Chapel of Hope Stories

Dear Reader:

Yesterday, my neighbor Jane, called me and said that I just had to stop by and see’ nothing short of a miracle‘ growing in front of her ditch and fence.

She had gotten my attention…I grabbed my Iphone and headed over. Jane was standing by her driveway pointing down on the ground and smiling broadly. One lone red spider lily stood ramrod straight, as if saluting life again. (And perhaps it was)

Jane explained to me that two or more decades ago…she had planted the perennial red spider lily bulbs between the ditch and fence leading into her front yard. For years she had a vision of red loveliness as they multiplied over and over.

Then one year…the lilies got accidentally mowed down…(mistakened for weeds)…and then the town re-drew some boundary lines concerning the ditches and as a result the red spider lilies were gone.

At least a decade has passed since this incident and suddenly today there was the one red spider lily (title photo) back home again and very much alive.

In Japan (original home of these flowering bulbs) the red spider lily is called the ” Flower of Death.” This nickname refers to ‘the other side’; its bright colors said to guide souls into the afterlife.

For this reason…red spider lilies are popular at funerals and planted in cemeteries.

The story behind how this Japanese lily made it America is quite interesting…especially to an old history teacher:

The History of the Bulb

In 1854 Commodore William Perry opened the ports to Japan aboard some of the U.S. Navy’s first steam powered ships while under orders from President Millard Fillmore. Aboard one ship in the fleet was a certain Captain William Roberts, who had a keen eye for horticultural treasures.

While in Japan, Captain Roberts acquired three bulbs of a plant with red spidery type blooms. His niece would later described the bulbs as being, “in such a dry condition that they did not show signs of life until the War between the States.” These three bulbs survived and eventually thrived in their new North Carolina home before spreading across the Southern U.S.

This triploid mule has proven Texas tough, and although it does not produce seed, it offsets new bulbs quite readily. It also produces more bulbs and larger flowers than its modern counterpart from Japan. Some say that the flowers bloom two weeks after the first good fall rain. If there is no rain during the month of September, the bulbs have been known to not bloom altogether

 ………

Because the red spider lilies line up so well in their bright red “outfits” (as if in military rows) they are sometimes referred to as “British Soldiers.”

Three things in the South bring the spider lily back to life…cooler weather, lower humidity, and a good rain in September. *Since we just got all three…I think Jane’s “miracle” was definitely assisted by Mother Nature.

In fact the red spider lilies are called the strongest fall indicator in the South:

“Red Spider Lilies are the alarm clock for the summer sleeping South.” – Chris Wiesinger

I must start looking for some red spider lily bulbs to plant in my garden… All the stories has gotten my attention. I love a flower who can tell a good story!

So until tomorrow…Let us always be surprised and delighted by life and miracles…because it makes God so happy to see us smile.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

*Yesterday I had three great comments from readers who pondered certain things in life under the heading – “Creative Mistake?”

*Johnny Johnson mentioned mosquitoes…he has a hard time wondering why God produced such an irritating flying insect, who not only bites, but drives you crazy with the buzzing.

*Michele Robertson said her questionable “creatures” were fire ants. There were none in Canada and they make her life miserable in the lowcountry. (mine too!)

Michele, Johnny, and I are going to make a pact…whoever goes first…will ask God about these two creatures and get the information back to the other two….deal gang?

Jo, in all her wit and wisdom, didn’t choose an annoying insect or anything else but considered this thought:

“Loved the story of the acorn and pumpkin. How true it is that we often try to make our will, God’s will. We may pray something like, “Lord give me patience, and please hurry” or some other way we try to second guess Him. Your story is a great reminder of Who always knows best.”

*Look at my birthday surcie I got from Chris Frazier…she wrote me that she found this homemade fairy in a little country restaurant and craft store near Traveler’s Rest….It’s specialty is tomato pie…she immediately thought of me. (Thank you Chris..the fairy is so adorable!!!…And you can just insert a photo of my round face in a tomato pie… because we are one in the spirit and stomach!)

*Three weeks from today Legally Pink will be “legally” strutting down the roads marked on Daniel Island for the Race for the Cure to raise money for research to rid the world of breast cancer.

My breast cancer Chinese lantern, hanging from my window in my computer room, reminds me of the upcoming event every time there is a strong breeze. I feel something softly touch my shoulder and head…telling me to get working and get  walking!

Dear Reader:

Haven’t we all, at some time or another, said or at least thought, that God must have made a mistake creating a plant or animal…a river or ocean, forest or jungle…maybe even a hot desert?

For example….a platypus… I mean really?….a mixture of a duck, beaver, and otter with stingers on its hind feet…Ugh and Ouch…Really, pick one and stick with it.

The first time, as a child, when I ever questioned the Creation of something in God’s nature was when I was pulling out beach burs for the third time in one day while my family was vacationing at the beach.

I remember one aunt was pulling the burs out and reminding me to wear my “tennis shoes” to the beach each day while exasperated mother was putting aloe on my sunburn…I was miserable.

In the midst of all the torture I lamented “Why did God make burs anyway?” Mother was pretty fast when she responded “To teach little girls to listen to adults and wear their shoes to the beach and back…that’s why!!!!”

How many times have we heard, as children, an adult looking at us, quite exasperated, and saying something like “God sure broke the mold when He made you.” (Actually I always took it as a compliment…ignorance is bliss.)

So when I came across this little anecdote about pumpkins and acorns…with Fall freshly fallen…I decided it would be a good seasonal story for today.

