Summer Garden

After losing all my spring flowers my garden was looking bare. Living in Arizona you'd think I would just give up on gardening during the hot summer months of the usual 110-115 degree weather. Not much will grow but a few that will are vinca, portulaca, zinnias, and marigolds. So I made a trip to the nursery and also came home with a few I had not tried before... angelonia, pentas and lisianthus. 

Since I didn't buy enough plants to fill the flower beds,  I decided to plant these in pots. They made it through the summer and actually thrived thanks to automatic daily watering.

My vegetable garden went wild. I was gone a lot and it was ignored. I don't think you are supposed to ignore vegetable gardens. If you do, they will make you pay. I had vines growing everywhere. Not knowing what it was I let them grow. I found out I was growing cantaloupe.

 I never know what will come out of my compost.

Because this vine overtook the vegetable garden I was afraid to step into it. I wish I had taken a before picture. I finally got the nerve to clean it out and was surprised to not find any creatures living under there.

Gardening is therapeutic for me. The harder I work out there the better I feel or should I say forget, and I needed it since I was letting worry overcome me. This round of Michelle's chemo treatment was leaving me feeling helpless and worried. Click HERE for an update.

So I was happy to tackle the cleanup. I pulled and raked and trimmed and dug and before the end of the day it was looking pretty good.

Under all the mess, I found I still had rosemary, tomato plants, new green beans sprouting, swiss chard,

eggplant, bell peppers, sweet basil, and more eggplants

I have about 8 eggplant volunteers (thanks to the compost).

Be ready family and friends. Get your eggplant recipes out!

In my smaller vegetable gardens, I have hatch chiles...

  boxwood basil

I trimmed the overgrown oregano

I also have marjoram, thyme, mint, jalapenos & chives

and now that our weather is cooling down,

I have room to plant lettuce, spinach, cilantro, parsley...

and I'm going to try beets for the first time!

And when I get back from Michelle's I will be filling up my flower beds!!

So happy summer is over!!!
:'( my mandevilla did not make it)

October, really?

October??? Say it isn't so. I'm in denial, it can't be October. Normally my "fall" decorations would be up and they are not. That's not like me. I love decorating for fall, especially since we have to fake fall here in the valley of the sun.

I think I will have to skip the fall decorations this year... I am not in the mood. Maybe just my door wreath will go up. No sooner will I have it up and it will be Christmas. And I am not ready for Christmas, even though I love celebrating our Savior's birthday. Just not ready for all the other stuff.

Time is moving too fast for me. Serenity my first grandchild turned 17 last week... seventeen!!  Megan is 3 today... Happy Birthday Miss Megan!!

Nathan will be turning 6 next month and Jayda, who was just born, will be one!!

Time... please... slow... down!

I thought that it would when I retired, but instead, it moves faster. It's been five years that have totally zipped by.

I have not yet journaled my summer garden, yes there was a garden. And vacation, we vacationed this year. I need to journal that too. For me it was a year of traveling. Maybe that's why this year went so dang fast.

Our weather is finally cooling down. Yesterday's high was 100 degrees, today it's 95, tomorrow 92, next week will be in the 80's, next weekend mid 70's! I love that I can finally open my windows in the mornings but hey weather, you too... slow down. I want to enjoy 80 for awhile.

No pictures this time.... just this one of the beach and our chairs and my thoughts,

that's all this time...

Prayer Request

She'd rather be here

but instead she has too much for one person for one day.

Please keep her in your prayers!

Read HERE for today's line-up.

We will never forget this day

A tribute to 9.11.2001

Sharing with you a beautiful poem written by Diana

click Nana Diana's blog

Stay calm and head to the beach...

~with Michelle, Nathan, and Megan~

De-clutter your mind of plans,

schedules,

and "to do" lists.

Instead,

 look out upon the waves,

wiggle your toes in the sand,

absorb the sights, smells, and sounds,

and enjoy the moment for what it is-

not what it means,

not what lies ahead,

not how you arrived here.

There will be another time for that.

For now,

just be present with Him.

From Devotions for the Beach

by Miriam Drennan

Isaiah 41:10

Isaiah 41:10

Do not fear: I am with you;

Do not be anxious: I am with you;

I will strengthen you, I will help you,

I will uphold you with my victorious right hand.

I lean on God's words because I have none of my own. I can only continue praying and asking for your prayers for Michelle. For updates read  Here  and Here.

Summer Rain

These last few days I’ve been enjoying our summer thunderstorms.

They have brought our temperatures down a little bit,

briefly bringing us relief from the scorching sun.

I am so anxious to turn off the a/c and open the windows.

But I’m not holding my breath cause it'll still be awhile.

So for now, I relish the time I can sit under the patio watching the raindrops in the pool, watching our dry and thirsty ground soak up the rain, watching the hummingbirds playing in the rain with as much excitement as kids splashing in puddles of water.

Watching rubber duckie enjoying the cool raindrops falling

on his sun-burnt head : )

It’s nice to turn off the sprinklers for a few days and be thankful of

God’s free water!

"I will give you your rains in due season,
so that the land will yield its crops,
and the trees their fruit" Leviticus 26:4