Before You Go Throwing Things Away---

"Nurturing is not complex.
It's simply being tuned in to the thing or person before you
and offering small gestures toward what it needs at that time."


- --Mary Anne Radmacher


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Back in June I finally (after 4 years) spray-painted then hung a Victorian-ish hook outside. Only thing, that's when those hanging flower baskets cost full-price and we penny-pinchers would rather cross hot coals than pay that.

So I waited, but uh-oh! Our weather turned all record-breaking-heat-and-humidity-ish  and I bought no flowers, hanging or otherwise, because I. Just. Didn't. Care. 

Humidity zaps the will to live right out of me. 

Well, almost, so except for 3 little sunflowers and my loyal bouquets of hardy asters and daisies, this summer we went flower-less. 

Until Saturday. 

That's when we drove past a dried-up, brownish, sad, neglected pot of barely-there petunias on the curb beside trash cans. Tom asked if I wanted him to pull over so I could grab them and I, recalling that empty hook at home, said, "May as well."

Hours later, when the temperature dropped to only-mind-numbing, I sat outside (in my turquoise breakfast robe, actually) and clipped, fingered, watered and whispered to those poor dried-up, wilted petunias and oh! This greeted me on our sanely-cool Sunday morning:




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Can you believe what a little extra pruning, care and love can do? Suddenly we are flower-less no more. (And our temperatures are back to I-want-live!-ish. Whew.)

Which reminds me. This past month, Tom and I had a rough patch (sweet ol' married forever Tom and Debra? Gasp!). I fell into a sloppy habit of disagreeing with his ideas and he got into the habit of snapping at me, over-exaggerating how often I did this. (He used the always word and that makes me bonkers. No one is that consistent in anything--and yes, I'm pretty literal in this instance.) 

Anyway, finally we 'had it out'. We expressed what we were feeling (I think they call it 'communication'), it wasn't fun, but hey, it helped. Since then, we've tried harder to respect the other's wishes and life is returning to normal (which--here--is good).

It felt, actually, a bit like bringing back those flowers to something beautiful. All it took was asking for God's help, paying attention, pruning what was wrong/ugly and watering what was left.

I highly recommend that, rather than just throwing away what still has life left within it if only we take the time to nurture it.

"Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit."  ...John 15:2



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Oh no! Remember this inexpensive house that I loved--

-- but getting into it during the winters is all wrong and would be costly to fix?

Well, I'd been praying that they'd sell that house (so to put me out of my misery), but no! Instead, they lowered the price by $10,000. It's only $59,900 now.

Eegads. Ol' Debra had another rough afternoon trying to re-work and re-work things in her head and slip a ton of hints to Tom. But it's still a no-go.

*&&^%$#@. What a test. 

Yet Life goes on (and yes, there are more important things) as does the challenge of making the most of what I have. Fortunately, that's a challenge I--mostly--enjoy. 

It just seems to get more difficult as I grow older, rather as though my imagination doesn't work as it once did. Hmmm...


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Have you seen the based-on-true-events-movie called The Finest Hours? If not, it's now available instantly on Netflix. 

Starts out a bit slow, but Tom and I enjoyed it. We both especially appreciated the ending which we'd never have believed if it didn't, according to eye-witnesses, really happen that way.

A very old-fashioned film, made the way they used to. Check it out.


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Carpe diem! Rejoice while you are alive; enjoy the day; live life to the fullest; make the most of what you have. It is later than you think."   ... Horace quotes ******

Free Kindle Books:


The Story Girl

The Road to Oz

 A Shot in the Bark

Gunpowder Chowder

Happy Thoughts and Illustrations

Explode Your Creativity



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