Cleaning up after the freeze

Hello from Ten Gables Cottage,

It is a glorious day today with temps. in the high 60's, low 70's. We are trying to clear out some dead vines, twigs, etc on the North side of the house. Florida has been so dry lately that there have been brush fires, so we are clearing dead brush away. Look closely and you can see a man we hired who is cutting vines with a machete.

He is a whiz!

You can see the dead bits and also a big bush of Florida Holly which is a big nuisance, so some of it is going to go, too.

What a job, but it will be much neater and a lot safer, too, as this brush is on our fence line about 20 feet from the house. There is a small canal behind it, too which has a small amount of water and is home to an alligator in the Spring when she nests. We can hear her grunting, so we stay safely away in the Spring!

By the way, Wed. we had a wonderful rainfall, so things will begin to green up.

I checked out my garden, too and pleasantly found that the veggies look great! I have just neglected them since Christmas and since covering them during the freeze. Everything looks great. This shows a radish...I am getting a few now. The first ones were pretty strange and not worth eating, but I think the others will be fine. The pinks in the photo are blooms from a nearby bougainvillea that blow into the garden and provide nice natural compost.

This is the second crop of broccoli and I need to start cutting it. I have put several packages in the freezer.

The cabbages look great and one of them is ready to cut. I always hate to cut them as they are so pretty, but I will need one soon. I have a delicious recipe for cabbage soup that is supposed to be a diet soup and I surely need to diet!!

I think this one is definately ready to cut. I am so glad that the freezing temperatures did not hurt my little garden, except for the basil and the peas! It will soon be time to plant another garden here in Florida. I will wait a few more weeks to plant, but I doubt we will have any more nights below freezing. If we get a freeze at all, it is usually just one or two nights out of the whole year. Not too bad, huh?? Winter is really our most pleasant time of year!

A Gorgeous Sunset!

Hi everyone,

Last night, we had the most beautiful sunset you could ever imagine! It started with pinks in the sky and ended up as red as red could be! I don't have my photos in the correct order, but it doesn't really matter. Every shot was just stunning.

It looked as if the sky was on fire, but in a nice

sort of way. You can see the dark silhouettes of the trees and Spanish moss hanging down.

Here is how it looked earlier when it started. I love the lavenders, blues and pinks. What a stunning sky it was. I will have to remember to go outside tonight and see what it will look like tonight. No two sunsets are ever the same. All "painted" by the Master Painter!

Do click on each one to see a bigger view!

Dedication

Today I want to dedicate my blog to my aunt, Bobbie Sue Worley Hickey who passed from this life early this morning.

Her death is the last of the children of Robert and Sarah Worley, my grandparents, so that generation is now having a grand reunion in Heaven at the beginning of God's rainbow. Her daughter, my first cousin, and I are close and I realize daily how important it is to keep in touch with family. There are only a few left in the generation following Aunt Bobbie, my mother and the other brothers and sisters.










Bobbie Sue was a very special aunt and the last time I spoke to her, she said that she loved me. Isn't it important to tell those you love that you do love them? That will be one thing I will always remember about her.















She visited me and my mother in Florida a few years ago and I remember how she laughed at my little grandson, who was playing explorer and walking with big, careful steps.

Some of my most cherished recipes came from her, as she was a great cook, just like all the Worley girls! In fact, I made her delicious veggie casserole Christmas.





I remember our many family get-togethers in Kentucky when Bobbie Sue and the younger sister, Biddie, would bring dishes to share at our holiday meals. We always drew names at Christmas and exchanged gifts.

I went to Walgreen's this morning to buy a card for my cousin and saw this beautiful holly in the parking lot! Yes, I broke off a piece, perhaps keeping someones car from getting scraped. At least I will rationalize my behavior that way. The holly made me think of Kentucky, where Bobbie still lived. I have never seen so many berries on a small tree before!



