SCENT-LY or SENSE-LY FALL

I wonder if the color orange, or the spice of Cinnamon and the tastes of fall are prevalent in other areas of the world. You might say they would be if they grew pumpkins or have changing leaves and cooler weather.  If you are reading this from a country outside of the US other than Canada, please share your experience with Autumn scents, smells and sights. 

Here in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, not far from the Canadian border, mid-October, we are thankful for every day that the sun is out and there is no sign of the next season. (In case you don't know, its winter, but we don't want to say it out loud!)  Though wind is blowing the leaves off the trees, and the rain is often and more than we'd like, and in 2020, the snow has fallen way too early, its a perfect time to savor hot and scented beverages that not only warm you physically, but comfort your soul.

I found this healthy version of a hot drink, and since I have all the ingredients for Cinnamon Apple Tea Latte, I'll be sipping on this today. (Anything that says Cinnamon or Latte is speaking my language!)

Next time I make this, to keep it simple, and for more apple flavor, I would use apple juice instead of the apples/process.   

If latte is not to your liking how about this hot cranberry orange duo? Check out this recipe for a crock pot tea here, or how about this! Pumpkin hot chocolate!

Tell me about your Scent-ly Fall drink - what do you enjoy drinking in this time of year?   Are you a coffee drinker - do you enjoy pumpkin flavored cream?  Do you have a favorite after dinner drink that is Scent-ly Fall?   I'm waiting to hear. Feel free to share your recipes or send us to where we can find it.

Now on to Senses - Sense-ly Fall is beyond the taste and smell.  I'm thinking of those who celebrate and enjoy with their sight and the colors that speak to Fall.  Carole loves to celebrate Fall with antique collectibles.  (Read the post HALLOWEEN TREASURES) After discovering her love of antique pumpkins and Halloween items, I decided to check out her antique shop.  She is one of many vendors at this marketplace who display colorful and expressive items that draw you right in.

Now if like me, orange is not a particular favorite color of yours, with Carole's eye for items and display, you could love Halloween more than ever before - because who doesn't like a pumpkin of natural twigs, or one of black and white checks or green satin? 

I know I'm rambling here, but I just want you all to see the variety of decorations, a lot or a little, colorful or subtle that could brighten any corner table or small shelf in your home. And right now, let's do what we can to create a little bit of happiness or joy to help us get through some unpredictable times.

I'm so glad you shared your antique Halloween collectibles, Carole.  They have brought the joy of memories of years past, and ideas for little corners. Visit Carole's antique booths at Lowensteins's Antique Market Place.   Or if you're not shopping in person (with your mask on, Halloween or not), take time for yourself and enjoy a nice hot seasonal drink, take a walk or creative time.  You deserve it!  

Thanks for stopping by.  Support your local little shops and small town businesses.  

Till we meet again, be blessed!  SB

  

SIGN LANGUAGE

There's a lot of signs around these days - have you noticed?  I bet your mind jumped right to the kind of signs that are stuck in the ground, in the yards or along the roadways, the political candidates' signs. Am I right?   "Sign Language" popped into my mind.   Sign Language. 

Click on this link to find information about the meaning of Sign Language. 

Most of us have seen someone "signing" from time to time. A common sign is "I Love You" which is composed of the letter signs of I, L, Y: And, most of us have seen other signs which aren't so pleasant. I'm not going to post that here. If you've never taken time to think about the many ways, the many signs of human communication, I hope you'll take a few moments to read my thoughts about it.

In a college level communications class I learned that only 7% of communication is with words.  That leaves 93% as non-verbal. And of the 93%, some 50 plus % is non-verbal.  What is non-verbal communication you may ask?   In the class, we were very surprised to learn the low percentage of communication by words.  We did an experiment which you can try yourself.

A.M. What expressions do you have on your face as you first wake up?  or as your alarm goes off?  What are your mannerisms - do you jump out of bed and drop to do 25 push ups?  Do you roll over and pull your pillow over your head?  Do you throw your pillow across the room?   If you are alone, your facial expressions in the morning and throughout the day and evening will not affect others, so non-verbal communication, though it exists, is kind of one sided here.

Its really difficult right now, to think of the reaction of the first person you encounter in a public place because in 2020 we are all wearing masks (or should be) and now we can only see reactions by people's eyes, or their overall body language.

The experiment was a day long event, when you tracked the interactions you had with others which were ways to communicate without verbal or audible sounds.   You get the picture don't you?  

The signs we've been seeing - poked in the ground to promote a candidate - are many.  How about looking at your daily activities and make a note of the signs you see and what they mean.  Then maybe you'll have more insight when you use the phrase, "lack of communication" because so much of how we interact with others is not verbal.

Do you tell the daily weather by a certain sign in the morning? What sign is that?

Do you suspect a weather change by your own health? What would that sign be?

