A thing kind of happened...

I have been single for 6 years.  Yes, it has been hard but somewhere down the line you learn to accept it and life moves on.  You realize you have the freedom to make choices you  might not otherwise have been able to do...like move.  When 2019 was winding down I was planning to move away from Florence to parts unknown (well, I did know but you know what I mean!) and then God snuck a little wrinkle in my plan.

A friend I had known for several years through Rotary (who says Rotary Club isn't fun?) and I started hanging out.  We were literally just hanging out, because you know...I didn't want to get involved since it was only a few months until I moved away.  And them BAM, it happen, we were in a relationship...we even had the DTR talk and everything.  So move along a few weeks (yep, weeks) and I had one of the worst days as work...as in...it it stunk it up.  When I came home I peeled off my work clothes and switched into leggings and probably my oldest sweatshirt (I was a vision) and went to my sweet man's house.  I walked out into the field where he was walking his dogs and we down-loaded about work and headed back to his house.  When I walked in there was a gorgeous, huge bouquet of perfectly pink flowers and he told me they were for my "special day."  Special Day?  I leaned over to smell those wonderful flowers and turned around and there he was holding a box with a sparkly ring and asking me to marry him.  I was in awe...this handsome man who is so full of sweetness, love, fun, laughter, honesty, and integrity was asking me...YES ME, to marry him! No one has ever surprised me more. Of course, I had to say yes...it was love.  

Oh, and that box does have a light in it...to be continued.

Sometimes you are just thankful!

 

If you have read my blog for the short time it has been "this" blog, you know how much I love my little brick cottage.  If you are a house/home person, you understand this huge attachment; if not, you probably think I am a bit loony...but that is OK, too! My little house isn't perfect, but as I like to say, it is perfectly imperfect! It makes me feel safe and secure. I am thankful for the cocoon it continues to be.

 

As of late we have had some really hot days (it is South Caroline, right?) but also plenty of rain to keep everything green, as well.  One day this week I came home and just smiled because things felt so welcoming.  I guess with all the craziness going on in real life, my little home just felt right.  Maybe it is silly to wax poetic about a house but I believe home is where the heart is and for now...this is home.  I hope for a long time to come I can call it home.  I hope to make memories and watch things grow in this little brick cottage I call home.

#LiveThankful





Happy National Pink Day!

Happy National Pink Day!  Life is not complete without a little pink in it, at least for me.  I loved it as a little girl and I hope I always love it! 

These were left on my doorstep today with a note from a very special friend.  She has spent the last few days visiting with me and I am so glad she did.  It is so amazing to see how God orchestrated the beginnings of this friendship 30+ years ago, but it didn't come into full bloom until the last few years.   He knew to bring us together at just the right time, when we each would need it.

Although, we don't often get to see one another, we share secrets that I can't imagine sharing with anyone else . The last few days have been late nights (2-3 AM every night) full of talking through the issues each of us are dealing with in our lives and catching up on the small details that we will often skip over in a phone conversation or email.. There was plenty of laughter and tears shared but we both needed that. She understands my spiritual battles and doesn't judge because she knows where I am.  I think we all know how rare it is to have a friend who will get in their car at 3:30 pm in the middle of the week and drive 5 hours to spend a few days with you just because she senses you need it (she was right!!!) 

Sadly, we (collectively) seem to get so busy with life and things that really aren't that important in the long term picture that we lose track of the human cost of being busy and not intentional with our relationships, whether with friends or family.  This week showed me true sacrifice just to be friend....not because she had too, but because her heart needed to be a friend. She knew I didn't need to be alone this week and so she stepped in and filled the gap.  I am taking that lesson to heart and hopeto be able to pass it along one day.  I am so thankful that by the time she left, my blessings seemed far greater than my challenges. 

P.S. Please click on the "follow me" to the right. As I am trying to get back into blogging in a more regular capacity it is encouraging to see that your are there!  Also, a little note in the comment section telling me how you found me would be greatly appreciated!

Can we be in March Already?

What a busy month it has been!  I was so determined to get back to regular blogging and then this little thing called life got in the way.  Either way I was probably way too grumpy to blog so maybe it was a good thing.  Grumpy, you say?  Yes...the weather has made me very grumpy.  We have had what feels like constant rain.  Now I know that isn't near as bad as the snow and ice much of the country has gotten but the dreary, cloudy days just make me feel blah....The high point to where I live, though,  is that generally we get a taste of Spring before other parts of the country.

 

Just in case you are unfamiliar with anything but the traditional big, white magnolia blooms that the South is famous for these last two photos are also magnolias.  The white one is a Star Magnolia and the lovely pink one is a Saucer Magnolia (sometimes called a tulip tree.)  So, the blooms have definitely helped my mood and I have tried to keep some blooms in the house as well.

So, are you seeing Spring where you live?  What do you like to do to bring a Spring feeling to your house?



 

Spring is coming!

Are you counting down the days until Spring like I am?  I am sooooo ready for warm days and blooming flowers.  For some reason Winter has felt really long to me this year!

I want to go on a picnic, see the azaleas in bloom, pick daffodils, fall in love with the pink blooms of the Saucer Magnolia just one more time. I want to be lost in tulips.  I want to laugh and hold hands and smile with warm sunshine on my face.  I can't wait to breathe in that sweet Spring air!

What do you want to do to embrace the gift of Spring?

For behold, the winter is past; the rain is over and gone. The flowers appear on the earth, the time of singing has come, and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land.

~Song of Solomon 2:11-12 (ESV)

Bloom where you are Planted...

This little fighter came up in our front walk and I don't have the heart to pull him up. His will to not just survive...but bloom gives me a lot of food for thought.  Don't we all get caught up in complaining and "I hate my life" mentality from time to time?  I have known people who seem to view their life through negative, unsatisfied, bitter lenses.  Wouldn't life be sweeter if we could just bloom where we are planted, accepting that sometimes life plants you in dry, barren ground.  Wouldn't life be sweeter and our hearts more joyful if we could be content with life as we know it and not stuck in the mire of always wanting something else, something bigger, someone else, something more?  It reminds me of this poem:

Master Gardener, help me be
Content with where You’ve planted me;
You carefully place each seed you sow,
And choose the soil to make it grow,
A shady nook or sunlit plot,
A wooded glen or garden spot;
And when you send the storm and shower,
You give me strength and inner power;
All things come that You might be
Glorified, my God, in me;
And so I’ll lift my flowers high,
To cheer and bless each passerby;
And may they see within my face
The beauty of Your love and grace;
So help me, Lord, to ever be
Blooming where You planted me.

—Wm. Claire Greiner

I hope you can take a fresh look around and learn to bloom just where you are planted.



{Semi} Wordless Wednesday: A stroll in the gardens at Georgia Southern

Last weekend while visiting out daughter we made a quick visit to the Georgia Southern Botanical Gardens - Georgia Southern University.   I love to visit gardens and see what grows there, but I have to admit my family only humors me...they truly could skip out on all my "look at that snap dragon" lines.  They have even managed to hide (for the most part) their rolling eyes. Here are some photos from our stroll in the gardens:

Linking up with Daphne @ Flip Flops & Pearls

for {Semi} Wordless Wednesday!

{Semi} Wordless Wednesday: Spring Fever Edition

It has felt like Spring around here this week!  Of course, seeing the garden centers gearing up for Spring doesn't help that feeling either...not to mention the daffodils, Saucer Magnolias and forsythia that I have already seen blooming.  I am afraid I am about to come down with a bad case of Spring Fever and it is way to early for that!

Source: etsy.com via Bella on Pinterest

Source: etsy.com via Bella on Pinterest

Source: stylemepretty.com via Bella on Pinterest

Source: southernsomedays.com via Bella on Pinterest

Source: wedding-planning-101.com via Bella on Pinterest

Source: dreamstime.com via Elizabeth on Pinterest

Source: proverbs14verse1.blogspot.com via Bella on Pinterest

Source: proverbs14verse1.blogspot.com via Bella on Pinterest

Linking up with Daphne @ Flip Flops & Pearls

Fall Has Arrived!

The temps may still be climbing into the high 80s most days

 and the leaves may not be changing, but Fall has arrived!

 Mums and pansies always make me feel like Fall is here!

 Not to mention, I really love pumpkins.

 Welcome!

 I love sweet pansy faces and how they smile all winter.

This is my wreath this year. 

I decided I wanted a new one and this is what I came up with. 



The Garden Club Luncheon!

Today was the end of the year luncheon for our little Garden Club.  The theme included wearing floral hats (no "fascinators" in this group!)  Most of the girls created their own floral arrangements for their hats from the offerings in their own gardens!  The food was delicious and the lunch was held in the pool house of one of our sweet members which was the perfect setting.



Love those Garden Club Girls!



My sweet neighbor, Joyce and her sassy orange attire!



Moi!

What a fun day!

Amaryllis...not just for Christmas!

Do you ever plant Amaryllis bulbs in the fall (inside) so that they will be blooming at Christmas?  In most parts of the country, I think that is the only time many people think of them.  But here, in the deep South, they are excellent outside bloomers.  These are ones I have blooming in a pot in the back yard.  Actually, the previous owner left this pot already planted and I have just enjoyed the results.  I have no idea how long they have been in this pot but I do know that I have never (we have been here almost a year) done a single thing to them.  Many of my neighbors have amaryllis' growing directly in the ground...so, see Amaryllis....not just for Christmas!

Beautiful!!!

Please don't forget to enter my Blogversary Giveaway!!!!

The Garden Club Luncheon!

Today was the end of the year luncheon for our little Garden Club.  The theme included wearing floral hats (no "fascinators" in this group!)  Most of the girls created their own floral arrangements for their hats from the offerings in their own gardens!  The food was delicious and the lunch was held in the pool house of one of our sweet members which was the perfect setting.



Love those Garden Club Girls!



My sweet neighbor, Joyce and her sassy orange attire!



Moi!

What a fun day!