Bees, Butterflies and Ladybugs

This morning I finally was able to spend a couple of hours in the garden trying to tackle a few of the weeds that have been growing with wild abandon for the past month or so.   And no, the above cosmos are not found in my garden.  I do have a few sunflowers and a few little lemon marigolds that have survived the weed infestation, but no cosmos this year.  Perhaps next summer. 

I've missed having the time to spend an hour or so every day working in the garden this summer, but I did enjoy the time I had.  I especially enjoyed noticing the busy little insects that were buzzing around the mint patch . . . bees, ladybugs, beetles, fire bugs, pill bugs, potato bugs and little white winged flies.  And even a butterfly or two.  Ok, so they were probably just white moths, but it was nice to see them living so abundantly among the garden plants, and weeds.  And to know that the bees are still there to pollinate the cucumbers and tomatoes and squash.  So we may still get some veggies this year!  We do have a little cumcumber and one small zuchinni, and quite a few little tomatoes.  Patience, water, and a bit more weeding, and we'll have some fresh veggies!

Pillows

Several years ago DH decided that we needed a new bed.  I love our bed, even though it's now getting a bit old and saggy, and have slept well in it almost every night.  Along with the bed, we also bought two contoured memory foam pillows, one a bit larger for DH and one a bit smaller for me.  We love them.  We use them every night.  A few years ago DS1 gifted us with some other nice memory foam pillows.  We used them for a while, but then went back to our original contoured ones and now use the new pillows for guests.  A month or so ago my dear mother in law gifted me with about five or six other nice fluffy pillows that she wanted to get rid of after cleaning out her basement closet.  So now we have a houseful of nice pillows rather than the ones I have bought on sale for $5 or so at various times. 

Last month we took a lovely road trip to California to visit our sons.  Last week we took another lovely road trip to attend my family reunion.  Each time we took along our lovely contoured memory foam pillows.  One night our pillows ended up in one of our children's rooms, so we slept on the fluffy pillows provided by the hotel.  It was not the best night's sleep for either DH or for me.  I guess you could say we are addicted to, or at least very my accustomed to our lovely contoured memory foam pillows.  I am grateful to have pillows, especially the ones we love.

Blackberry Muffins

The property that our family business is located on was at one time part of a small family farm.  For as the property has been in our family, there have been ancient blackberry plants growing along the south fence of the property, and each year about this time they produce a fair amount of luscious, sweet blackberries.  Some of the plants grow along a chain link fence and some along a cinderblock fence.  Of course the plants that can grow up along the chain link fence produce the best berries.

When DH and I bought our house, I was able to transplant a few of these berry plants into our own back yard.  They haven't produced quite as well as the plants at the business property, but we do get some luscious berries every year.  This past weekend I was able to pick a quart or so of sweet juicy ripe blackberries and bake them into some oatmeal blackberry muffins.  Yummsome!  Sometime I will be even more diligent and perhaps bake a Blackberry Pie or Blackberry Cobbler! 

What are your favorite berries?

Memory Skills

How good is your memory? 

I have always thought that my memory was pretty darn good, at least a bit better than average.  I was able to learn fairly quickly as a child in school, and did pretty well on tests etc.  I even did ok memorizing scriptures in my primary and seminary classes, and in memorizing the occasional random poem or other recitation piece.  Sometimes I even memorized how to play a favorite piece on the piano.

 But now I'm not quite so sure how good my memory really is.  I have a difficult time remembering names, even of people I have known for years.  I guess this is fairly common.  I often forget what my dear children or my DH told or asked me yesterday or the day before, and I have to ask them to remind me.  This morning DH invited me to go along on a job that he had scheduled about a half hour away.  I remembered him telling me about the job . . .

"But you didn't invite me to come along." 

"Yes, I did . . ."  

I really didn't remember the invitation, but I quickly got ready and went along with him.  It was a nice little trip and we were able to visit with some old friends who moved from our neighborhood several years ago. 

I do take comfort in the fact that my children's memories are still very sharp.   They often remind me of the main character in the Cam Jansen Mystery Series.   Cam was very proud of her photographic memory and only had to blink her eyes, and there in her mind she could see a picture of whatever was in front of her.  And, she could recall it whenever she wanted to.  Naturally her photographic memory was a great asset in helping her to solve mysteries. 

