Summer Beauty

Good Day, Dear Ones,

Thank you everyone who visits here. The blog ladies who write from far away areas and farms keep each other from being too isolated.  I like all your blogs (see them on my left sidebar) and always find amazing encouragement for the Christian woman, the housewife, the mother and grandmother and other ladies at home. These ladies use their blogs to teach, when it would be difficult to travel to a seminar or what is called Ladies Day  (a day where ladies come together to attend a special spiritual gathering) to present an inspiring message. Reading these blogs means every day is Ladies Day!

We have enjoyed our Texas weather this year. Everyone complains about the heat and dryness but I have never seen any farming area stay that way forever. It usually ends in a flood! So for now I am keeping my mouth shut and avoiding complaining.  I have a resort area set up using a stock tank for a swimming pool, covered by a canopy for privacy, and my hammock is softly swaying with the wind. The chimes on my front porch play  a soft  song, and there is an old swing and a patio table in the resort area ready for use.  

As dry as it is here, it is amazing thus miniature tree has yielded these brightly colored apples.  I have not had time to pick them.

It is the type of tree whose branches are supposed to travel along a  fence and make a hedgerow.

I like the white stripes on these apples. I have forgotten the name of this variety but I recall the tag that came with it when it was purchased called it a Japanese Apple.  I like the tree because it's branches are accessible to the average person and children can easily pick the fruit. 

Naturally I have to get as much mileage out of these apples as possible, from sewing to baking,

...and maybe a painting, but not now. I would love to paint the striped apples; they are so pretty. And where to get fabric to sew a dress that coordinates with this beautiful harvest of apples?  The piece I have shown here is obviously for craft projects or pot holders, and I wouldn't want to wear a skirt with a huge Apple print :-).  I saw on the Hobby Lobby website that there are inks and stamps especially for creating a design on fabric. I guess I could rubber stamp and apple border on some solid color fabric.

Life is so busy, though, that I am always disappointed to see the day is over and I did not get to do any  leisure activity like designing or art, etc.  however I like to make things nice here at home for everyone else and it takes most of my time. 

One of the gardens is doing okay. I have quite a bit of ground-cover type foliage in it.  I like this little bit of garden decor that looks like a bed--just two little decorative stakes pushed into the dirt:

We had a pleasant ladies Bible class yesterday  (we are now reading James) and some good discussions, and then we all had tea. 

Please have a lovely day, and "count it all joy" (James 1:1-4) when things do not go as you plan.

Note: I am not really living in Texas.  It only feels like it.