This photo is of my Mother's Desert Rose plant beside her cottage, which I now use as a guest cottage/office. I remember Bobbie Sue admiring it a few years ago when she was visiting. I am afraid, though, that the cold has almost killed it and do hope it will come back when it warms up again.
















All these beautiful flowers are not as beautiful as a cherished person and I will always remember Bobbie, my mother, the other 4 siblings and my dear grandparents!

And here is my Christmas cactus again; look how full of bloom it is! Let us take time to really enjoy life and the beauty of nature.

More Collections!

Hi everyone from Ten Gables Cottage,

I wonder if any of you have the problem that I have and it is: my house runneth over with stuff! As I put away Christmas decorations, I am sifting through closets, boxes and drawers and finding too many things that I really don't need! Never mind that I don't use them...some things I simply cannot part with, such as the Toby mugs and cups!

I have 6 different ones similiar to the two in the photograph, plus saucers to go with the cups. These were produced in Japan.

Then I have this group of jugs and pitchers! Some of them were made in England and some in Japan. Each one has its own character. I love the old fellow with his glasses on his nose.
Well, I think I will just keep these a while longer and display them somewhere.
















I also have a collection of cream pitchers, some of them are Luster Ware, most of them from Japan. I use these sometimes for short stemed bouquets. Also when I have a tea for several women, I use a different one on each table. But I went through them and have decided to part with the ones pictured here. I have an antique booth in an antique mall, so I will sell them there. I am trying to downsize my collections and this week is my Boxing Week! I am boxing up donations, boxing up things to sell, boxing up Christmas decorations. It is so nice to clean out everything and organize for 2011.

Vintage Embroidered Pieces

Hi on this cloudy day here in South Florida!

I have my fingers crossed that it will rain---we really need it!

Here is a photo of a neat clock I found at an antique shop. It is embroidered and then made into a clock. It is in a display box with a battery in back to move the hands, so I assume it was made in the 50's or so. It is very pretty and has made me want to collect other vintage embroideries, especially samplers.

Samplers can be quite expensive, especially if really old and in good condition. This one probably is not very old, but it is so sweet that I could not keep from adding it to my collection, which now totals 2, the two you see here. I love that this one says "Every Day a Happy Day" because isn't that what we should strive for?

Hope you are having a happy day! Creatively, Egretta.

Christmas Cactus

Hello from Ten Gables Cottage,

I have been busy all day taking down Christmas decorations and trying to clean a bit as I go. I stopped by the back porch to admire the light coral colored Christmas Cactus that has finally started to bloom. It is only 2 years old, but is getting pretty big and I think it really will need to be repotted after it finishes blooming.






The white one that started blooming in November now has turned pink and the cactus part has turned red! Surprise! Is this common? It is full of bloom and they all hang down from the pot, as you can see in the photograph.

I hope some of you gardeners can tell me about Christmas cactus, as I just got tiny plants last Christmas and put in a little bigger pots and mainly ignored them during the summer, watering only occasionally. I was at a lady's home this summer and she had a huge one in her den that she keeps inside. I just left mine outside all year around. I did cover them during our cold spell. Your comments are appreciated!

Hearts, flowers and teacups

Hi everyone from Ten Gables Cottage,

I trust you had a wonderful holiday and are welcoming in the New Year today! It is time to take down all the Christmas decorations and get out pen and pad and write our New Year's resolutions. I have been writing the same ones now for many years and they include diet, eat healthy, exercise and paint more paintings! Maybe I should just leave these off the list this year and try for something entirely different!

Here is a photo of a wreath I will be hanging where a Christmas one hung. I made this using some odd cups, saucers and teapots plus a beautiful heart my Mother embroidered with ribbon. This will be near the dining room where I enjoy afternoon tea frequently either all alone or with guests! I think this will look great, too, as we get nearer to Valentine's Day when I do a bit of decoration in reds and pinks. Valentine's Day is one of my favorite holidays, so I usually do a few craft projects for it. Click on the wreath to see it better! Now to finish putting up the Christmas things and do a little cleaning........

Have a Happy New Year, Egretta