Fruits of Labor

Hello Everyone!

The time has come to share some photos of the gourds I have been working on for the past few weeks. I had hoped to post them before Christmas, but did not get a free moment. Well, here they are! Let me know what you think.

These have already been sold at the Christmas craft shows I attended this holiday season. The gourd on the bottom photo made with the pine straw, was my very first one. It was sold to an uncle of one of the vendors at the Farmer's Market. She told me that the gourd would either be displayed at his home in Florida or his vacation home in Asheville, NC. I'm so excited now that I'm tracking the whereabouts of my creations! I have gourds scattered about in North Carolina, Florida, Colorado,(Sky4Kat) and I just got word last week, one of my gourd birdfeeders would be going to India! How exciting!

Be Encouraged!

Plant Lady

Welcome to Our Home at Christmas

Hello Everyone!

Today I'm giving the nickel tour of "Christmas at Plant Lady's". Hope you enjoy your time here!

Santa is ready to greet you as you enter. This jolly old elf was painted by a lady near me. I wish I had her painting abilities. She knows just how to capture all the subtle expressions in Santa's face. I'm still working on learning that technique. I bought this gourd at a craft show and incorporated it into this wreath.

As you enter, you'll notice our Christmas tree. The tree is adorned with a collection of ornaments from the White House Historical Society. As many of you know, Mr. Plant Lady and I were engaged in Washington, DC on December 21, 1998, and we have collected an ornament every year since then. Other special ornaments include an angel ornament I have had since I was a little girl. She looks a little scruffy, just like me! Time and age has taken its toll! A cardinal of some sort graces our tree each year. I have several in my collection, but decided not to put them all out since my tree is becoming crowded. Next year, I guess I'll have to put up another tree! Many handcrafted ornaments are hanging on the tree. Collected from my many excursions into the woods, pine cones were decorated with holly and ribbon along with a coat of varnish. Grapevines were woven into wreath ornaments and tied with a simple grosgrain ribbon. Several glass ornaments are at home with the others as they complement each other.

The mantel is the focal point of the room as it displays the story of the REASON FOR THE SEASON. A nativity rests among greenery in the center along with a special object on the mantel-a hand turned wooden vase made from holly by a fellow in Whittier, NC that I purchased on vacation this year. The color and the grain of the wood is beautiful and there is a marking on it (a knot hole) that looks just like an eye. I think of it as being the watchful eye of God. Legend has it that holly was the wood used to make the cross Jesus was crucified on. I don't know whether or not it's true ,but it's a beautiful legend just the same. I can just imagine while Jesus was hanging on the cross, He was looking down through the centuries seeing me as I "saw" His love for me through that little knot hole in the holly wood vase that I found. Isn't it wonderful how He speaks!

Our tour concludes with dinner. The table is set and you have the seat of honor! A choir of carolers have appeared to entertain as we have dinner together. Silent Night, Joy to the World, O' Holy Night and God Rest You Merry Gentlemen will be the selections as we conclude the tour.

!

Mr. Plant Lady and I wish you a Merry Christmas and a Blessed New Year!

Be Encouraged!

Plant Lady

The New House (cont'd.)

Hello Everyone!

Today is the day for the "after" photos of our "new" house! Instead of taking just plain old photos, I thought I'd wait for our house to be all decked out in its Christmas attire. I really haven't gone all out with the decorations this year. I usually do the greenery swags on the porch rails, but since we took the rails down, that was impossible. I think this year we will just have to live with wreaths on the picture windows and the front door.

This is the "new" window! Notice the peeling paint is now gone and the shutters are painted that fabulous shade of green called "pine boughs".

A Christmas tree lit with clear miniature lights will decorate the front yard in a planter near the garden bench and a big red bow amid some greenery will finish out the bench's decoration. A large Moravian star will hang in the entry way to our home and will welcome all visitors. We haven't decided on the final look of the front porch, but I think we will probably go with just greenery in some sort of arrangement between the rocking chairs.

The Moravian star is hard to see lit on the front porch.

I hope you enjoy the before and after photos. My next post will be some of the "inside" Christmas decorations and I will also include some of the gourds that I have been working on.

On another note, I would like to let you know about a new blog that a friend of mine has started. He is thirty years old, a twin, and has had two kidney transplants in his life. He has had many surgeries as a baby and has come a long way since then. He loves God and wants his life to be a inspiration to others. Sometimes he gets depressed as he waits for word on a new kidney from the transplant lists that he is on. He would like to "talk" through a blog with others who may be going through similar situations and to share encouraging words. If you get a chance, please stop by and share some of God's love and encouragement. Take a look into Corey's World! He will be an inspiration to you as much as he is to me. Drop him a comment!

I would enjoy hearing and seeing some of your Christmas celebration ideas! Some of you have already posted some Christmas photos. Keep 'em coming!

Be Encouraged!

Plant Lady

The "New" House

Hello Everyone!