Are there changes in mother nature that predict a change of the seasons?  Tell us about that.

Is your baby hungry?  How do you know that?

Its a sign!  I can tell!   Share your stories or comments about "SIGNS and SIGN Language.  

Thanks for stopping by.  Till we meet again, be blessed!  SB

  

HOPE POPPY

 I created a new Memorial Garden in the spring of 2020.  A perfect corner, the spot was filled morning sun until 2:00 p.m. and because getting the heat from the sun and no wind, it seemed an ideal place, and almost created a "greenhouse" effect with the warmth.

Among eight new perennials, were two poppies - one white and one pink/salmon color.   I couldn't wait for all of the new plants to grow and bloom.  This is what brings hope to my soul every year - the perennials know when its safe to grow up out of the soil. Somehow they know when the snow is gone and when its time to bring Hope to the earth.

All of the perennials - butterfly bush, dahlia, holly hocks, lavendar, blanket flower and 1 poppy - grew and bloomed.  However, the salmon/pink poppy never even grew to a bud.  I was disappointed, but there's always next year, I thought.

Now its fall, October 6 to be exact and I was surprised that my poppy decided now was the time, or maybe never in 2020.  Now? I thought. Though excited, I was fearful it would never grow fast enough to get to blooming maturity, before the cold air would be the norm. And there's always a fear that snow will come early.  I called this late bloomer poppy, Hope.  

  

I've been watching Hope Poppy grow taller and stand strong, and hoping this warm corner, despite the cold temps in the daytime and with leaves falling fast and the season ending early, that my Hope Poppy will bloom.

When it snowed on Saturday, October 17, I snipped it off as close to the ground as possible and put it in warm water in the windowsill with the brightest light. And hoped. At first its neck was bowing down to the floor, but I whispered, "Don't give up now.  You've been given a chance. You have a beautiful blossom to reveal!"

Though its colder by the window compared to the corner Memorial Garden in the summer, I placed it here so that the bud would hang over the radiator heat. Here it has a pseudo corner garden spot, the best I have to offer, for my Hope Poppy.  

Every day I check on Hope Poppy's neck, and within the first 24-hour period I saw that she was reaching for the light.  Hope Poppy isn't done yet!  Today I saw the color of her blossom more clearly. "You can do it  Hope! Can't wait to see what you look like in full bloom - yes, there is Hope!"

Raising Hope, giving Hope Poppy a chance to bloom and survive, has been one of the most enjoyable and "hopeful" things I've done during the last seven months (Apr - Oct 2020).  Not only did I check her out each morning, and at the end of the day, but several times during the daylight hours I viewed her progress.  Each day I was sure this was as far as she would grow, thinking that water and sunlight might not be enough.   So with that thought in mind, I started to appreciate Hope Poppy even more at each stage of growth. I was just thankful I had given it a chance for warmth in its first year.

I really enjoyed getting close to Hope Poppy; to looking at her neck and the fine hairs on the leaves and stem (neck). I saw how strong that neck curved to reach the light and even when I tried to change the position of stem in the vase, Hope Poppy still stood the same way.

                                                            

In this day and age, when many are discussing the rights of an unborn child to live despite the way it was conceived, I couldn't help but think of Hope Poppy as such a child. Perhaps you might think of a new life, yes, even the life of a human when you look at the progress photos of Hope Poppy.  I became quite taken by the parts of Hope Poppy that could be a body, a pregnant body, one that was growing despite the turn in its life of blooming late, and being rescued from death of an early snow.  I could see before my eyes that this plant, this poppy, this living thing was going to show me how it would continue to grow and bulge and reveal its intricate parts that I would have never seen if it was growing in the garden.  There are parts that look like blood vessels, and the petals that remind me of a wrinkled little child.  

All those petals, folded up inside the body. Each day the body separated just a little more as the wrinkled petals pushed their way out.

Here, she hovered over the radiator and absorbed the heat.

Have you ever thought that just maybe you were meant to do something that you never thought about doing before?  This is that moment.  Please join me in viewing Hope Poppy's entrance into the world - late, but oh, so beautiful.  

As the wrinkled petals pushed their way out, the body with blood-vessel-looking sides was revealed.

Now that the petals have pushed out, we can get a sneak peak of Hope Poppy's face.

I was intrigued by the many hairs on the stem and leaves.

Even when I moved the heavy stem to stand taller, it ended up leaning down to hover over the radiator. It was that heavy.

I realized I couldn't stand by and just wait for Hope Poppy to "pop". It wasn't that I didn't have time or that I was busy with other tasks. I heard the old belief in my mind, "a watched pot doesn't boil" so I went on with my day and planned to check in just a little later.   Like a mother in labor, the baby, the poppy would be born or bloom when the time was just right.  

And the time came.  I didn't see it happen, but I was so delighted to see that this plant, perhaps combined with light and warmth and maybe a little CO2 encouragement from me, (my voice of encouragement), has bloomed to full size in a most amazing sight.  

