Summer Sharing
sandy willoughby
Dear Home Keepers,
Our homemaking duties ...inside and out... differ according to season. Our
world is a large one:) and while my season is starting to be blazed by the
sun, others are preparing for winter. Whatever the weather, <smile>, each
time holds its own adventure.
I have been spending a good deal of my time trying to take care of cleaning,
clearing, organizing, planning, weeding out, putting away, digging out, and
more!
To keep from letting the present work take over, I am keeping to my routines
and trying to do as much of them as I can. Morning and evening routines,
weekly home blessings (www.flylady.net) , and now with more of an effort
tackling zones (places of focus during particular weeks as described on the
above website) ... I am fitting the seasonal work into these.
My yard is coming along nicely and I pray the Lord's endurance, guidance,
and blessing on my gardening efforts this year. When I think to pray over my
seeds, plants, and overall yard work... He blesses me with thriving plants
regardless of how my soil is doing!
This year, I have several variegated hostas and one that has come back
bigger and bigger every year since I got it on my birthday a few years back.
There is a line of them in front of my original herb garden and some in an
English garden design my sister created for me this year feeling sorry for
me:) This yard is a humbling experience for sure! I am committed to covering
up what I cannot fix, fixing what areas I can, and learning to enjoy God's
beautiful gifts in the meanwhile.
English ivy is trailing down a small hill, solid green hostas stand guard on
each side of a worn out bench and two potted red flowers keep them company.
There are some copper butterflies and dragon flies from my sister and some
bright flowers that spin in the wind from a nice dollar store.
The confederate roses are coming up huge already and seem to be whispering
for me to be patient for the beautiful blooms to come! The pineapple sage
and regular sage from a few years ago have come back but they don't appear
too healthy at the moment.
The heirloom roses are coming up and the newer varieties I planted last year
seem to be doing great. The miniature rose is in need of some more care
after lots of blooms a few weeks ago.
Peppermint, German thyme, lemon thyme, bee balm, lemon balm, chives,
cilantro, parsley, dill, and rosemary are all doing well in pots this year.
I had a horrible time keeping some of these alive when they competed with
strong weeds last year so I'm trying my friend's method of using our well
loved clay pots.
Two new lavender (not real lavender but richly scented) regally pose on each
side of the Confederate Rose and a beautiful butterfly bush is behind that.
There are 4 O 'Clocks (spelling?) right next to the house and some Sweet
Williams I planted from seed last year *might* make it.
I'm down to 3 mums and they seem to be doing well after I used a hoe to
clear the weeds from around them and mulched them with pine bark.
The azaleas, miniature gardenias, hibiscus, Easter lilies, and yellow bells
all look so much nicer with the pine bark mulch around them. A large green
privacy bush my sister gave me (it was so tiny then:) has little versions
growing all around it. The Calla lilies (spelling?) are coming up even
stronger than the previous years. Some new bulbs of these were given to me
by a dear friend and they are tall and healthy already.
We are mowing the grass a section at a time because it is so hard to mow
here. The summer heat makes this a dangerous activity if safety precautions
aren't used. Our general rule is to do these chores in the early mornings or
evenings.
My favorite garden gift from God this year in the way of flowers have to be
my favorite flower each year. Morning glories of all kinds, (heavenly blue,
variegated color, sunrise mix, and more) are coming up so well around my
porch and steps! I followed the instructions as I do each year and soaked
the seeds in water overnight only this time... I was so busy with kiddie
care that I didn't get to them for two or three days (don't even recall how
many!) and some of the seeds started sprouting in the water. I planted them
all and they were coming out of the ground the next day! I will do it this
way more often!
My sister (not the one who did the hostas) brought me an unbelievably
beautiful gardenia from South Carolina! She knows that I just adore these
flowers and would love to line my yard with them one day so she surprised me
with a gorgeous plant! My miniature gardenia is doing much better this year
than it was doing. I'm hoping these begin thriving soon!
The LORD is so good and helps me to not lost hope, dear sisters. Were it not
for Him, I'd feel so overwhelmed with all in need of being done in our weedy
and needy little yard but His Word says that I have hope... in HIM.
In Him... the flowers will cover the bare, dirty, unattractive, and broken
places in my yard.
In Him... the tiny little porch and steps will hold up until we can one day
build the large fenced in porch with shelter we've dreamed about.
In Him... the difficult to mow yard will get done regularly through the
summer and He will guide my husband and boys in keeping lawn mowers
operating!
In Him... I can be happy with the results of daily hard work in the yard:
rediscovering muscles, strengthening my arms, drinking in the sunshine for
softly bronzed skin, and better over all health.
When I'm done with whatever gardening chore I'm doing for the day, I have
some sweet "rewards" to choose from:
* Washing my hair under the water hose. It is cold and crazy but I love it.
My hair feels better than ever when I'm done and all it requires is a
shampoo bottle and clean towel!
* Soaking in a tub filled with warm water, Epsom salts, and essential oils.
Right now, I just close my eyes and am "still" before the Lord during this
time or I'll pray. Sometimes I'll finish with a chapter in a book or just
light some candles and listen to classical music.
* Sip a cup of herbal tea. I like added a little bit of cream to keep my
teeth from staining with so much tea drinking:) plus, I love the flavor!
When we visited England, I adored the afternoon tea and had little brown
sugar squares with real cream and real scones with clotted cream. I try to
copy that here as much as I can!
I hope you can find ways to move around your home and/or in your yard. It
blesses your family and it blesses you all at the same time! Are there ways
you can reward yourself for keeping active in these areas?
Love,
Sandy
Sandy Willoughby ©2004
