Diggin' Around: Turning Upheaval Into Revival & Bloomin' Where I'm Planted
Buzz: Weeks Roses says: "We love reading @BloominChick's blog "Diggin' Around"! Great stories, good advice and lots of pics."

Sunday, August 29, 2010

Committed: A Skeptic Makes Peace with MarriageCommitted: A Skeptic Makes Peace with Marriage by Elizabeth Gilbert

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Liz's writing is once again entertaining & conversational and I enjoy reading her non-fiction. 3 stars because the history of marriage (in general) itself isn't of much interest to me (though I learned a lot reading this). I look forward to her next project, what ever topic it may be.



View all my reviews

Thursday, August 26, 2010

Thursday Thoughts

Who visits your garden?
Have you sat down and quietly waited to see what comes and goes?
(Can you see what's visiting my garden in this photo?)
**Updated w/bottom photo - follow the yellow arrow to catch a glimpse of a hummingbird moth visiting my butterfly bush - they're so cute!**

Saturday, August 21, 2010

Thoughts Turn To Autumn

Over at My Spring Snow, my dear friend Brenda asked us to share with her our favorite part of Autumn and before realizing it, I'd gone on to write the following"

"I love everything about Autumn, except for it coming to an end, lol! I love the scent of woodsmoke and fallen leaves in the clear, refreshing air. I love the colors, the range of yellows, oranges, reds, purples and browns in nature. I love the sound of dried leaves being blown down the sidewalk on a quiet morning with the only other noise being crickets. I love the sights and smells of the first pumpkins and apple cider. I love being able to cook and bake without heating the house to an unbearable degree and making things like chili and stew again for the first time since early Spring. I love how Autumn fills me with inspiration and creativity. I love watching my garden wind down, seeing an unexpected pop of pink when a rose decides to re-bloom... I think I need to continue this on my own blog! LOL"

And so I didn't end up writing an absurdly long comment over there, I continue here:

I love the excitement that seems to fill the air during Autumn and having football on the TV on Sunday afternoons. I love having every window and door open from sun up to sun down and then some. I love oatmeal and steaming cups of tea in the morning. I love being able to enjoy the outdoors without the heat of Summer. (We get pretty humid at times here on the Coast year round so that's a constant as long as we live here). I love being able to spend hours around the fire and under the sky up at our home up North. (Because it's been so hot & humid even up there this Summer, we've only had 2 campfires since Spring!) I love when we get the occasional early snow fall up North, the white against the colors of Autumn is stunning! And as you all well know by now (or at least most of you do), I love Love LOVE Halloween and the month of October! Halloween is so much fun for me and gives me pure joy throughout the month. (Some get down once Christmas and New Year's pass, I get down when Halloween ends!) I love when the air turns chilly and it's time to break out the fleece! I love when it's cold enough to wear jeans again but warm enough to just wear a t-shirt with them. I love the rains of November (which we desperately need this year) and snuggling in amid candle light, books and tea while it pours. I just realized that every day of Autumn is a different sensory experience as it progresses and perhaps that's one of the reasons I like it so much as well. I believe I could go on and on, but I won't! (You're relieved, aren't you? I know you are!)

Now it's my turn to ask, friends, what do you love about Autumn?

(Photo of my Dogwood Tree in this post taken in our back yard this morning).

Friday, August 20, 2010

Just Had To Share This...

Simply beautiful. (Of course I didn't have my cell or camera! Taken with Hubby's cell phone earlier this evening).

For this week's "Thursday Thoughts" and "Wordless Wednesday" posts, just scroll down.

Posted via My Palm Centro.

Thursday, August 19, 2010

Thursday Thoughts

Relief isn't a strong enough word to describe how I feel about Not having to have surgery (again) tomorrow! My ct scans from Monday show no "obstructed" kidney stones and so tomorrow's 'day stay/same day surgery' procedure has been cancelled. (Whew!)