“Pumpkins and Acorns”

Once upon a time a woman, walking through a meadow, began meditating on nature. It was autumn…the favorite season of the young woman and God’s beauty was abundantly transparent in a tapestry of golds, browns, oranges, and reds. 

Still leisurely walking … she came upon a field of golden pumpkins. It looked like a sea of yellows and oranges from a fairy tale. Suddenly one object began to stand out from this mesmerizing Fall scene .  In the corner of the field stood a majestic oak tree.

The beautiful young woman walked over to the corner of the field and sat under it…providing shade from the midday sun. She began musing on the strange twists in nature which put tiny acorns on huge branches and huge pumpkins on tiny vines.

She thought to herself, “I do believe God made a mistake while making pumpkins and acorns. He should have put the small acorns on the tiny vines and the large pumpkins on the huge branches.”

The scene was so pastoral and peaceful…before she knew it the young women began nodding off. She finally gave in to the sleepiness enveloping her and stretched out under the oak tree for a nap.

She had only been asleep for a few minutes  when she was awakened by something striking her face.

Surprised she jumped up and looked around, only to discover that she had been hit by a tiny acorn bouncing off her nose.

An epiphany immediately swept over her and she started laughing out loud. She rubbed her nose and thought, ” Whew! That could have been a close call if it had been a pumpkin falling from the majestic branches…maybe God was right after all!”

……………………………

So until tomorrow…Let us remember how limited our knowledge of the world is….how finite…and leave Creation to the Creator in all His wisdom and infinity.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

*My birthday (yesterday) started with the sound of pings as emails came bouncing in …. They started early in the morning and pinged until late last evening.

Thank all of you for the “Happy Birthdays”….I truly felt loved.

The Ya’s arrived at 10:30, along with torrential rains, but the rain doesn’t deter mail carriers or the Ya’s….Laughter filled the whole house very quickly ….and my heart felt good with all the ooh’s and aah’s on the new renovations, especially the open windows. (And as a gardener, I was so happy to see the rain for all my flowers and plants…thank you God for the birthday gift!)

The first gift was flowers from Brookie and then the rest of the Ya’s kept flowering me with more and more gifts-too numerous to mention but including a beautiful necklace, new orange pocketbook, ‘meaningful bracelet- story later on a blog post…. and on and on….Libby’s  monkey (which I will share with Jakie Saturday night) shouts “Happy Birthday…OOH OOH…Happy Birthday OOH OOH!” Jakie will love him like I do.

My girls were here…All’s right with the world!

We were off to Oscars for lunch and then Ben surprised me by showing up with the first draft copies of his impending publication  (Grace Under Fire) for all of us.  I cried at the dedication.

Libby and Jackson had to go back to Columbia from Oscars so Ben, Brookie, and I headed back home and were talking when the doorbell rang…it was Jo and Colby. They couldn’t stay but a minute so I didn’t get their pictures but their faces stay a warm memory in my mind always…*I only pray that I can have that same close relationship with my grandchildren that Jo has with Colby…a thing of beauty!

They brought me a a beautiful, fall-colored  ‘throw’- I told them I needed it each morning now when I sat down at the computer and the chilly early morning breeze sent shudders through me. I love it girls…thank you!

Tommy called and asked if it suited if he and Kaitlyn took me out to supper for my birthday…We went to Continental Corner and had a wonderful supper bringing some home to Ben who had crashed after staying up several nights to finish his book. Thank you Tommy and Kaitlyn for a lovely birthday dinner.

Dear Reader:

Has a whole year flown by since I got the call from Mandy (early morning on September 24, 2014) saying that she hoped I didn’t mind sharing my birthday…because Mr. Jakie was on his way!

Mind? Was she kidding? What greater birthday gift than to have one of your precious grandchildren arrive on the exact same day of your birthday! I figured Jakie had it already planned and we had beaten all the odds…. Out of 365 days to choose from … he chose mine! The gift of all gifts!

Brookie had planned to come from Walterboro to help me celebrate my birthday last year….we were on the phone back and forth last year at this time… since Mandy had already had one “false” alarm… we were waiting to see if this was really it. It was!

I went flying to East Cooper and found Tommy watching Eva Cate because John had just left to go into surgery (Mandy had a c-section) with Mandy. As the morning went on….more family arrived and we had started growing a little anxious by lunch time with no news….only to discover that Jakie had come earlier and everybody was doing good….the information just hadn’t gotten sent out.

The little bell “ping” that announces new babies finally ‘tolled for us’ and my birthday present began unwrapping as we watched Jakie’s first sponge bath and indignant squawks.

We were all holding our breaths how Miss Eva Cate (large and in-charge) would take to having a new sibling to vie for attention… but to everyone’s surprise…she was and is very protective and loving of Jakie from day one.

She told me last summer (when she stayed with me for Vacation Bible School) that she had been lonely before Jakie came. She wanted (actually a little sister-“Lucy”) another child in the house!

I had forgotten that a little thing called “lymphedema”  (swelling in the limbs through fluid retention…fairly common in breast cancer patients) showed up about two weeks after Jakie’s birth which made it a little harder to feed him but do-able! If there’s a will…there’s a way! And there was a will!

Obviously Jakie managed to get enough nutrition and today he is quite the eater…where it goes in that long thin frame we don’t know but he sure loves to eat. Jakie today!

