it’s the monday giggles…
Cuppycake & I were bitten by the Influenza B bug.
This left us homebound with little desire to peel ourselves from the sick-ward we’d set up in our keeping room.
For days we wished for a Blizzard to magically show up at our door.
But as I wrote about the other day…be careful what you pray for!
Instead of the Dairy Queen sort of blizzard we fantasized magically being delivered – Continue reading “don’t even think about it.”
My favorite flower in the whole wide world is…
the Gardenia!
There is something romantically nostalgic
about this flower for me.
I have always called upon the gardenia
for the (most) special moments of my life.
And it has never disappointed me!
Like the fairy-godmother in Cinderella
who waves her magic-wand which turns
pumpkins into carriages,
I truly feel like the transformed pumpkin each time I am near one.
No wonder it was the flower at my wedding
and every birth of my children
and all the Mother’s Days there-after!
Not to mention, I am quite certain my family will know
which flower should be at my wake!
(giggles.)
One of the fondest memories I have of the Gardenia was on our Wedding Day some 30 years ago, walking down the aisle of St. Joseph’s Church with my cascading bouquete of Gardenias clutched tightly in my hands! The elderly women in attendance commented how, “We could smell the gardenias as you walked down the aisle toward your groom!”
And I do so very hope it will be the same with Jesus one day!
As an eternal bride, with her favorite flower, headed toward her beloved Bridegroom…in Heaven. And I do verily hope He will be just as pleased by the fragrance, as I process toward Him.
But first, by the grace of God,
I have a few more Gardenias here in this earthly world to enjoy!
This potted miniature-gardenia plant was gifted to me by two very dear friends for my 50th birthday celebration!
Last count it had 48 gardenia-buds waiting to burst into bloom!
The Gardenia’s are beautiful this year because of the unusually high-humidity we have had during the summer months. I wish I could explain the giddy-feeling I have each time I walk outside from the sunroom and am struck by the heavy-aroma from the fresh blooms! My joy is especially heightened, as this is the first time I have ever been able to wear a Gardenia, tucked in my hair or behind an ear, without needing to purchase it from my favorite people at Allburn’s Florists.
I have done a lot of research on preserving my potted bushes during the cold Northeastern US winters; however, saddly it doesn’t sound promising. My research also suggests “even if” you are successful in nursing the bushes through the winter months indoors, it is difficult to get the bushes to rebloom the following year.
Can you hear my sad-sighs?
However, as I am learning this new knowledge of the Gardenia it has helped me to appreciate the gift I’ve been given with these 3 ‘make-me-smile’ bushes even more! What a blessing to remember how important it is to fully embrace the joy which is given to us in the moment...for we never really know if we will always have it in our midst.
Yes, God is constantly teaching me!
Whether it is through the wave of a magic-wand,
the surprise of an unexpected sale,
the heat of an unusually humid summer,
or a favorite flower readily available to be tucked in my hair…
life should be appreciated fully (in the) NOW.
And praise be, He allows the fragrance from the joy to linger with us,
even when it’s gone.
3hugs n’ blessings for all the pumpkins turning into carriages in our everyday lives!
it’s the monday giggles…
(Fingers-crossed) Spring sprung this Weekend in our NW area of Pa!
And in my local neighborhood…
kids were outside playing until way past dusk,
people of ALL ages were seen bike riding,
every breed of dog could be found being walked,
and Cuppycake raked the yard!
(Yep, it’s official…the rake is out.)
I wish I’d have taken a picture of He and Helen out there together…
Cuppycake would rake a pile of fallen sticks & Helen would carry the pile, stick by stick, back out into the yard to be scattered once again.
(As you might imagine Helen & I were the only two who thought it was adorable.)
Yard work is a serious order of business in our household. Every member of our family owned their own personal rake while living at True North. Most kids around the age of 3 or 4 get a red-rider wagon in the fall…ours received toddler sized rakes instead.
We had them in every size & width. Flat edged, scooped, tightly tined to loosely fitted, (which always had a nice bounce as it scraped across the ground surface I might add.) I never knew they made rakes in so many different materials either until I met Cuppycake. Metal, plastic, willow, & bamboo to name just a few. And every year, without fail, he’d arrive home from a hardware store visit with “the Best Rake ever invented.” Guarnateed to cut yard-work in half (for all of us…)
Things have improved, mind you, since our move to North Star…we have downsized to 3 hand-chosen rakes which remain. But not to worry, Cuppycake makes certain the matter is still handled with authority & laser-beam focus. You can always be assured that at the end of the day’s task there will not only be neatly raked, all in a row, perfectly-proportional in every way piles, BUT there will also be another compiled list of 3 more (until recently unthought of) NEW projects to complete this summer as a result!
This year it looks like concrete will be involved.
I think I need to begin training Helen to carry the rake away instead….
hugs n’ blessings to all the idea makers out there!
(And those who contend with them all!)