I do have "unobstructed" stones however but there shouldn't be a problem passing them as they're "tiny" and most likely the kind my body produces and passes without my knowing it. I'm to stay "over" hydrated to help them pass and I've already got an appointment with an in-network urologist for September whom I'll be seeing on a regular basis from now on.

The fact that my ct scans show no obstructed stones also means that my left kidney's drain tube can Come Out ASAP! (Wooohooo, happy dance!!!)

My face actually hurt today from all of the smiling I'd been doing since receiving the above news from the doctor this morning. And I spent the day Happy, not stressed, worried, upset or anything else. I don't remember the last time that happened.

I knew there were lessons to be learned from an infection that just about literally killed me (no exaggeration there friends) and the subsequent kidney surgery and issues pertaining to that. At first I honestly didn't have a clue as to what those lessons could be. My mind was on bed rest along with my body for those 3 weeks! And it's taking my mind just as long to recover from all of this as it is my body though I still cannot fully wrap my mind around certain aspects of what's happened.

I started journaling again last week (I've barely journaled a word since before I went into the hospital July 4th weekend) and started coming to some realizations last weekend after we got home from our place up north. And the realizations have continued throughout this week and I've journaled them all. I'm glad to have come to them and appreciate the opportunity I've been given to act on them. (I'm not ready to go into specifics here just yet).

Things in the garden are starting to recover from all of the extreme heat a humidity we've had this year. (The things which are still living that is!) Finally a second round of Tomato's is forming and the Morning Glories have begun to bloom again. The Sunflowers are in full bloom. (For a pretty photo of one, go to the previous post). One Butterfly Bush (purple) is in full bloom while another (white) is getting ready to bloom. Hopefully the Roses will start to gear up for another round of blooms. (They usually bloom strait through Thanksgiving but stopped during the month long heat waves in July). We'll see what else happens!

I'm sure many of you know how it becomes more difficult to make new friends as we get older. Not that long ago, I met a local gal on Twitter who's my age & a great person and a couple of weeks ago I had lunch with my Goodreads friend Vicki and I had a great time with both of them! I had hoped to make some new friends by going to the monthly bookclub but honestly didn't get my hopes up. Well, I've been pleasantly surprised! And it feels good. What with some of my bff's out of state now and the others so busy we hardly have a chance to get together anymore, it's great to have friends to go out with again and spend time with. I'm very grateful for having met them & for friendships ensuing.

Well friends, I think that about does it for me this evening. I meant to write this post down ahead of time but didn't get the chance so I apologize if it's a bit of a ramble. I hope you've all had a great week so far!

**Update: I'm scheduled to go back to the hospital on Tuesday to have the tube removed.

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Moment Of The Day

No, you're not having deja vu! (Or maybe you are). I went to see Eat Pray Love again today, this time with a couple of gals from the bookclub, one of which liked it and the other didn't. It was a good afternoon out and a much needed distraction from the stress of awaiting the results of yesterday's ct scans to find out if I still have a kidney stone or not (and if I do then I have to have same day surgery on Friday to get rid of it - if I don't, no surgery). Praying, (praying, praying) no stone shows up and that this whole summer long health ordeal can come to an end so I can begin moving forward in my life again.

Friday, August 13, 2010

Moment Of The Day (1 of 2)

Taken while awaiting the start of Eat Pray Love!

If you've read & liked (or loved) the book, or even if you read it and didn't love it (but didn't hate it either), Go See The Movie! If you haven't yet read the book, Go See The Movie!

I loved it and thought they did a great job turning the book into a movie.

"Moment Of The Day (2 of 2)" is the previous post to this one, so just scroll down a bit.

Posted via My Palm Centro.

Moment Of The Day (2 of 2)

After watching Eat Pray Love, I headed across the street to the weekly farmer's market and this here's my loot: A bunch of 'Teddy Bear' Sunflowers and yellow Tomato's (my favorite). Not much this time around (since I was walking, I didn't want to have much to carry) and I'm pleased with my purchases.

