Wordless Wednesday

Welcome to my Garden

Here's a pictorial journey through the gardens here at BrightHaven. Enjoy!

The requisite lady bug larva

Lovely birdbath from Granny, complete with Mountain Aster and Gladioli

Amazing Amaryllis from Mrs. Faye down the street. Does anyone know the variety?

Don Juan rosebush from Dr. Hobbs in Milton

Ruby Red rose from a nice lady. She called it a Seven Sisters but since it doesn't match my image of a Seven Sisters rose, I named it after her. Oh, the lovely blooms and sweet smell!

Lovely hollyhocks from Linda

Anyone know this variety of lily? Reminds me of bright lipstick.

To the 60 or so people

Who honored us by coming to our 2nd annual Christmas Cookie Exchange, here's to you! Our friends really make our lives sweet. You are all such a blessing to us.

Merry Christmas to you all!!

To view a slideshow, please click on this link...

Security at the Mailbox

Did I ever tell you all about the night that our vehicles were broken into? I know I'm going to write this post and my mother will, by some strange wind of fate, view my blog for the first time. Me talking about vehicular burglary will quite likely astonish her. Becky, if you're reading this, don't be alarmed. However, this is a true story.

I forget the exact date but a couple of months ago, several vehicles on our block were broken into. Okay, here's the real scoop. We actually left our vehicles unlocked. That is: I left my vehicle unlocked. In my defense: I'm from the country. Forty miles from the nearest town. One mile down a dirt road. In the woods. Not much thievery going on around there. Especially when you have more dogs than folks. Speaking of which, we have a dog. This dog was in the yard on the night in question. She barked until I could stand it no longer and made her come inside. How is she supposed to do her job inside? Guess what the rotten thieves stole from our vehicle...40 pounds of dog food. Yep. That was one upset doggie.

I suppose I should be glad they didn't take our mailbox with them as well. After all, it's not a locking mailbox. Have you seen these contraptions? They look like a banker's vault. No one's getting into them. If you're worried about someone vandalizing your mailbox, definitely invest in a security mailbox from Mailboxixchange. These people are definitely serious about not only the security of your correspondence but also of your packages. Take a look at this sweet little design. Not only is it one of the locking mailboxes for which Mailboxixchange is famous, it's stinking cute to boot! Is there some kind of self-locking mechanism on these things? 'Cause someone I know might need it...

And so, the morals of this story are multiple: lock your van at night. If you don't lock the van, let the dog do her job; don't leave forty lbs of dog food in the unlocked van.

What's blooming at your house?

Don't you know that's poisonous??, originally uploaded by bekados.

Right now, we have a gorgeous peach brugmansia, modeled with the ever-lovely elfgirl. These beauties not only are a welcome color addition to the brown-y/green fall garden, they also have a sweet fragrance.

Gratitude--letting others know that you appreciate them

After two days of running at high speed (the weekends are busy times for us at BrightHaven), the little ElfGirl seems to be winding down. Who knew that three-year olds need more than five hours of sleep at night? Allright, allright, no throwing of stones or calling child protective services. I read your blogs too, you know!

So, anyway, she had the sniffles earlier this evening, accompanied by unbidden tears, fever and coughing. I was concerned and we had to postpone our trip to night service. She was miserable. Eventually, I realized as I was praying for her that she was mostly just sad--but sad ElfGirl is almost as miserable as sick ElfGirl!

At one point, I was holding her in my arms and rubbing her back when it occurred to me how grateful I am for every second we can spend with her. When Marshall died, I regretted the chances we won't have to kiss her and hold her and ride bikes with her. Some days, the list just seems endless! Each opportunity with ElfGirl is a moment that I greatly appreciate. Our family and friends are so precious. It's so hard sometimes to really just be in the moment--not thinking about 10 minutes ago or ten minutes from now or what else should be done.

Sometimes, the most important thing I can do is hold an ElfGirl and rub her back.

a different walk...

Since Marshall's death, so many things seem different. Some things are more important and others have completely faded from the radar. I feel more mature, more well-rounded. I still struggle with anxiety and selfishness but I can feel their hold slipping. It's a neat feeling. I was walking through a crowd of people yesterday and didn't feel so conspicuous. It was like I was even walking differently. Have any of you ever experienced anything like this? It's such a liberating experience.

Those two weeks with my family were really hard. I think we all learned things about ourselves. We learned things about spiritual battles and faith and disappointment and grieving. Some things are impossible to put into words but my spirit knows there is a new deposit of...something.