Isn't this late bloomer beautiful?!

I trimmed off about 6-8 inches of stem and a few leaves. A vintage Ball jar was perfect for Hope Poppy. Something special holding something special.

Continuing with the analogy of new life, a life that may not have been planned this way, or even a life that may have been forgotten or lost, this is the beauty that was meant to live and bring meaning and joy.

I've never seen a poppy open quite this wide. Perhaps its the type of poppy.  My red poppies open around July 4, but if I don't see them, they last one day and are gone. Beginning with the next season, when my red poppies and white and salmon poppies grow to bud stage, I will clip their long stems, bring them indoors and perhaps I will see the growth and birth of those poppies in a whole new light - just like a whole new life.  I have been so honored by Hope Poppy. Perhaps it is God's way to explain new life in a beautiful unexpected way. 

The day after Hope Poppy bloomed indoors in my pseudo garden on the east windowsill, an early snow fell heavy on the trees and bushes, but not on Hope Poppy.  

It is my hope that whatever you are struggling with now, that you will know the joy and hope of healing, of help, of answers.  It is my prayer that you will know the love that comes from life and that is Jesus. Be blessed!  SB

HOPE2

I hope to travel to my daughter's next spring.

I hope to be healthy all winter.

I hope to visit with my mother as much as possible.

I hope to see you before you leave.

HOPE to.  We do have high hopes for everyday accomplishments, activities, lifetime goals, heartfelt meetings.  

I hope to get up earlier tomorrow and go for a walk. 

I hope to get to bed earlier tonight so I can sleep better.

I hope to continue eating healthy and keep my weight off this time.

HOPE to.  We believe there is a way to our ideas and goals. 

HOPE2 is the description I had put on my friend's photo (it was the second beautiful, water outdoor photo I wanted to use). But as I typed it in the search bar, it occurred to me that the word and the number had more meaning. 

What made me call this picture Hope2? Its the story of the rainbow from Genesis 9 where God says, "I establish my covenant with you: Never again will all life be cut off by the waters of a flood; never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth." I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. 

Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life. Now that's hope!

The rainbow is the sign of the covenant, the promise from God to his people, to us.  The rainbow is the sign of hope for the moment, for tomorrow, for the future.  HOPE.

HOPE2 -  photo. (Used by permission. Photographer: Jill Meadows)

HOPE2 - Hope, too. In addition to love and faith and trust and mercy and grace, there's Hope, too.  

Romans 15:13

 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.

HOPE2 - Hope to.  To want to do something, plan to do something. To think there's a chance you could accomplish something. To have belief but not complete assurance to do whatever your goal is.

What makes our hopes and ideas and goals happen?   

Romans 12:12, NIV: "Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer."

Do you go through your day hoping and wondering why things don't happen?  Hoping is like throwing seeds in the wind - they might get planted and they might grow. 

To have the HOPE of the rainbow, invite God into your life. Believe that He loves you, and has given His only Son, Jesus Christ, to die for you, so that you can live eternally with Him. 

HOPE TOO, HOPE TO. Do you have love and God and His Hope, too? 

HOPE2. 

Here's a little about the photographer, Jill Meadows.

"Every post I post is for my best friend, she has cancer. Indirectly, my posts are for her. I cant go see her."

This is HOPE, too!

Jill's blog is backyardphotographer.net   You can find more of her beautiful outdoor photos in the Upper Peninsula on her Face Book page here. 

Jill is intentional. She seeks out God's beauty. She always finds it.  And we thank her for sharing her sights with us.  

Thanks for stopping by.  Where ever you hope to go, be blessed!  SB

Jill Meadows

sent

25 weeks aIt's a photography blog. Of only photos of the UP.  

HALLOWEEN TREASURES

HALLOWEEN TREASURES 

My friend Carole loves antique collectibles and recently posted this on her Face Book page.  I so love her sense of color and coordination, of antique and new and years in between.  (Used by permission)

"It has been years since I hauled out my collection of antique Halloween pumpkins and decor. This year I just felt like it. Jerry asked who was going to see it since everyone is COVID stationary. I do it for me, I guess. Most of it came in one fell swoop when I traded a set of fancy dishes with a woman whose mother had been a grade school teacher. I think most of it is about 1930-1940. It was a great trade because we both walked away thinking we had the better deal."

          "This is the fireplace and these pumpkins are all new"

"Kitchen cabinet with the old Halloween collection. Those fluffy things are horns. Back in the day trick or treaters made a lot of noise when they came knocking."

"Spooky lanterns. The cat is unusual."

"Pretty spooky. The witch is a tambourine. The green majolica dishes are from a local antique shop."

Thank you, Carole, for sharing the Halloween days gone by. You've got our minds to thinking about costumes and candy, trick or treating, and an alternate version of wearing a mask.