Saturday, October 21, 2017

Beauty of Nature in Small Packages

Hello my dear friends.  I've had a great two days at home enjoying my favorite things; keeping house and cooking.  For some reason, I feel I have so much energy and have already started to plan for the holidays.  I hope this energy stays around for awhile :) read to the end of this blog post if you want to hear me rattle on. . .

I love to collect little dishes and such.  You know those tiny jars you get jam or honey in at a hotel?  This is a tiny little succulent that I'm trying to sprout and it's in one of those little jars in my kitchen window.  I love the symmetry of it all.

Last week I pulled out all the old tomato vines.  There was still a handful of green tomatoes on a couple of them.  Here they are in a little earthenware dish I bought in Spain.  I hope they turn red.  I did leave a few of the unripe one on top of the soil as last time they reseeded themselves and grew up to be lovely tomato plants.

I made a mini bouquet from the flowers I bought earlier in the week.  My little crystal vases were being used for something else so this is a Turkish tea glass I'm using as a vase!

This is a pumpkin candle.  I have a set of them that I use for decorating my fireplace mantle. It sure doesn't feel like fall. . . we are expecting the heat wave to hit tomorrow and they're saying it could break some records.  And, it's the end of October!  I'm a bit scared as with the heat they are saying the Santa Ana winds (which are fierce, hot winds) may be blowing.  That's a huge red flag for fires.  Where I live, there is a huge ravine (not sure if that's the word but it's a huge expense of lowland with higher ground on either side that goes for miles).  There are communities on both sides of it.  Actually, in the area where I live there are three different cities that connect along this ravine.  And, there are three  bridges that cross over it.  Last week, I saw a car parked off the road after crossing the bridge.  I first thought it was a police car scanning for speeders. But, there on the side of the car door was a sign "fire watch". I'm not sure if these are volunteers who provide this service or if it's part of the fire department.  Either way, it's a very smart idea as if that ravine ever caught fire, it could spread throughout all these communities.

 
I know the heading of this post is beauty of nature in "small" packages but I just had to share a photo of Lilly this morning during her morning naptime.  She's not "small" but to me she is so beautiful.  And, she is such a sweet natured kitty.  My little two year old granddaughter was here last week and loved petting Lilly.  Lilly was so kind to her.  I think they are good friends now.

I have a question/survey to ask you my dear readers.  Do you read blogs or other social media sites where you feel the author writing these pieces has real likes or dislikes?  For instance, I read a lot of blogs and they span many subjects.  But, there are a couple of them whose main theme is being thrifty.  I love to shop for a bargain as do most people.  But the more I read some of these blogs, the more I am totally dismayed.  It appears that these people are very closed minded and set in their ways unless you follow the same path they do.  Examples would be:  
- buying clothes from a department store - never!
- travel/take a cruise - never!
-shopping at an upscale grocery store -never!
-buying a designer/name brand item - never!
The list could go on and on.  I have likes and dislikes but I never ever would try and push my agenda onto someone else.  Hey, if you want to buy a no name brand or buy a designer brand, that's up to you.  But, don't bash people who don't think like you.  I'm finding it very rude sometimes.  And, their opinions are not limited to consumer goods.  Oh no.  Some of them are ethnocentric as they don't want anything to do with America and they frequently share this on their blogs.  It puzzles me as to why people who know nothing about someone, can hold such negative opinions. I've met some very dear friends abroad via my blog; friends that I hope to meet in person one day and visit their lovely countries.  I truly feel we should embrace what we have in common rather than divide.   Anyway, that's my rattling on tonight and it has nothing to do with nature and yet it does have to do with one's own nature.  I try my hardest to never offend anyone or make anyone feel they don't belong.  We should be embracing the beauty of this world we live in regardless of where or what country we live in.

Enjoy your day everyone.  Lilly sends you her meows.
With my best wishes,

Pat


11 comments:

  1. I agree with you, some bloggers are closed minded, I think we are alike, we like to find a bargain and save some pennies, but we are not all out. I have followed blogs who post about things I don't like and then I vote with my feet and stop following. I don't need anyone firmly posting about religion, politics, guns and no spend. I have no issues with any of the topics, but to me they are private. I blog what I like and want to ready enjoyable post not rants and rudeness.