Posted via My Palm Centro.

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Moment Of The Day

Just before leaving for our walk after dinner tonight, I noticed that my Sunflowers are beginning to bloom and the sight made me very happy.

The walk was a quick one & sweaty one. Despite temps in the 70s, the humidity is in the mid 80s tonight and it's not evening raining yet! Haze hung in the air clouding it like fog. It was oddly quiet out, almost eerie. Only two other people out walking besides us, only one front porch in use among so many. The neighborhood had a desserted feeling to it.

New Wordless Wednesday photo posted earlier, just scroll down.

Posted via My Palm Centro.

Wordless Wednesday

Posted via My Palm Centro.

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Moment Of The Day

No photo's for these:
Last night, talking to bff on the phone.
Today, getting call about our bff's biopsy results.
They came back Negative.
Finally some Good news!
Happy Dance!

Monday, August 09, 2010

Moment Of The Day

Hanging with Hubbs after dinner, enjoying the gorgeous breeze.
(Sunday, August 8, 2010).

Sunday, August 08, 2010

Moment Of The Day

Watching the sunset with Hubbs down at the harbor.
My favorite spot to watch sunsets.
(Saturday, August 7, 2010).

Saturday, August 07, 2010

Moment Of The Day

The way the sunset illuminates my garden in the evening.
(Friday, August 6, 2010).

Friday, August 06, 2010

Moment Of The Day

Resting on the couch & reading the new issue of Artful Blogging with Miss Boo.
(Thursday, August 5, 2010)

Sunday, August 01, 2010

August 1st

The Summer of 2010 is rapidly heading towards Fall, especially for those of us who've lost the month of July to illness, surgery and recovery! (As if I needed anything to make this year fly by even faster than it already is?)

In our world's distant past, today was the first day of Autumn and called Lammas, the start of the first harvests of grain, corn & apples and the beginning of preparing for Winter.

In Celtic times, August 1st was called Lughnasadh (pronounced loo-naa-saa) and traditionally marked the first grain harvest of the season. The festival was celebrated from sundown through following sundown (though sometimes started at sundown on July 31) and honored the harvest & grain gods and the god Lugh (as the god of the harvest) the god of light and the god of sun (depending on who's opinion you read).

Corn and blackberries were also harvested. (The corn husks were kept to dry and be made into 'corn husk dolls' a tradition carried over and continued in America to this day). It was also considered to be the first day of Autumn in Celtic times as well.

The last "official" Lughnasadh festival took place in Ireland back in 1169. After Catholic influence appeared, the day was renamed Lammas and loaves of bread were baked with the first harvested grains and blessed in a church ceremony.

The Celts (and other European peoples) feared angering the gods and suffering what they felt was the gods punishment so festivals like this reminded them to be thankful for what they had and to not take necessities for granted. It was also a reminder that the weather was soon going to turn and they had a limited time left to prepare for surviving the approaching long winter.

In our world today, it is often difficult to be mindful of the seasons and the subtle to not so subtle changes they bring, especially with all of the 'creature comforts' and technology we have for different weather, along with most any fruit or vegetable being available year round at our food stores. I have tried as best as I can to appreciate each season as they come and go, by researching our past, by growing some of my own foods, by watching nature and eating things in their season regardless of when they're available, all of which I enjoy doing. I've always felt connected to the seasons (some more than others), even before I was a gardener.

This year, growing my own food hasn't been as successful as in the past which disappoints my heart to no end. When it comes to extremes of heat & humidity, I've found that in-ground gardens fare better than container gardens. (I used to in-ground garden before we moved here & had to go strictly container). I've lost all kinds of tomato's, spinach, swiss chard, parsley and flowers as well. Coupled with my yet to have ended health ordeal, it's thrown me completely out of whack! But I will find my rhythm again, some how. And I won't be discouraged when it's time to start growing my veggies again either.

In all honesty though, this is one July I am happy to see behind me.