JUST MY OPINION...

I love flowers. 

 I think the love of flowers is

 a universal thing and 

one that we can all agree upon.

 Nothing relaxes me more

 than arranging flowers 

into a pretty bouquet and 

displaying them in the Cottage. 

 This past week 

has been one that most Americans

 will never forget. 

 I have been affected by it

 more than I can say. 
 Some first reactions may be 
that our blogs are not a place for politics 
and 
let me just state
 here and now 
that isn't what this post is about.

It is about something 
that has touched my soul and 
because I consider all who read this
 to be my friends, 
I think of you to be the best ones to hear me out.   

It started a week ago

 when a young man with a gun, 

a gun that was only made 

with the intent to kill humans, 
in time of war,

 let loose his evil agenda 

on many unsuspecting people

 enjoying themselves at a celebration

 that has been going on for years. 

 I am talking about a celebration

 that is held in 

the back yard of my hometown, 

Santa Cruz, California.

 Practically my whole family 

lives there and 

we have all attended many 

Garlic Festivals in Gilroy 

over the years. 

 As near as I can tell,

 none of my family members were there 

on this specific occasion but 

certainly many other families were. 

 People with children, 

people with hopes and dreams,
 people that would never think 
 their lives would be lost
 while they were enjoying 
such a simple thing.

  

Can you just imagine

 the excitement of going

 to a happy place and 

coming home without

 your two year old baby? 

 Then,

 as we were watching TV on Saturday,

 the news came that

 20 people had been killed 

in El Paso, Texas,

 with 26 injured,

 and then waking up

 the very next morning 

to more news of 
the nine people killed 

in Dayton, Ohio,
 along with many more injured.  
Even though 
all these shooters are not
 of the same minds, 
the tragic outcomes 
are all the same.

 The story continues

 to be the same and

 as I was trying to put my 

simple little blog together, 

about decorating, 

about how I can make my world better, 

it hit me like a ton of bricks...

 None of that would be 
of any importance 
at this time 
when so many are hurting.

  After all the school shootings,

 we offered our thoughts and prayers.

 After movie theaters 

and nightclub shootings,

 we offered our thoughts and prayers.

 After churches and mosques and temple shootings, 

we offered our thoughts and prayers.

 After concert and celebration shootings
 we offered our thoughts and prayers.

  After domestic violence and drive by shootings 
we offer our thoughts and prayers.

 And yet

 the shootings still continue.

  Now, it is people going 

school shopping for their kids 

that are receiving 

thoughts and prayers. 

 The sight of the police 

lined up in WalMart and 
a gunman,
 dressed in full combat gear, 
stalking human beings like animals, 

looks like a bad movie 

from a third world country.

 Thoughts and prayers 

are certainly appreciated but

 if myself or a family member 

were the one's receiving those

 thoughts and prayers,

I would want that and much more.

Some will say 

that we have to take care of 

the mental health of our citizens and 

that is so true.

 Are the people that carry out 

these attacks mentally ill? 

 In my opinion, 

you bet they are, 
but the fact is

 there are many other countries where mentally ill reside and
 they do not have the amount
 of mass killings 
that we do in our country. 

 I don't know what the answer is.
  I do know that 
there is at least one bill 
sitting on a desk in the Senate
 that would be a helpful tool
 in fighting this problem 
if it were to pass. 
Maybe the reason
 the bill won't be brought up
 for a vote is 
that it might have a
 good chance of passing. 

  I know that because I 

don't like guns,  

that doesn't mean

 that those that do 
don't have a right 
to own them, but

I do think that rules and laws

 need to be added to the books 
that will make people like me,
 and all law abiding gun owners 

and their families, safer.

 We all watch 
numerous news reports and 
it is hard at times 
to not see this as a political issue,
 when the facts are 
that it is a human crisis 
that needs to be addressed quickly.

 There are all kinds of
 reasons and justifications made
 as to why 
these horrendous acts are being committed 
but the ugly facts remain
 they are becoming commonplace 
in our society and 
the question is 
how much longer 
can we survive them?

 Today, 

I have worked on a 

pretty flower arrangement and 

as the President of the United States
 got off of AirForce One, 

coming back to the White House
 from one of his golf clubs,

 he stated that there is no place 

for hate in our world, and 

they are working on big things 

to help this problem and

 it could have been so much worse.

I don't think it could be 
too much worse for 
the families involved...

Thank you,
Mr. President, for your
thoughts and prayers.

Life goes on 
and so I will make more
 flower arrangements.  

...Judy...



Disclaimer:  I have stated that this is just my opinion. I expect that there are some who will agree and some who will disagree. We live in America and we are told that our opinions matter. 

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SUMMERTIME!!...

Did you notice the two !! 
after the title of this post?

 I am not just kidding around.