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    1. Hi Marlene, I agree with you 100%. I didn't write this to offend anyone, as I love a bargain and to save money but not go overboard about it. Thank you for visiting. I hope you're having a great day. Pat xx

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  2. I have quite following a couple of blogs that I use to enjoy because they have gotten so carried away with being frugal. I'm careful with money, but sometimes we enjoy spending it just for the fun of it. We like to travel and we did economy when we were young, we travel first class now and I don't feel the least bit guilty about it.
    People have never liked Americans, learned that when we first lived in Germany. They sometimes like us as individuals, but as a country not so much and of course now with Trump they hate us.
    Lily is lovely.

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    1. Hello Janet. I think we are alike in many ways as I like to be careful with my money yet spend it on something I like at the same time. And, luckily we can travel now as it's become a hobby. You are correct about Americans not being liked. Lilly thanks you for your kind words. I hope Miss Kitty is enjoying her day, too. Hugs, Pat

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  3. I only discovered your blog a few days ago and I really enjoy what I have read. Love Lilly! She is beautiful and though I have always had cats, I have never had a Maine Coon cat. I read a variety of blogs with authors from several countries besides the US. I like hearing others' opinions and think it is wonderful that we are all different. How boring would it be if we all looked alike, though alike and did the same things. I feel very blessed to live in a country where we have the freedom of choice. However, i do not understand the hatred and ugliness that has been so prevalent in the media in past months. If someone has a different political opinion from mine, that is okay but we should all be respectful of each other. Hope you get cooler weather soon. It has been a long, hot and humid summer in the South and summer just would not end. Last week was the first week that we had what I consider real fall weather. Fall is my favorite time of the year and I am so glad to see the cooler weather.

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    1. Welcome Shirley to my blog. I'm so happy that you discovered it. Lilly runs our home as you can see. I used to have a Norwegian Forest Cat which looked very much like a Maine Coon. I too enjoy reading my blogs from around the world. And it's wonderful that we can be different and have our freedoms. Yet, sometimes I just can't read into all the negativity. So happy to hear that fall has arrived in the South. It's almost 10:00AM here and close to 80 degrees...so the heat is on it's way. I hope to chat with you again. My best to you, Pat xx

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  4. love your pumpkin candle :) We have unusual warm weather but it's supposed to cool off in a few days. I hope so. I read mainly knitting and life blogs. I stay away from strongly worded ones. I want to be inspired by the knitting photography or a simple life style .

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  5. Love your small pots and decorations and your slightly larger and beautiful Lily. Hope your temperatures cool soon and you are safe from files. This seems to be a very common theme this year and so scary. Have a good week. B x

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  6. I enjoy your blog because we have some things in common. I had to laugh today when I read that you'd been doing your favorite things: keeping house and cooking. Just add sewing to those two and it would be a perfect day for me. I understand your feelings regarding those who are so overly opinionated. Just think of all the things they're missing because of their narrow-mindedness. So very sad for them. But, think of all the things we're not missing. :) I suppose wisdom does come to those who are patient. Lilly looks so content - cats could teach all of us how to properly take a nap. Hope those merciless fires go out and those wicked Santa Ana winds stop bothering everyone. Best wishes from the green prairies of eastern Oklahoma.

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  7. I love your little succulent, I wonder if it's a Jade plant? I have nurtured some of those from new spouts. I was sad to see there are people that hate all Americans and the country. I have not run across that in a a blog, if I had I would never visit them again. After all.. I'm one! :-) Lilly is adorable.. ((hugs)), Teresa :-)

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  8. Such sweet pretties, dear Pat, and isn't it so nice to spend some time fussing around the house! I just love having time to 'fluff the pillows' so to speak. Putting our own house in order seems to make everything run much smoother in the rest of our lives. Yes, some people are much more opinionated than others about things. We all could use a little lesson in 'walking in another's shoes'. I suppose that there are blogs to please everyone's tastes, so I keep to the 'friendly' ones! Being discriminated against makes us that much more sensitive to being careful not to discriminate against others. Lily looks so peaceful without a care in the world. I do hope and pray that you get through this terrible fire season safe and sound. So good that there are 'watchers' to protect you. Sending hugs xo Karen

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