Chenille to Chanel

This poor chenille coverlet has been wasting away on the bottom shelf of a cupboard for months now. A few days ago, I came up with the marvelous (to me) idea of turning it into pillowcases. I did not get a finished shot of the pillowcases, but I am very pleased with them. After looking at the amount of material left over after making two pillowcases, I was determined I would have a dress from some of the remaining yardage. Not only was I able to make a dress, but I have plenty of fabric left over for more projects. Anybody have any ideas?

Note: This coverlet has multiple tears, so I am not guilty of just randomly cutting into a vintage bed spread. It has a wonderful second life that will make me very happy!

Elf-Child

Have I ever told you all how much I love this little girl? I just love looking at pictures of her. Wish she was here right now. I would squeeze her.

Home Decor

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If you're dropping by from WW, click here to check out The Garden Chronicles v 1.1

The Garden Chronicles--A Video Post!

I have fallen down on my resolve to post garden tips. Perhaps it has something to do with the heat...not sure. Anyway, here is the first of what may be a series of the Garden Chronicles, where I take you on a video tour of our gardens. Enjoy!

I got the idea to use a Kyte video from Susanna over at The Wardrobe Miser. She has some great tips. Check out her site, one and all!

Ewwww...

Watches and Warnings
Pensacola Forecast


459 AM CDT MON AUG 13 2007

...EXCESSIVE HEAT WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 7 PM CDT THIS
EVENING...

DAYTIME HEAT INDEX READINGS LOOK TO RANGE FROM 108 TO 115
DEGREES ON AVERAGE...AND POSSIBLY UPWARDS TO AROUND 120 DEGREES IN A FEW
LOCATIONS.

AN EXCESSIVE HEAT WARNING MEANS THAT A PROLONGED PERIOD OF VERY
HOT TEMPERATURES WILL COMBINE WITH HIGH HUMIDITY TO BRING A
DANGEROUS SITUATION...IN WHICH HEAT ILLNESSES ARE LIKELY EVEN WITH
EXPOSURES OF SHORT DURATION. AVOID PROLONGED EXPOSURE TO THE SUN
ESPECIALLY BETWEEN 11 AM AND 4 PM...AND TAKE FREQUENT WATER AND
COOLING BREAKS WHEN WORKING OUTSIDE. DRINK PLENTY OF WATER. REFRAIN
FROM THE INTAKE OF CAFFEINATED AND ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES. REMEMBER TO
CHECK ON RELATIVES AND NEIGHBORS...ESPECIALLY THE ELDERLY AND THOSE
WHO DO NOT VENTURE OUTSIDE. OUTDOOR PLAYTIME FOR CHILDREN SHOULD BE
RESTRICTED. PETS AND LIVESTOCK ARE ALSO VULNERABLE.

Tune in later for today's gardening tip. Of course, I won't be out in the garden today. It's already too hot. At this point in the year, I just kind of walk around and look at everything and agree with myself that all the plants need to be watered...

Outdoor Massage?

Well, just because the heat indices are between 110 and 120 degrees fahrenheit doesn't mean one can't enjoy a nice outdoor massage. That is, if one is prepared to initiate and conclude said massage before 8 AM. We got started a little late but were still finished by 9 AM. A soft breeze rustled the wind chimes near my head for a lovely auditory experience. We will mulch the floor of the garden and install a water fountain at some point.

We think this could be something James could incorporate into his routine in the spring and fall months here in Florida. In fact, that's the main reason we built this walled garden.

Now, if anyone in the area is interested, be sure to get back with us about it sometime in October.

today...

We had another photo shoot. One of our friends asked if I could take photos of their children today. We went back to J-----'s house and had the best time! Of course, it helps that the children are all beautiful, dark eyes and hair, tan skin and sweet smiles...We ended the day with a lovely spaghetti dinner and sitting out on the deck. One unfortunate incident occurred as they were getting ready to leave. We discovered a spider the size of a small dog (ahem) on the ceiling of our living room. Discovering the spider was not a bad thing. However, I accidentally killed the spider later. I am still sorry about it. I treasure all living things and am not happy about that poor spider dying.

The Sunshine State

I hope 88 degrees Farenheit sounds hot and not just warm. 'Cause it's hot! My squash and peppers are wilted. What? I guess that's the price I pay for early bounty, eh? So thirsty...must drink water.

Thank you to everyone who has been sending such nice comments and encouragement.

Becca