As I was going down memory lane from last year…I started thinking about birthdays in general. By simply being alive  and on this earth…isn’t every day of the year, for as long as we live, our shared birthdays with the world….with everyone else alive at the same time?

I think every day when we get up…we should thank God for another day of life and sing “Happy Birthday to Me!”  From the day of our physical birth…our journey through life begins. The hardest part was just getting here….we should all be proud of ourselves for that first accomplishment…no easy task in itself.

It was and will be the first day of great adventures to come….let us never get bogged down in an acceptance of dullness, routine, boredom, or mediocrity….what a disservice we do to ourselves…our personal birthday gift of life…if we do.

So until tomorrow…Let us never squander our lives away and never, never settle for less than what God intends us to be. Happy Birthday Jakie….Happy Birthday Everyone! We are all the luckiest people in the world ….simply because…we are alive with possibilities!

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

*I am getting gifts galore from my garden….all my moon flowers are celebrating life for and with me.

*Walsh emailed me this u-tube video on Chris Singleton, CSU baseball player, who lost his mom as part of the AME Emanuel Nine Massacre.

Walsh emailed me yesterday…letting me know that Chris’s story had affected his heart profoundly….and the story did the same for me. Just Walsh sending me this story was a beautiful birthday gift of love from him…the same love that conquers all. It is the strongest force in the world!

Chris knows it, his mom knew it, and all the world should understand that beautiful concept too. Then we all could say “Happy Birthday Everyone Everyday…You are loved!”

*This birthday card arrived yesterday from Kirk and Pam and I just howled…she looks just like me in my gardening attire and the card says: “Birthdays…You spray and spray and the little buggers just keep coming back!”  (Perfect!)

*A “shout-out” to Linda Schmidt who came on board the chapelofhopestories.com/Facebook/blog and changed the total number of subscribers to 650 …today! Perfect timing!

Dear Reader:

Don’t we all remember our first taste of any kind of knowledge of world history? It all started with the notion of early man being divided into two roles by gender- male hunters and female gatherers…Even as an elementary student with no concept of world history…it did seem unfair to me that man got to be the hunter and woman got stuck with the gathering.

Surely there were some women warriors mixed in with the dinosaur slayers….but since nobody could  tell her story through writings…these female warriors just faded from history.

Today, however, with men and women hunting and gathering (dual roles) side by side…we have to look for one more role (that sets humans apart from our ancient ancestors) to bring spiritual meaning into our existence…the role of scattering. Hunters, Gatherers, and Scatterers. 

Helen Walton is credited for the quote:

“It’s not what you gather, but what you scatter that tells what kind of life you have lived. Let’s scatter the good things.”

Do you see the two “water” jugs on the bench below? Well one holds the water securely in the container and the other has a tiny hole in it that manages to shoot me in the face every time I unconsciously squeeze it near the bottom and it also drizzles droplets of water wherever I go.

Logically…I should just throw the leaking gallon jug away…I do have other jugs to water the hanging baskets on the trees…but do I? No! Like an idiot I continue to fill it up and drip water on my kitchen floor, my deck and squirt myself like the clown with the squirting flower… over and over.

If you asked me why I simply don’t get rid of it…I would have no answer…maybe it is the challenge of getting through one plant watering without soaking myself. Human beings are strange…or at least this blogger definitely is.

The leaking water container, however,has brought back a memory of an anecdote with a message that I always liked…so maybe that is why I kept it. See if you remember this story and message. It’s been around the block a few times.

An elderly Chinese woman had 2 large pots, each hung on the ends of a pole which she carried across her neck. One of the pots had a crack in it while the other pot was perfect & always delivered a full portion of water.

At the end of the long walks from the stream to the house, the cracked pot arrived only half full. For a full 2 years this went on daily, with the woman bringing home only 1 1/2 pots of water. Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments. But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection, & miserable that it could only do half of what it had been made to do.

After 2 years of what it perceived to be bitter failure, it spoke to the woman one day by the stream. ‘I am ashamed of myself, because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your house.’

The old woman smiled, ‘Did you notice that there are flowers on your side of the path, but not on the other pot’s side?’ ‘That’s because I have always known about your flaw, so I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, & every day while we walk back, you water them.’ For 2 years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate the table. Without you being just the way you are, there would not be this beauty to grace the house.’

………………………..

Don’t we all want to leave “scatterings” of ourselves around when we are gone? I know I am guilty of wanting these “scatterings” of memory to be strong, positive ones. But yet…aren’t the best family stories the funny ones about our mistakes we made along the way?

Isn’t leaving a “scattering” of smiles and chuckles behind us….perhaps better than a “scattering” of serious and sad memories of our departure…over-riding our embarkation of life with arms flung wide open?

So until tomorrow…Let us remember that scattering sometimes takes awhile to show itself to others…but when it does…it tells the most accurate version of our life story…the story of what we leave behind.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

Speaking of “scattering” Anne stopped by (last evening) with some birthday breakfast muffins (that I adore) and a pretty little birthday card on friendship….what was inside? A bag filled with milkweed seeds to attract the monarch butterflies….perfect timing for yesterday’s weeds and wildflowers theme. I am working on my trough to put them in first thing in the morning! “Scattering those seeds”!

*Yesterday Jackson got some good news, bad news from her dermatologist…the cells around the mole removed from her back showed melanoma but it appears to be contained with no need for an oncologist/ checking lymph glands. etc/ and all that stuff…..but she will have to have one more surgery to clear the margins.

