company.  it is our company from the ground up...and the logo is quite unique and original.....the Maltese cross.  it has lots of meaning to us ...even reminds me of the 4 H symbol where  Bryan spent many years of his life   ..but I digress.....
here is our business logo

As I was looking in a case filled with jewelry and silver items and other littles, I spotted this beautiful brooch right in the middle of all of the goodies......

I just had to have it.....I have never seen another one like it and I have collected rhinestone jewelry for years.....so to me this said....y'all are on the right path......for I believe that God speaks to us in the language that we can understand.....and I certainly understood this....I pulled out our business card and showed it to the lady that was unlocking the case for me...she was surprised and said I can't believe you even found it here....but it had jumped out at me....

In these times, when  we have dared to step out and build a business, we really need a word of encouragement that we are on the right path....it is nice to know that Someone is leading us here and not just ourselves...so I will wear my new pin and be encouraged....and remember how it came about....it is the little things in our lives...

As I was pondering this blog, a chorus from a very familiar song came to mind...

Home On The Range....

Oh, give me a home where the buffalo roam
And the deer and the antelope play
Where seldom is heard a discouraging word
And the skies are not cloudy all day




I think we could all benefit from a home like this....where seldom is heard a discouraging word.....let me go see if I can find this song on youtube and I will be right back....




May we be encouragers of each other..and not discouraging..I want my home to be one where seldom is heard a discouraging word, how about you?

thank you so much for encouraging me by reading my blog....I would love to hear from each and every one of you..leave me a comment....I read every one...

A DAY TO CELEBRATE

First, you make a roux...a yummy base for gumbo that is made from one part oil and two parts flour....then you stir and watch for a long time...maybe 30 minutes..and this is the base for a wonderful meal to celebrate a milestone in my life..

Then add some flowers, yes,of course...ALWAYS, ALWAYS FLOWERS!!!! even if it is freezing and the wind is blowing fiercely outside..you still go out and pick flowers. :-)

Then come and sit with us as I tell you what today is all about...and have a bowl of gumbo with wonderful sourdough bread from Earthfare..it'll warm your heart...Cajun food always reminds me of celebrations....it is our HAPPY food....

One year ago today, I started a journey..one word at a time.  I started my blog...WHOO HOOO!  it is my anniversary...I am so excited that I am here...Thinking back across this past year, there have been so many things I have learned and pushed myself to do...I have thought of all those quotations about a journey starts with one step, etc....

But the one that speaks the loudest is don't despise small beginnings.....and indeed it was a small beginning.  I have received so many kind words of encouragement from you and I appreciate every one..they have fed my spirit...and yes, there have been the absolutely horrendous few that almost bowled me over..but they did not...

this has been one of the most rewarding years of my life....I have learned to write.  a secret dream I have had for as long as I can remember....I just never did much with it.until last March..then I dared to write that first word...the key was to begin.........things never happen if we never begin...so there I sat one year ago today.....right smack dab at the beginning......and lo and behold, here I am......hundreds of posts later.....I can hardly believe it....  I really did something to start fulfilling my dream....I have loved writing this and taking pictures to share....there are so many more stories to tell and so many more blogland things to learn......

But, for today  ...........

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY TO ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I really took the first step to begin fulfilling a dream of mine and here I am , already a year into it....


I took a risk..I started a journey without knowing where it would lead and where I would end up...I still do not know that....but it is ok with me..I am learning to enjoy the journey...it is the journey that is important....one step at a time....one day at a time...that is all we have...

So, I encourage you to make the most of the time you have..what is your dream and what can you do TODAY to start you on that journey?

I will leave you with this question because it is the one that got me going.        


IF NOT TODAY, THEN WHEN????????




put that foot out there and begin that journey..it doesn't matter if it is messy or you don't know all about how to do it perfectly....just START...life is lived one step at a time..I am living proof of that...I dared to start a blog without knowing how to do it....and I have done it for a whole year now and I know a lot more than I did when I started it..
Enjoy the journey....and the learning of something new....

here is my first post.....


"This is my first attempt at blogging. Since I love homemaking and I have been doing it for more than 35 years, I want to share my experiences with women(and men)that are aspiring to make their home all that it can possibly be. I am a wife, mother, grandmother, gardener, seamstress, cook,thrift store shopper.. I love all that is involved in making a home a good place to be ..and a place that the family wants to be. a safe haven...Maybe there will be some of you that are interested in joining me on this journey as I learn how to blog.. :-) we will see..I know it is something that I will enjoy even if it only for me and my family...."


and that is how I started this journey...leave me a comment...I love to read them...and as always, I appreciate your reading along....for many, many blogs to come...and for celebrating this milestone with me...