Potted Bouquet

It happened quite unexpectedly and I was pleasantly surprised. My beautiful potted white roses had been making quite the show most of the summer. At some point they seemingly went dormant and appeared to be struggling, while tolerating Florida's very hot temperatures.

A few days ago, I noticed new buds all over the rose bush and something else scattered throughout the pot. Uh oh....I thought and knew immediately what was happening. It seems I had left a little of the old soil in the bottom of the pot when repotting for the white rose bush. Not a good thing I thought, for the purple flowers having come up from bottom roots, were crowding out my cherished white roses. This morning, my eyes beheld a vision of loveliness....a "potted bouquet." Nature once again knew exactly what it was doing.....click on photos...

Drawing Pencils And Watercolors

This morning I awakened early and began thinking of our youngest daughter, mother of three, expecting her fourth child...... and very soon. It seems I have been inspired to create lovely baby things the whole nine months of her pregnancy. Now that we are counting days, I'm thinking of her and the newness of motherhood. What a beautiful thing it is to hold a new born baby in your arms. It is somewhat overwhelming to think that with God's help, you have brought new life into the world. Well now....I had been inspired yet again but in a completely different way. I brought out my drawing pencils and watercolors and began putting my thoughts down on paper. A few hours later, I found the results were astonishingly similar to her, in a "folk art" kind of way....

Blessings.....Dee Dee

Beauty

Marigold Garden~Kate Greenway

I've been reading from a little book written by Emilie Barnes titled "If Teacups Could Talk." In it she talks of beauty and how it is all around us. Even with all the turmoil going on about us, our world is still filled with breathtaking loveliness. She's right you know....with beauty surrounding us, in someway it does lift our spirits. When we find time for the teatime ritual, it really does slow us down enough to notice what is beautiful around us...... Blessings....Dee Dee

Humility~

Door of Humility.....

Humility~One of the great lessons seldom effectively taught in college is the lesson of humility. It is usually the first of a long series of lessons we learn in our postgraduate course, when "the cold, cold, world" is our instructor. This was subtly suggested in a cartoon appearing once in a New York paper late in June. It pictured a young woman in cap and gown, armed with her college diploma and a sufficient amount of self-satisfied dignity. Confronting her was a grim visage of the old World himself, who remarked rather casually, "Well, who have we here?" "You evidently don't know me," replied the slightly pained graduate; "I am Virginia Cordelia Smith, A. B." "My dear girl," replied the World, "come with me and I will teach you the rest of your alphabet."~George Walter Fiske... source Leaves Of Gold....

For Fans Of Beatrix Potter

You can well imagine Kep's weary frustration when he returned to the barn after chasing the fox. His paws were sore and one ear had been ripped open when he tried to quarry Reynard under a thorn bush. But before he went off to have a bit of a lie-down and recover himself, he knelt down to peer under the feedbox in the barn to make sure that Jemima was safe.

Susan Wittig Albert's book titled The Tale of Hawthorn House (fourth in the series), is a delight from start to finish. Beatrix's Potter's stories have enchanted readers for a century. Now, fans young and old can enjoy Albert's Cottage Tale Mysteries, starring Miss Potter herself.

Although having Hill Top Farm to run, Beatrix and her animal friends are left pondering the possibility of fairy folk involvement in some utterly puzzling happenings...... For amateur detectives, this is delightful. Blessings..... Dee Dee

Her Focus Was Children.....

"Watering The Foxglove" by Jessie Wilcox Smith

I became familiar with Jessie Wilcox Smith when my children were young. Although enjoying her life as a teacher, she had an even greater fondness for drawing. Those of us who think highly of her work are ever so thankful that she went on to perfect her talent.

Jessie Wilcox Smith, was well known for painting covers of Good Housekeeping Magazine. For many years she was on the new stands and in countless homes. As she painted children in lovely little dresses and play suits, she set the trends for generations of children. Years of illustrations for top magazines led her to focus her work almost solely on children. Though she never married nor had children of her own, they became the center of her life. "Watering The Foxglove," is a lovely illustration showing the whimsical world of childhood innocence......

Mexican Sage....Late Summer

Interesting things are happening to the Mexican Sage in my garden. Each year, the Sage at some point is very tall,very full and lush. Tiny little white flowerets begin popping out all over the purple blossoms. I love how this plant, forced by the wind, sways back and forth as though in a rolling fashion. It is quite beautiful, but I know it is not for long. Mother nature will instruct the Mexican Sage when it is time for sleep, and it will soon, and all winter long......

Serious Little Readers.....

Sunlight poured through the window when Anne awoke and sat up in bed. A cherry tree was in full bloom, so close its branches brushed against the house. Anne was delighted-until she remembered she wouldn't be staying at Green Gables because she wasn't a boy!

I visit the Barnes & Noble book store often. These days, I head straight to the children's section. It's a beautiful thing to see moms and dads sitting in the floor surrounded by all sorts of wonderful books. I love that they read aloud to their children as though no one else is around. Today, I'm excited about collecting "Classic Starts" for some serious little readers in my life. As in all cases, before I give books to my grandchildren, I read them, making certain they will meet with the standards set forth by their parents. You can never take things for granted these days. Sadly, I have to watch for hidden subliminal messages, bad language and other promoted living patterns, not acceptable by our faith. I've just finished reading Anne of Green Gables, and even at my age I still found it charming. The end of the book has a section titled "What Do You Think?" To challenge the younger reader, ten questions are asked for discussion. Containing forty-three books in the set, I'm looking forward to reading every single one of them. Blessings....Dee Dee

Pray For Our Nation

Children's Bedtime Favorite

I find that my curiosity about writers of literature and poetry, sometimes leading to wonderful discovery. Eugene Field, most famous for the light hearted children's poem.....Wynken, Blynken and Nod, has afforded me great pleasure indeed.

No longer am I content for having read lovely poems, I want to know about the writer. In some instances I've been disappointed, finding them to have questionable life styles, even changing my feelings for their writing.

My research revealed Mr Eugene Field's father, attorney Martin Field, famous for his representation of Dred Scott, the slave who sued for his freedom. This case was referred to as the lawsuit that started the Civil War. Ah....what tangled webs we weave.....

Wynken, Blynken and Nod, skillfully written by Mr. Field, I think still delightful for "sleepy-headed" children.

Wynken, Blynken, and Nod~Eugene Field

Wynken, Blynken, and Nod one night sailed off in a wooden shoe-Into a sea of dew.

"Where are you going and what do you wish?" The old moon asked the three.

"We have come to fish for the herring fish that live in this beautiful sea;

Nets of silver and gold have we," said Wynken, Blynken and Nod.

The old moon laughed and sang a song as they rocked in the wooden shoe.

And the wind that sped them all night long ruffled the waves of dew.

The little stars were the herring fish that lived in that beautiful sea;

"Now cast your nets wherever you wish, never afeared are we!"

So cried the stars to the fisherman three, Wynken, Blynken and Nod.

All night long their nets they threw to the stars in the twinkling foam;

Then down from the sky came the wooden shoe, bringing the fishermen home.

Twas all so pretty a sail, it seemed as if it could not be; And some folk thought 'twas

a dream they'd dreamed of sailing that beautiful sea;

But I shall name you the fishermen three, Wynken, Blynken, and Nod.

Wynken and Blynken are two little eyes, and Nod is a little head,

And the wooden shoe that sailed the skies is a wee one's trundle bed.

So shut your eyes while Mother sings of wonderful sights that be,

And you shall see the beautiful things as you rock in the misty sea

Where the old shoe rocked the fishermen three, Wynken, Blynken, and Nod.