Please keep Jackson, her sister Em (who is helping her through the nursing and bandage changing) in your prayers ….Jackson returns to get the stitches out today and will know more about the strategy on how to proceed from here.

*Gin-g emailed me with wonderful news….she is now the proud grandmother of a grandson.!!!…Three little granddaughters and now a grandson to love on…..Congratulations Paul and Stacy! Gin-g and Fred! So happy for everyone! The baby’s name is: Jonathan Paul, Jr….he will be called JP!

And speaking of leaving “scatterings” Susan just experienced this first hand. ( See the picture with her and Michael Lopez…former music student)- He says:

Today, Palmetto Bronze performed at Trinity Presbyterian Church in Myrtle Beach and I was lucky enough to see someone whom I hadn’t seen in about 14 years!

This woman right here was my elementary school music teacher, and when I was in 2nd grade, she saw something in me and offered to stay after school with me and give me piano lessons!

I would not be the musician I am today without your guidance, and for that I am eternally grateful! You will never know the impact you’ve made on my life! Thank you!!! 💕💕

Fall officially “fell” this morning a little after 4 a.m. Now let’s hope it’s “scatterings” bring us cool days and slightly chilly nights, woodsy smells, the taste of s’mores, and so much more! (At 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday while typing …the coolest breezes have been blowing in my open window by the computer…Fall snuck in early for me….loving it!)

The next two days are going to be kinda crazy so I will go on and give you the Susan G. Komen information today to end the blog race info for this week… before I forget again.

*UPDATE ON OUR PROGRESS: LEGALLY PINK SET OUR GOAL FOR $1500 this year AND AS OF TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 22 WE ARE ALMOST HALF-WAY THERE! THANKS TO ALL OF YOU WE HAVE RAISED $ 655 TOWARDS OUR GOAL-43%.  WE ARE KEEPING ON KEEPING ON….DON’T FORGET THE RACE IS OCTOBER 17!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Because of our progress the team received some grilling charms that can be used to identify whose steak, chicken, or pork chop is grilling away….rare, medium or well done. We definitely are the “Little Pink that Could.”

If you would like to donate but would rather send a check than go the electronic route….here is the new address….the headquarters moved this year. 

*Make the check out to Komen Lowcountry Race for the Cure

(on the bottom left of your check you can either write the name of our team (Legally Pink) or an individual on the team or both if you can squeeze it all in!) Either way we will receive it…) Thank you so much from the bottom of my heart!

Mail to:

Susan G. Komen Lowcountry – 50 Folly Road Charleston, SC 29407

Electronic donation:

http://lowcountry.info-komen.org/site/TR/RacefortheCure/CHS_LowcountryAffiliate?team_id=335432&pg=team&fr_id=5355

Dear Reader:

I just love this saying “May all your weeds be wildflowers” because there is nothing prettier, in my mind, than a field of wildflowers.

In my parallel life…I will one day have a little Hansel and Gretel cottage beside such a field…wildflowers will be blooming from the window ledges and encircling the door. I will just be the blessed recipient of a home owned by wildflowers!

Roz VanAlstyne, friend and former teaching colleague at Alston Middle School,  told me (the last time she was back from Indiana) that her son Jeremy and his wife, who now live in Ann Arbor, Michigan live in an area that promotes “natural lawns.”

There are signs everywhere saying this lawn is a National Wildlife Federation certified habitat. Driving by you see lots of wildflowers and birds. Quite the contrast to the in-the-city neighborhoods with their manicured lawns.

If a weed blooms…I feel like it has made an effort to do so and that it should come under the category of a flower. After all…effort should account for something.

Did you know that the words “human” and “humility” share the same root word which is: humus -earth.  Now stop and think about the popular parables that Jesus told…They are pretty “earthy” too in Christ’s attempt to teach us humility.

There is the parable of the workers in the vineyard, the parable of the seed and sower, and the parable of the prodigal son. In each case the lesson taught was one of humility and humble forgiveness.

Madeleine L’Engle (Walking on Water) provides this lovely paradox: “We can be humble only when we know that we are God’s children, of infinite value, and eternally loved.” (So true!)

I have been “humbled” three times in the last two days…let me share these wonderful surprises with you.

1. When I went to the car yesterday to run some errands…an elf had left two birthday bags in the car. I ran back to the top steps on the porch and started opening and opening all the gifts…they were from Honey.
2. She is the gift that keeps on giving and giving and giving. Honey…you just blow me away dear friend. Here are three photos of all the surcies I received!

It just blew me away…more clay labels for my jars, a dragonfly necklace made from pine straw, a piece of pottery (made by Honey) in the form of an autumn angel with her holding cross. Unbelievable…thank you so much Honey for being you!

The other two “gifts” came in the form of emails from WordPress about the blog,

The first “gift” was from Jessica, grand-daughter of Beverly Barutio, who they called “MaMaw”, the amazing woman who created St. Jude’s Chapel of Hope …the chapel that changed my life and has influenced many of your lives after visiting this little sacred spot by the springs nearby.

The second “gift” came from Christina, another grand-daughter, who must have heard from Jessica that we had made contact. Both girls were so sweet and kind in their comments validating the blog and its recognition of the lessons learned from their “MaMaw” –  learning to live a life filled with grace and action…even when life throws us curve balls.

I told both grand-daughters that we would love to hear any stories about their amazing grandmother (they would be willing to share) whose influence continues to spread faster than any “little c” disease around.

