Blessings

Now all glory to God,

who is able, through his mighty power at work within us,

to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.

~Ephesians 3:20~

Pumpkin Houses

I recently spent a delightful day strolling the grounds of the Dallas Arboretum.  It is truly one of my favorite spots in the city!

Paths and planting beds throughout the grounds are lined with over 40,000 pumpkins and decorative gourds, during the Great Pumpkin Festival.

There are pumpkins here,

there,

and everywhere!

In some places, the pumpkins and gourds fill the entire planting beds.

In other places, they become the plants! 

Surely you are familiar with pumpkin flowers, aren't you?

But, the main attraction is the Storybook Pumpkin Village!

Four walk-through houses are constructed completely of pumpkins and gourds.

I adored the green window trim on this little house!

Each house was unique,

 

and truly a work of art!

The Arboretum is not the only place to find delightful pumpkin houses, though!

This adorable little pumpkin house recently arrived by mail.

I am thinking it might actually have a slight advantage over those at the Arboretum.

The roof opens, and a drawer slides out to reveal yummy chocolates!

Nothing better than a day filled with pumpkin houses!

Pity Party and Pansy Planting

Thank you so much for the all the warm and fuzzy birthday greetings and wishes!  They truly lifted my spirits and and carried me through some discouraging days.  Results from my recent CT scans were not what we hoped.  More appointments and tests will be conducted next week.  I held a pity party for myself for a few days, but now it is time to move on to . . . .

pansy planting!

Currently, we are having slightly above-normal daytime temperatures that still climb into the low's 80's.  The general rule of thumb is that pansies should not be planted until daytime temperatures are consistently under 80 degrees.  However, these little flowers just always make me smile!  Smiles were needed, so pansies were planted.

So far, so good.

They seem to be enjoying our sunny days and cooler nights, and not minding a few extra degrees of warmth.

The tulip bulbs are also puchased and in the refrigerator chilling.

I love fall gardening!

Birthday Blessings

Photograph recently taken at Dallas Arboretum

When we start counting flowers,

we cease counting weeds;

When we start counting blessings,

we cease counting needs;

When we start counting laughter,

we cease counting tears;

When we count happy memories,

we cease counting years.

~Barbara Kunz Loots~

Today I count my blessings for fifty six years of life.

The last year has not been the most easy or healthy.  However, it probably brought more blessings than might have been realized otherwise.  I have learned to be more patient and more understanding.  Waiting in doctor offices can do that.  Seeing people in even more pain and discomfort in hospitals can do that, too.

I have realized how truly blessed I am.

I have a husband who has driven me to countless medical appointments, held my hand, calmed my fears, and dried my tears.  I have a son who knows when I need a hug and a box of Sprinkles cupcakes.

My mailbox has been flooded with cards and sweet notes.  Special packages appear on my doorstep.  Beautiful floral arrangements have been delivered and brightened my day.

Heart touching comments have been left here, even though I have been unable to post as often I want. 

God has planted me in a beautiful garden of family and friends, that continues to bloom and grow.

To each of you, I am most grateful and count you as my best birthday blessing and gift.

Sparkly Pumpkins, Part II

I could not stop with just one sparkly pumpkin. 

Now, I have a whole centerpiece of sparkly pumpkins!

As often happens with glitter, a little (or a lot!) was also stuck to me.

I decided to think of it as magical fairy dust and danced off to the local Texas Department of Public Safety office.  You may recall, from an earlier post, my concern about failing the vision test for my driver's license renewal.

With a little bit of magic, a bundle of good wishes from faithful friends and kind readers, and a whole lot of God's grace, I passed!

It is a small step on my road to recovery, but a big step on helping me still feel somewhat nomal.  While I still cannot drive too many places, I will at least be prepared for the day when I can!

If you wish to make sparkly pumpkins of your own, my inspiration came from here.

I used artificial pumpkins and gourds with MS Fine Glitter in Fire Opal and Copper.

Blessings

Believe in yourself, your neighbors, your work, your ultimate attainment of more complete happiness.

It is only the farmer who faithfully plants seeds in the Spring, who reaps a harvest in Autumn.

~B. C. Forbes~

 

Sparkly Pumpkin To Go

Make a sparkly pumpkin.

Add brown krinkle paper to a bright orange take out container.

Gently nestle sparkly pumpkin inside.

Add a bow, and it is one sparkly pumpkin to go!

Sent to a friend, along with wishes for all things good!