I'm resigned to the fact that I will never have a photographic memory, and that my memory skills will probably only fade even more with time.   But I am grateful for the many things that I have studied and learned throughout my life, and I resolve to keep on reading and learning for as long as I am physically able.  How about you? 

City Lights

I'm a country girl who grew up near a very small town.  We didn't often make it into the city at night time when I was young, but I remember coming down the canyon highway at night time and catching my first glimpse of the city lights at night.  I always loved it . . . seeing the immense valley just filled with shimmering and twinkling lights.  I longed for exciting times in the city.  I loved the Christmas Decoration lights too, but even during the summer time the night time city lights filled me with excitement and happiness and expectations.

Over the years I have come to realize that shimmer and bright lights and dazzle are all pretty much superficial.  Most of the enticing lights from the mountain view held no more happiness for me than what I already possessed with my family, home, and faith.  Many of the lights were probably from simple, happy homes similar to mine, and the places with the brightest, flashiest lights were probably places that offered false hopes of temporary excitement, but little or no real happiness.

I still am a great lover of light.  I love the sunshine.  I love a brightly lit home.  I love fireworks and I love Christmas lights.  I still love to see the City Lights from the mountainside, but now instead of a longing for excitement, they bring me a peaceful feeling of gratitude.  I know that I already have most of the light that I will ever need.  It comes from my own home and family, from the Lord's wonderful creations, and most of all from The Lord Jesus Christ himself.   I love light.

Note:  for those of you who have an interest in my blogging attempts, I have begun a new blog, Memories of a Very Shy Child .  This will be a bit different from my other blogs, but feel free to stop by if you like!

 

Thankful Thursday: Night Time Rain and The Land of Promise

Note:  for those of you who have an interest in my blogging attempts, I have begun a new blog, Memories of a Very Shy Child .  This will be a bit different from my other blogs, but feel free to stop by if you like!

Last night it rained.  I vaguely remember hearing the rain during the night, but when I woke up this morning and looked out the window DH asked "Did it rain much?" 

I replied, "It doesn't look like it." 

A few minutes later I went outside to take the garbage cans to the street (yes, Thursday is garbage day here in our neck of the woods, even though it is a national holiday).  And the sidewalk under the mat was still wet from the rain.  The dirt in the flower beds was still wet.  Hooray!  We did get a good rain last night.  I was able to spend a few minutes before the garbage trucks arrived pulling some of the weeds that have been blatantly ignored for the past few weeks, and it was fairly easy work, thanks to the rain.  My early morning plans of watering the gardens were changed.  Instead, I weeded.  The lawns and the gardens should remain sufficiently moist to keep any stray fireworks from igniting in the back yard tonight. What a blessing!  It has been very hot and dry here for the past few weeks and we very much welcome the rain and slightly cooler weather, even though it is a bit humid.  I love the summer rains.

* * * * *

Today our country celebrates our independence and our freedom.  Sometimes it feels like many of our freedoms are gradually being taken away.  That this country isn't quite as free as it once was.  That many people are apathetic to the great heritage this country has, and do not realize how easily it can all be lost.  But, I still love my country and am proud and very grateful to have been born here and lived here most of my life.  I have traveled outside of this country, and though there are many wonderful people and beautiful nations in this world, I still feel most blessed to be a citizen of the USA. 

Long ago this land was proclaimed a choice land of promise.  That whatever nation should possess it should be free from bondage and captivity, if they will but serve the God of the land, who is Jesus Christ.  These promises were made by several ancient prophets, (see below) long before our Founding Fathers brought forth the Declaration of Independence and our nation's Constitution.  I pray that the people and the leaders of this nation will continue to serve the God of this land, Jesus Christ.  I love this land, and I want to see it continue strong and free.  Will you please pray for our country too?  Especially today as we wave our flags eat our picnics and watch our fireworks.  And every day as we carry on with the duties and challenges of living in this land.  A choice land of promise.


Proclamations of a choice land of promise:

Nephi  1 Nephi 2:20. 1 Nephi 4:14, 1 Nephi 14:1-2, 2 Nephi 1:9, 20
Jarom    Jarom 1:9
Omni    Omni 1:6
Ether    Ether 2:8-12