My birthday isn’t until Thursday but those two emails, from out of the blue, reaffirmed this chapel of hope stories project and truly has made this a birthday to remember. Thank you Jessica and Christina.

So until tomorrow….”Like wildflowers; You must allow yourself to grow in all the places people thought you never would.” ( E.V.)

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

*Please keep Rudy in your prayers as he journeys through “little c” too with the support of his family and “brothers.”

*(Atticus and Pip-on either side) are mixed “wildflowers”  next to Rudy but the dogs don’t know or care who is “true blue” Yorkie and who are just a little “wilder.”)

Please continue to support our dog brothers in the photo contest…you can vote once a day…much appreciation!

http://bit.ly/1UXK3E2

John took this picture yesterday morning at ECDC…sharing donuts with dad…and a cool five year old! Our little “wildflower!”

Dear Reader:

We all just experienced the last weekend of summer…and true to form…summer went out the way it started…hot! It wanted to show who was still in control as the fall equinox draws closer.

There are two equinoxes each year… in September and March… when the sun shines directly on the equator and the length of  day and night is nearly equal.

The Fall Equinox (for the Northern Hemisphere) can fall any time between September 22-24. (So glad I squeaked into the fall category) This year (in Summerville, SC) the September Equinox is on Wednesday, September 23 at 4;22 a.m.

I even found a “live” time counter on-line that gives Summerville the official count-down….at the time I was writing this blog yesterday afternoon…the count-down was 2 days, 16 hours and 12 minutes. Tick, Tick, Tick!

Good-bye exhausted air conditioners and welcome new open screen windows and ceiling fans! Good-bye bright and light flip-flops and sandals and welcome enclosed, dark-colored flats. Good-bye cold showers and welcome hot, steamy baths. Good-bye light lavender perfumes and welcome pumpkin-smelling everything…except real pumpkins!

Have you noticed that about this time of year, every year, new pumpkin-scented items begin emerging, on the market, faster and faster…which brings some people to ask “Is pumpkin spice the ultimate aphrodisiac?”

I must admit that I usually go out and buy a scented candle each fall because I do love the pumpkin, cinnamon aroma waffling through the house.

But now…everywhere you go… from the bakery to the drug store to the grocery store to the coffee shops… a pumpkin-scented something awaits you.

Pumpkins

The strange thing in this fall marketing strategy is that the pumpkin-scented items have a time-limited availability to consumers. As soon as we start hearing the jingles of Christmas the pumpkin-scented products magically disappear off the shelves…not to return until next fall.

I took a little time this past’ last weekend in summer’…to reflect on the summer of 2015 and decided it was the ‘summer of reading.’ I think I read more books this summer than I have in a long time…nothing very heavy…just typical summer reads. But I have discovered, that even in the lightest read…I always walk away from a book with a bit more wisdom or insight into life than I had before reading it…Books are funny that way.

Another common thread running through my summer novels…is that I stayed pretty close to home in all the fictional settings…really just the Carolinas…with the exception of the book I am presently reading….(which I will conclude with in a minute.)

My first read of the summer was Karen White’s “The Sound of Glass.”  The setting for this read was Beaufort, South Carolina…one of my favorite places in the Palmetto State. I came away with some funny and poignant sayings and expressions.

…And I also came away with my own sea glass chime ( placed on the magic moon gate.) It has been my best purchase in a long time. Especially now that my windows are open and I am lured to sleep each night with the soft rustle of the “sound of glass.”

After this novel…it was on to Sullivan’s Island for the trilogy by Mary Alice Monroe….Summer Girls, Summer Wind, and Summer End.

The first book was okay…but I am normally not fond of trilogies…I must admit, however, the second novel lured me back leaving me with tears over the character “Lucille” (for obvious reasons) and happiness at the end of the third novel. The book was all about relationships…in fact all my summer reads have been about relationships because that is what life is all about…isn’t it?

*I did like how the three books brought in many restaurants and bars I am familiar with at Sullivans…It made the reading experience even more attractive. (Especially Poe’s Tavern for lunch)

This was the summer that I discovered a new author (Sarah Addison Allen from Asheville, NC) and fell in love with her two novels about a magical apple tree, mysterious herbs and edible flowers in a garden and the relationship of the Waverly sisters and their mysteriously gifted family members.

The setting is in Balcom, North Carolina (fictional) but it refers to Hickory throughout the two novels as being in close proximity.

There was just enough magic and fantasy without being silly and just enough reality to produce a wonderful , memorable read….the kind of book that you don’t want to end. The Waverlys become your best friends and you don’t want the friendship to cease on the last page of each novel. (Gardens Spells and First Frost)

It was while I was returning Garden Spells back to Timrod that one of the volunteers there told me about The School of Essential Ingredients…a best-seller from 2010. I am right in the middle of it as I type today and I  love the musical and lyrical rhythm of this author-Erica Bauermeister.

For the first time all summer…I have finally left the Carolinas…this book never gives the name of the city that Lillian’s Restaurant is located in…but it does, frequently, refer to being in the Northwestern part of the United States.

Like Garden Spells and First Frost the central theme in this book is, not only the relationship of people attending a cooking class, but also the relationship between food and people…how food affects their attitudes, moods, and spirits.

*I just discovered that a sequel to this NY Bestseller is available also…so I think you can surmise what my next book will be.

The Summer of 2015…a wonderful summer, spent with friends, both inside and outside of, my summer novels.

So until tomorrow “Reading is life’s great gift.”