 Summer is in full force around here.
  We are in the high 90's and
 while that may not seem overly warm
 to a lot of you 
(I know, I read the papers)
 to us, inland towards the mountains, in northern California, 
it is about as 
hot as you can get. 
 We do have the good fortune, however, 
to not have much humidity 
along with those higher temps.

The bright and beautiful upside 
to all of this, though, 
is the sunsets that go
 along with it.

 The one, above, 
was much prettier a little earlier
 but I didn't get my camera out in time. 
 I'm sure 
that unsuspecting little bird
 on the wire
 enjoyed it.

Inside, 
it is a different story.  
With all the fans on,
 the doors closed and
 the shades drawn...

...any amount of sun 
only adds to the joy
 of summertime...

...and sunflowers are
 a main part of 
that joy.

Sunflowers are 
just a wonderful flower.

I wrote a post in 2014 
about the complexities of 
the sunflower. 

 It showed them as the amazing creations
 that they are.

They are great specimens 
of works of art.

Man has done a pretty good job 
of recreating them...

...sometimes it is hard 
to tell the 
faux from the real thing.

The sunflower is
 one flower that is considered 
a summer item 
as well as one that 
also shines 
in the fall.

Dried or fresh 
they are a beautiful addition
 to a garland or a wreath.

As long as I 
stay inside and 
keep cool...

...I can be thankful for 
the summertime and
 all the "sun" 
that goes
 with it.

Have a wonderful sunny week...

...and stay hydrated. 
 There are only 
certain things
 that we want to
 dry up!



...Judy...

  

Do you think 
she knows that she is a 
spot of sunshine in our lives?  
I think she does.


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Love Your Creativity at Life and Linda

and

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NOW AND FOREVER...

I love walking in the garden 
anytime of the day, 
but as we walked there last evening,
 as we do with the dogs every evening
 just before bedtime,
 the old school phlox is blooming 
and it is especially beautiful 
when it glows in 
the light of the moon.

A colorful garden 
is most beautiful 
in the sunlight but 
anything white 
has such an advantage 
on a clear
 moonlit night.

I wrote a post 
back in 2013 entitled 
The Music of the Night 
and it tells of my visualization 
of a white garden at night 
set to the lyrics of 
The Phantom of the Opera.

Now, today, 
let me take you through 
the process of preserving 
the flowers that are
 at the top of my list this summer, 
the zinnia. 

I know that there are a 
few scientific ways to dry flowers,
 but what you have to know about me is: 
 I don't have the patience 
to be "scientific" 
so I almost always just 
fly by the seat of my pants! 

As I have said many times,
 our garden does not grow because of us,
 it grows in spite of us.
 Maybe that is why
 I am so excited by
 the zinnias this year.

This is the first time,
 in what seems like forever,
 that I have planted anything extra 
in the garden. 
It is mostly a 
run-a-muck experiment 
of Mother Nature's 
that totally takes care of itself.

 Another reason why 
I love the zinnias so much 
is that they remind me of
 the old fashioned cottage flowers
 that my mom
 used to grow every summer. 
 There was always 
a beautiful bouquet
 on the dining room table and
 it usually featured 
the jewel tone faces 
of the zinnias.

I have tried 
different ways to dry them 
which included:

Face up 
on the kitchen window sill.
Not totally effective
 but could be used as a filler
 if needed...

...leaving in the vase
 until the water evaporates...

...but that got me 
nothing
 but a dead zinnia.

Since the petals had all 
folded in upon themselves
 when laying on the window sill,
 that gave me an ah-ah moment 
and I thought by laying them 
face down
 might control that problem and 
it did seem to...

...so I placed them that way 
on a paper towel, 
thinking that would absorb
 more moisture and...

...here they are 
along side the three in front 
that were dried face up 
on the window sill. 

I think it worked.

 They might not be as beautiful 
as a scientifically dried 
rose or peony, or even another zinnia, but, 
let's just say 
they look interesting and 
they do hold 
onto their coloring 
very nicely either way.

I think they will fit 
into the forever fall garland perfectly. 
 I cut the stems 
because I just lay them
 on the garland and that way
 they don't become anything other 
than an easy fix. 
I imagine
 wire stems could be added if wanted.

 I also sprayed them 
with some hair spray 
for extra protection but 
they really are
 quite sturdy after drying.

I am quite pleased 
with the way 
they turned 
out.

After a closer look, 
I think the one dried
 on the harder surface, 
might lay flatter.

 Oh my, 
don't they just 
tickle you? 
 Or do you see them
 as something that could just 
skitter across the floor 
at any moment?

 Eeek!

I guess beauty really is
 in the eye
 of the beholder.

Since flowers 
are being stirred into 
the Cottage summer stew,
 come back next week 
when the
 sunflowers arrive.



...Judy...

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and

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