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