“Today is my favorite Day” Winnie the Pooh

*I have waited all weekend for the moon flowers to bloom simultaneously since I counted four buds Friday on the hanging green chair…. I have the same situation with one of the moon flower vines on the fence with three buds…Finally last night all my waiting paid off….See for yourself! (With more blooms to come…this must be the season the moon flowers like best!)

1. The “Peace” Moon flower returns:

2. Three Moon flower blooms on the replaced vine on the fence

3. Finally the “bragging rights” go to Hanging Green Chair with four moon flower blooms at one time!

Glorious! Glorious!

Dear Reader:

I remember when I was presenting social studies workshops around the state, particularly for third grade teachers, their biggest challenge was teaching time (and its relevance to the present) to eight-year-olds…with little or no concept of time.

I used to do a little activity, using South Carolina History as the backdrop, to try to teach the students “grammar” clues to look for… when deciding if something was past, present, or future.

I would tell the third graders to stand by their desk and listen to the clues carefully before responding. ( I had already done a short lesson on verb tenses like (am/is or was or will be) before starting the activity.

It would go something like this:

I would call on a student (standing by his/her desk) and read a statement like: “Francis Marion WAS a revolutionary hero from South Carolina in the 1700’s… and his home WAS in Berkeley County.” Is this a present, past or future statement about the famous Swamp Fox, Francis Marion?

If it  was a present statement…the student would jump up and down by the desk, if it was a past statement-the student would take one step backwards and if it was a future statement…the student would take one step forward.

It did seem to help the teachers, somewhat, but even my eighth graders appeared pretty clueless when it came to guessing ages or figuring out time periods in history. If an eighth grade teacher asked her students her age…she could expect a wide diversity of answers from 20 to 80…they honestly didn’t know.

Now that I am on the “top” side of the time-line of human life…I am finally beginning to have a better understanding of my 13 year olds’ dilemma- in that long ago eighth grade social studies class.

Everyone now (especially in their 30’s and 40’s) looks like they are in their twenties to me…specifically when I look at young doctors….I keep seeing little “Opies” talking back to me….are they old enough to have finished high school…much less medical school?

Time is sly and tricky to the human eye.

…So when I came across this adorable little story (“The Plum Pretty Sister”- Cynthia Brian) in Chicken Soup for the Gardener’s Soul…I had to admire the mother’s creativity in teaching time to a three-year-old…using an old plum tree.

Cynthia tells the story about her little son, Justin, (at the time) and how from toddler-hood on…was quite a climber…She found him climbing trees, the roof..a little monkey for sure.

But his favorite tree…was the plum tree…especially when the plums turned purple and he could grab his pail, climb up the branches, until he could fill it with deep purple plums…his favorite.

When he was three his mother told him she was expecting another baby. Justin was too excited and proclaimed to one and all that the baby was going to be a little sister. Since he was three…he wanted the baby to come out and play with him right then…every day.

Telling Justin that the baby wasn’t due until June…was no help at all. “What is June?” and “When will it get here?” Justin repeatedly asked.

One day mom had an epiphany while watching Justin climbing in the purple plum tree.

“Come here Justin” and I will let you know when the baby is coming.” Excited the three-year-old scampered down and asked “When…right now?”

“No…but the baby will come when the plums turn purple and ripen…when they are ready to eat…but not before then.”

Justin began checking the tree at least three times a day and worried when the weather turned cold that the baby would be cold in the tree too. He would talk and encourage the baby in his mommy’s tummy to be strong and stay warm.

By February some purple leaves began to shoot forth and March brought beautiful tiny white flowers. Justin was overjoyed.

“The baby is b’ooming Mommy” he would proudly proclaim each time he checked the tree…and the baby was…moving and kicking away now.

Every time Justin caught his mother drinking a glass of water he would say,  “You’re watering our little flower, Mommy?”

When June arrived…so did the purple plums…but they were small and not quite ripe yet…not enough to eat. Mom wasn’t sure the baby could wait much longer for them to ripen.

Then one day Justin told his mommy that the baby was coming…the plums were ripe and his face was covered in purple juice.

That very day…the ‘plum’ baby arrived. She was beautiful and Justin wanted to name her Purple Plum. It ended up with another selection, Heather, but the date, June 22, became known as the “Plum Pretty Sister Day” in the family.

It turned out that the ‘plum pretty sister’ was a climber too and she and Justin spent most of their childhood up in the purple plum tree playing together.

Quite strangely (before the family moved) for the next fifteen years..the purple plum ripened, each year, exactly… on June 22. A double wink from God and Mother Nature.

………………………

So until tomorrow…Let us remember that in God’s World…past, present, and future are all one…with Him.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

*I stopped by Lassie’s to drop off her mum and another little “funny” gift for her yesterday morning. She told me she already had my gift and wanted to go on and give it to me.

Isn’t my little pink, white, and silver angel adorable? (She looks like Pippy Longstockings …with pink and white striped stockings.) I am still thinking of a cute name for her…but you can rest assured she will ‘fly’ with us October 17 for the Race for the Cure. Thank you so much Lassie…I adore her!

Anne stopped by Friday evening to pick up some materials and we walked out to the garden….it never ceases to amaze me how we each “see” different things at the same time… and come away with a different “take” on it. The garden through Anne’s eyes at sunset. (Do you see the very beginning of the crescent moon in the first photo?)

Many eyes and many perspectives make up life.