Well, it's about time I returned to my blogging! I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and were sufficiently stuffed with all that turkey, stuffing, ham, candied yams, green beans . . . should I go on? Mr. Plant Lady and I celebrated THANKSGIVING with his mom, brother and sister-in-law and nephew on Thursday. My daddy joined us as we had lunch, then went home to watch those ball games that are a tradition on Thanksgiving. We had a great day of fun, good food and fellowship with grateful thanks for every blessing.

Sunday, my family will celebrate all the blessings God has given us at my daddy's with a similar menu. Here we go again! How can one resist?

As promised, I will tell you about my NEW (not really) house. The painting is done, the shutters are back on, the rocking chairs and bench are repaired and repainted and the Christmas decorations are beginning to spring up. The brick house was originally trimmed in white with dark green shutters. Selecting a new color palette was an easy task. I had in mind a small change in shades. The white was replaced with a shade called "Woodrow Wilson White", which is a fancy name for off-white. Doesn't that sound better than just plain, old off-white? The dark green shutters were replaced with a paler green called "Pine Boughs". Sounds foresty, doesn't it? We are very happy with the results! What do you think?

Notice the peeling paint. Imagine what it looked like all over the house! It was about time for a facelift! My next post will include the "after" photos with the house all decked out for Christmas.

Mr. Plant Lady has just a few more finishing touches on the outside decorations.

Included in this post is a glimpse of our Christmas 2008 Christmas tree! It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas around here!

Be Encouraged!

Plant Lady

Hurry! Hurrry! It's a Giveaway!

Hello Everyone!

Lynn at http://ljgolf823.blogspot.com is giving away three beautiful dolls. Scoot on over to her blog and leave a comment about why you would like one of these dolls. She and her mother make them and her mother takes them to bazaars! They are wonderful and would make a cherished Christmas gift for a little lady!

Be Encouraged!
Plant Lady

A Wonderful Day

Hello Everyone!

It's been a while since my last post. I've been busy trying to tidy up our newly painted house. Many of you may remember that all the painting was to be completed after our family vacation, but alas, that was not to be! Rain delayed the painter and it was finally finished a few days after we got back. Stay tuned to see our new (newly painted, I should say) house before and after its face lift!

Halloween has come and gone and Thanksgiving and Christmas are just around the corner. So much to do, so little time to do it! This past Sunday was jam-packed with an assortment of events to command our presence. First, we had a Veterans Day Recognition and the Dedication of a new flagpole at our church. The Cub Scout Pack did a memorial wreath laying ceremony at the new flagpole and a representative from our congressman's office presented us with a flag that had been flown over the United States Capitol commemorating our church's 100th anniversary. A couple of days before this, we received a call from the Sunday School superintendent at my dad's church. His church was going to present him with a plaque for being the oldest male member in the church and for his 50 + years membership and his service as choir director and for building the fellowship hall many years ago.

The service was to be a surprise and I had to round up the whole family to attend. I could not round everyone up on such short notice, but my sister and brother-in-law were able to make it as well as Mr. Plant Lady and myself, although we had to leave immediately after the service to rush to the flagpole dedication at our church. We got back to our church about five minutes before the flagpole service began!

After a quick lunch, we rushed to the annual Veterans Day Parade in a nearby community in the county. Marching bands, fire and rescue units, a float with WWII veterans and other veterans along with many churches who made homemade floats of which ours was one. Families lined up along the roadside of the parade route. A section of the road was closed off by the NC Highway Patrol for the duration of the parade. Everyone enjoyed themselves as evidenced by the smiles, laughter and waving of hands and arms! Our church float was an equipment trailer filled with chairs back to back and lots of people waving and throwing candy to the crowd. Our church flag waved proudly along with our mini American flags. We had a wonderful day!

After the parade, we came home and took a Sunday afternoon nap! The perfect end to a perfect day!

Be Encouraged!
Plant Lady

You Asked For It!

Hello Everyone!

Several of you have asked for the recipe for the Green Tomato Relish I entered in our county fair. If you remember, I could not find my recipe, but I have since received a copy from my friend. I had to promise her that I'd immediately put it in my recipe box upon receipt!

So, without further hesitation, here it is:

Green Tomato Relish ( A Family Recipe from the Wilhelms, given to my friend Susan)

12 green bell peppers
12 red peppers
20 medium green tomatoes
12 onions
6 cups sugar
3 pints white vinegar
1 Tablespoon each mustard seed and celery seed
2 Tablespoons salt

Grind vegetables in food processor. Pour boiling water over ground vegetables and let stand 10 minutes. Drain and add sugar, vinegar, seed and salt. Bring to a boil and simmer 30 minutes or until thick. Fill sterilized jars and seal. Process in a 10 minute hot water bath.


*****This recipe is for a large batch. It can be adjusted as needed. Try this one if smaller quantity is needed.

9 large green bell peppers
2 large red bell peppers
18 medium green tomatoes
3 large Vidalia (or any sweet) onions
Other ingredients do not change (USE YOUR OWN JUDGEMENT WITH VEGETABLES)

I hope you enjoy this recipe! Let me know how you like it!

Be Encouraged!
Plant Lady