Summer Activities... have I mentioned I hate the heat?

Sorry - I am in full blown summer misery, I do not know why some people love the heat, bask like lizards in it, worship the sun etc., and here I am every year acting like summer is a personal affront!  Sigh...this too shall pass, it will not be long until I am bundling up again and because of the heat and the garden I will have fun stuff to eat. (I do understand the connection!!)

I have been trying to clear my 'things to do in the yard' list of the stuff that I have been putting off because it is too daunting, for whatever reason.  I am pleased that I got two of those things crossed off in the last week!  The first one I did not take pics of, just forgot, but I was putting it off till I knew what the plants were, finally identified the last one and thought "oh dear"!

Turns out this is 'Bittersweet Nightshade' and while it is not quite as toxic as it's more famous cousin, it will make pets and small children sick!  So that had to be the first section to be done!  You can sort of tell from this photo that the area was overgrown, many weeds, twigs and (shudder) - large spider webs!  .

This was a two day project but since it is right behind the house it really has made a difference!  Much cleaner and I was able to use the grass rake on the Vinca and get a lot of the twigs, leaves and webs out of the ground cover - the flamingos are happier - I can tell!  ;)

The beginning of the fence...

 This next project involved the old honeysuckle vines on the fence that have not been trimmed for many years.  They are filthy and dirty and underneath a maple tree so they are full of seeds!  This also was a two day project but again, it really needed to be done and I think it makes a big difference in the look of things. In a future post I will share what I found underneath all that!

to the far end by the Lavender

By the time I was done - two 32 gallon trash cans and a pile of wood later - I was filthy and covered in twigs and seeds - but the fence looked a lot better!  Hubby and I had a discussion about cutting/harvesting the lavender and agreed that we would only harvest two bushes as the bees were having so much fun in the flowers - I hope someone is getting lavender honey!

So here was the beginning - I removed the dead ones and trailed the living vines up the now clean fence!

This part was trimmed and weeded but I left the dead vines as hubby and I are (a) half convinced they hold up the fence here, (b) trying to grow some more vines off the old ones, (c) using them as a privacy screen between us and the neighbors!  It is cleaner anyway.

Whole, sliced and spears!

We have begun the canning/preserving season as well, here are my first 5 quarts of dill pickles!

My first Hollyhocks!

And just to 'show off' a little, my attempt to add flowers this year has had a few snags but here are a couple of beauties!

Oriental Lilies!

These poor Lilies - I planted them 3 years ago and they didn't come up, forgot they were there and rototilled them last year - they barely broke the surface of the dirt!  When they came up this year there were 9 instead of 4 and they are lovely aren't they?  (must be pretty hardy as well!)




Looks like we may be in for a little more rain this evening so hubby is out mowing the lawn!  All I can think of is that it will be damp and hot then!  ugh!  Oh well the plants are in hog heaven and the garden is happy and if I don't move too much in the afternoon and sit in front of the fans - it is bearable - and I do love a fresh tomato!!!

Thanks for stopping by!

Not Resolutions - Projects!

Resolutions are things that were invented to make us feel bad about ourselves!  Probably invented by the chocolate manufacturers of the world to sell more chocolate.  See...this is how it works - first you make a resolution, say, to start excersizing more.  Now if you are normal, this is vague and hard to do and by February you have given up and are depressed and are eating chocolate for the emotional comfort!!!  I'm tellin ya, I think it's a conspiracy!  
This year I am going to beat the bad guys.  This year I'm making a list of projects - not resolutions.  I am pretty good at projects and organizing for projects, I suck at resolutions, so I will play to my strengths.  I have also found that I can trick myself, or as I call it 'playing head games with myself and winning', which probably says something sad about my mind (but that is another topic).  So for the next few days I will be coming up with my lists and organizing my projects.

The first thing to make sure that I always keep the Lord in the lead, sometimes I get to thinking I'm in the lead and have ended up in some bogs and marshes in my life!  (and yes I do look sheepish when I say that, I do know better!)

So my first project is to increase my Bible study time.  This last year the Lord helped me break through my issue with forgetting my daily devotions.  My Bible and devotional book sit on the kitchen table all the time and whenever I get to the table and sit down be it 7am or noon I do my devotional reading and read some in my 'reading through the Bible continuously'  project. First part of the project - I feel the need for more than simply reading the Bible now though, I need individual study time.  Church Bible study is wonderful and important but I want to look at things that are individual for me.  The second part of the project is to become more organized in my prayer life.  To my great shame I find that my heart is in the right place  "of course I will keep you in prayer"  but my mind fails me and several days later it comes to my mind again and I feel terrible.  While I may have 'a prayer on my lips' many times during the day, that is for the immediate need or praise.  Like so many areas of my life my prayer life needs organizing.

The next step then is to break it down and decide what methods will work for me.  Since leaving my Bible and devotional on the kitchen table worked for the daily devotional project, maybe the same technique in a different room will work for this.  I have picked a study that I want to do, I have had the book and workbook for years (something I was going to do and ...you know).  It is "The Pursuit of Holiness" by Jerry Bridges.  I read in the evening at my desk in my home office, the small table beside the desk is where I lay my Bible when I get home from church.  Two Bibles, one in the kitchen one in my room.  One of the advantages to growing up in a Christian home is that you have a collection of Bibles to choose from when you get to be my age!  I am currently reading out of the New American Standard and will study out of the Scoffield KJV that I carry to church.  Bible study time will come in the evening, after dinner.  I like pretty, purposed tools and comforting processes - the feel of the leather on the Bible cover, teapots with matching cups, my lovely Bible cover with pockets and zipper and now hopefully my prayer book.  A dear lady in our last church Pat, was the leader of the womens Bible study and made each of us a covered prayer book with our names on them, yes she is a quilter and seamstress.  When we moved, it got packed and forgotten.  I have found it and am ready to use it to help me.

Isn't this just fun to think about using?

I now have the goal articulated, a list of the needed tools and a plan of action.
- Each evening I will work on Bible study and an organized prayer time
- In my Bible, next to my phones and in my purse are pretty notepads dedicated to writing down prayer requests from others
- Each week will have a page for requests - added to daily if needed
- Saturday night when I'm laying out things for church on Sunday I will flip to the next weeks page in the prayer book

Set up and ready to go!

- I will try to never say flippantly that I will pray for someone without writing it down, I don't think they will mind
-If a 'rabbit trail' in my Bible study throws me off target I will embrace it and enjoy the side trip
-If I miss a day, fall asleep in my chair or can't keep my eyes open I will understand that these things happen and give myself a break

I will not be perfect and I am ok with that - So is God by the way, he too wants to see me keep striving, even knowing as he does perfect isn't in the picture - better certainly is!

-Kathy