*Isn’t leaving your Iphone charger a mini-disaster? I left mine at Edisto and sweet Brookie sent it Friday overnight I think…because it arrived yesterday just in time to take some garden shots. Brookie sent this little dittie:

Ode to the Charger

You are the one I can not live without

You are quiet and humble, without a doubt!

In fact so much so that I forget you are there

And so when I leave…you stay put

And hide from me…I do believe! 

Dear Reader:

I had a personal “mini”  epiphany the other day concerning the word “rest.” In an English dictionary the word “rest” has many different meanings.

“Rest” can be a noun or a verb…action or passive…assuring and supporting…being relative to something else or a musical connotation that represents a short pause in the music.

“Rest” can even be something left over after the other parts have been taken away….“I threw away the rest.”

This concentrated thought on “rest” evolved from my stay at Edisto Beach….As soon as I arrived…I felt this release from all my busy activities, lately, with the home renovation and housewarming/birthday party.

For the rest of my stay there at the beach house…I could hardly keep my eyes open…I just felt this sense of peace and serenity and could have slept non-stop for the entire period I believe.

For me on this particular visit….the name of Ted and Brooke’s beach home “Rest in Peace” really meant rest in peace…and I did. All the responsibility that I felt (that had) “rested on me with lots of decisions  to be made concerning the house….the shingles, the paint, the windows….were gone now.

Merriman-Webster Dictionary gives “rest” this definition: peace of mind or spirit

Even though I was physically tired to some extent…my exhaustion fell more into the realm of a need for spiritual rest. 

I am beginning to recognize now that when I feel I have ‘hit a wall’ and need to “rest” I am actually yearning for quiet time…a pause in the day’s activities to regroup spiritually before jumping back into the mundane schedule of the day.

Jesus understood, better than anyone, the need for both kinds of rest….He certainly had his share of days that physically exhausted him and took much strength from him…but over and over again, we see examples of  Jesus leaving the crowds, the disciples and the “chatter” of the world (according to scripture) to “rest in peace.” (To talk with His Father and get himself anchored and his strength restored and renewed before joining the busyness of the world and the unique responsibility that “rested” on him and him alone.)

It was his deep understanding of the double-meaning of “rest” that prompted Jesus to say:

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matt 11:28-30)

As I enjoy the last blooming season before the winter hiatus in my garden…I realize that God created “resting” seasons for plants, animals, and man for a reason. While the plants rest this winter…the gardener gets to rest too and dream of spring with new flowers, new opportunities, and renewed hope.

All through the long winter, I dream of my garden. On the first day of spring, I dig my fingers deep into the soft earth. I can feel its energy, and my spirits soar.  Helen Hayes

So until tomorrow….Let us find time each day to “rest” ….to find solace, quietude, renewal, and peace …it is better than any nap.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

Happy Birthday to Lassie Murray! We love having September birthdays, don’t we Lassie….because of “MUMS”….lots and lots of “MUMS!”

My boys…Lachlan and Walsh at Blowing Rock…Will Lachlan be the middle child one day, like daddy, or remain the baby forever…only the future knows the answer.

* Yesterday was a sad day for me…Mary, our wonderful mail carrier, was “given” a different route and our whole neighborhood is in mourning. So is Mary…but she put on a big smile and promised me to keep praying that she could return.

She was and is the best!! She was there for me when I was really sick, hand delivering packages and mail when the weather was bad so I wouldn’t have to go out….a friend in need is a friend indeed.

• 
• Oops I forgot to give you the Susan G. Komen information like I promised each Friday (yesterday )but here it is today. 
• *Thanks everyone who has donated to date….you make me very happy…it is all I want for my birthday on the 24th…seriously!
• *Starting today…every Friday until Race Day I will add donation information so you will have a quick reference to fall back on for your convenience if you choose to donate this year.…So from now on…if you need the information just check any Friday blog at the bottom.
• 1. Electronically:
  2. http://lowcountry.info-komen.org/site/TR/RacefortheCure/CHS_LowcountryAffiliate?px=13398752&pg=personal&fr_id=5355

  */Or…make the check out to Komen Lowcountry Race for the Cure

  (On the bottom left of your check you can either write the name of our team (Legally Pink) or an individual on the team or both if you can squeeze it all in!) Either way we will receive it…) Thank you so much from the bottom of my heart!

  Mail to:

  Susan G. Komen Lowcountry – 50 Folly Road Charleston, SC 29407

   

Dear Reader:

You know it’s Fall…when you start dreaming of breakfast for supper! It’s something about the cooler weather that brings back an appetite for a cool night, hot meal…and there is nothing better to fulfill that desire… than a big, hearty breakfast to satisfy the soul of Fall.

Wednesday night, after tramping around in the beauty of Fall at Edisto most of the afternoon….breakfast was what we wanted! *The Ya’s can attest to the fact that Brookie makes the best grits east of the Mississippi River. You have to wait on them…she cooks them slow and low…but they are well worth the wait!

Come along with us on a visual tour of Edisto under the veil of soft gray clouds with highs only in the seventies…Peeks of Autumn kept calling and luring us to piers, marshes, trees, beaches, and little chapels.

Initially we were disappointed because our favorite place, Botany Bay,was closed Wednesday for a deer hunt. We didn’t give up…but went on to Steamboat Landing and Cypress Trees Plantation (where Mandy and John were married.)

What wonderful memories came rushing back at the site of Mandy and John’s wedding….it was just beautiful…May 3, 2008….cool weather, no bugs….a magical night for the ages.

Then we were on to Steamboat Landing…where we saw dolphins, posing seagulls, and amazing shrimp casters among the marshes of Edisto Island. The Goldenrod in the marshes told us Fall was on its way. Dead tree limbs showed us that there is beauty beyond life…

Brooke then wanted to go to the little Chapel of Prayer at the Presbyterian church…the room is so tiny and cute with two pews lining each side wall- eight feet apart. As the story goes….the session meetings, a long time ago, once got so heated they had to take the meeting place out of the House of God (the church) and put it in a separate building with eight feet separating the elders from fighting. Sound familiar?

We stopped to look at Mr. Alligator and Mr. Rabbit carved into two trees off Highway 176 heading off Edisto Island….time has not been kind to either but especially Mr. Alligator who lost his snout when the branch broke.

We decided to head to the beach and walk a little before heading home…the view there was spectacular! I even walked close to the jetties again where my dolphin appeared with the message of life for me.

Once again…the idea of beauty being something active and not abstract was driven home with all the beauty lying in wait for us to discover .

Brooke and I just had two days together at Edisto  but it felt like old Erskine College roommate days…laughing together and making plans for more adventures.

When I got home yesterday afternoon…I was so excited! My last new window had been installed while I was gone…the window by my computer. As I was typing away last evening…the window was open allowing a mellow, cool breeze to float across me….happiness is.

Gin-g had called right before I left Edisto and invited me to have supper with her and Fred last night after I got in…it was delicious with apple pie a-la mode for dessert. (I was so full as I was typing these words my eyelids were drooping… but such delicious culinary memories and fun conversations!) Love those Edwards!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

*Thank you Gin-g for all the cute (early) birthday presents….the beautiful bracelet is on my hand as I finish this blog post.

Safe travels to North Carolina this weekend.

Both Lassie and I experienced a beautiful ending to the evening last night…Lassie was walking and saw this rainbow over town…what a way to end the day!!!! (An early birthday present I believe!)

I walked out to the garden  (very quickly) after coming home from Gin-g and Fred’s home…. something white caught my attention on the hanging green chair….it looked like a beam of light suspended in mid-air….just breath-taking. (And can you see the bud to the left of the moon flower…looks like I will have another one tomorrow night!)

So until tomorrow…Let us greet the seasonal change …making a change ourselves… by finding Fall in  new and different places.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

*Yesterday was baby Lachlan’s six months birthday….1/2 a year and soon his cousin Jakie will be 12 months old…his first year….Stop little grandsons….stay babies a little longer for Boo!

• If you have a minute to vote for Rudy and his bro’s Kaitlyn, Tommy and family would appreciate the vote….Kaitlyn entered the boys in Garden & Gun magazine….which includes a dog contest. Here is the link….
• 
• http://bit.ly/1UXK3E2

Dear Reader:

When I returned home from Conway Sunday afternoon I opened up all my new windows and let this luscious cool weather into my home. The old house seemed to shudder with surprise and delight. It had been decades since any real fresh air had blown into the edifice. It was a wondrous feeling of refreshment and renewal.

One of my greatest delights is my new bedroom window…it had been in the worst condition of all the windows… so I kept the blinds down to cover its ugliness from the mold gathered around each pane. And now, suddenly, I have this bright new shiny white window that raises to the sunlight and breezes of the day.

For the first time I have a new perspective on my garden from the angle of the window…and I feel like my own personal fantasy land dwells right outside its view.

It is true (as the calendar tells us in the middle of September) that “In the garden of life, late bloomers are especially beautiful.”  (I find myself rooting for these flowers each morning)

An interesting excerpt from a poem by Rumi (Awakin Weekly) got me thinking about fields of dreams and faith. In this particular article the author ( Rachel Remen) was talking to a group of future young doctors about the importance of, not only guarding the words they say, but, also, the expressions on their faces, and gestures while addressing and communicating with their patients.

Later a student walked by and placed a piece of paper in the speaker’s coat pocket. It read:

I had a dream
That honeybees were making honey in my heart
Out of my old failures.
There is no right or wrong
Beyond the right and the wrong
There is a field.
I’ll meet you there.

……………………

Isn’t that a lovely thought…one we all hope and pray exists….a place beyond societal interpretation of right and wrong and judgment/punishment for mistakes.  One commenter on this thought from the blog article said:

In one of my favorite movies…Field of Dreams…the story line is about the faith of one man to follow a voice and build a baseball field in the middle of his Iowa corn field amidst the ridicule of his neighbors. “If you build it…they will come.”

It is a story that transcends baseball…it is a story about redemption, forgiveness, and second chances.

The “they” that will come turns out to be the ghosts of Shoeless Joe Jackson and the other seven Chicago White Sox players banned from the game for throwing the 1919 World Series. But the voice doesn’t just extend to this team but to certain other individuals who never got their chance at the plate…they will form the team to play the Chicago White Sox team.

The mix of magic, dreams, second chances, and a field built on faith makes this feel good movie quite memorable…for me…it is movie making at its best.

My garden of dreams is the place where I can take my cares and worries and leave them for another day…shoveled under dirt and compost. The flowers never judge me about a right or wrong decision…they just accept me for who I am.

Isn’t it wonderful to know that God is our ‘field of dreams’ where we are loved unconditionally and accepted for just our being?

So until tomorrow…Let us all seek and find our personal place of refuge…where ‘honey bees make honey in our heart‘ from the mistakes we have made along our journey and judgment runs away from the field of faith and dreams.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh