My Personal Accomplishments from the Weekend

Amidst all the family work we accomplished this weekend, I also had a few things that I completed myself that I'm quite proud to share.

The first is this darling duck planter.  My Dad saw the planter at a garage sale last week, and because I have a long-term adoration of rubber ducks, he picked it up for me for a few pennies.  I decided to fill him with some hens & chicks (succulent), so that I don't have to worry much about maintenance.  These little buggers can grow just about anywhere...and because I was afraid of drill a drainage hole in the bottom (fear of breaking him), I've stuffed him with just two small plants.  We'll see how this works.  I may need to suck it up, and put the drain holes in, go nice and slow, and hope for the best.

Hens and Chicks in a Duck...we've dubbed him Turducken, minus the "tur"

Next was this blanket I made for a family friend.  I started the blanket on May 18th, when she closed on her very own home!  She is a young woman, that considers God in every single choice she makes.

She is the young woman that, during an odd moment of personal struggle in my life, said something akin to - It's strange how everyone thinks it's SO trendy these days to go out to FIND God, but people have such an issue with you when you actually FIND HIM.  How does that work?  It's acceptable to search for Him, but not when you find Him, and begin to live for Him. 

This rings so true for me!  We hear so often, "All paths lead to God," and while it may be true that all paths lead to God, only ONE PATH leads to Heaven, and God's true plan for our life.  Maybe that's the secret?  I don't know.

Anyway, this lovely girl is a dedicated Woman of God, as well as a love of all things Granny Chic, and Uber-Geek/mathery.  And so, as a housewarming gift, I chose to crochet this afghan, in what I'd consider Granny Chic colors, with stripes in the ever-wonderful Fibonacci Sequence. *grin*

I'm calling it Granny Fib

I'm confident she's gonna love it!  And yes, this picture was taken in the garage.  :o) I had determined to stay outside with my family all weekend, even if it was cold and rainy.  So, we stayed in the garage most of the day yesterday.



The last accomplishment was this old tire move to the front from our back yard.  It was left by the previous owners, and for that I'm so thankful!!  Growing up, my Grandparents had an old tire full of hens & chicks, and it's a very personal, VERY important thing for me.  I don't blame you for thinking it's silly - if it was someone else, I'd think so, too.  But, it holds a LOT of lovely memories for me.  Hubby & I have battled about the placement of the tire for the last three years.  I've BEGGED to put it out front, and he's nearly begged me to put it out with the weekly trash.  *wink*  But this year, I ignored his silly faces and eye-rolls, and put it out front anyway.  And, I'm in LOVE with where it landed!  At the end of a row of hedge bushes, there was a circle, that bumped out in the trim around the house.  And, since we moved in, it's been empty.  Boo! 

But no more!  It now houses the humble beginnings of our very own hens & chickens tire!  Yay!

After I placed it, I just stood and looked at it, thinking of all the times I had dug some out of my Grandmother's tire, just to see if nature would fill it back in (it always did), or how I ran my bicycle into that tire, and scraped my leg on the side of it, and Gramma would pour water on the scrape, and get me a wet washcloth or 35 band-aids, for even the tiniest of marks.  Or, my Grampa trying to offer me money to move it, knowing that my scrawy little arms would never be able to scoot it an inch, let along across the yard!

I read something on pinterest that said if you cleanly pull off some of the 'petals' from a succulent, and leave them laying on top of the dirt, they will both root & bloom (that's what the stray parts are spread around the tire).  What an amazing feat!  When it's ripped apart, this beatiful flower will not only start again renewed, it will produce more than it would've in its full, natural form. 

Read that again - when it's RIPPED APART, it will bloom again, brilliantly!  That's just amazing to consider- what a lovely idea to share.  That only we can know that when God allows our lives to be ripped apart, He can help us not only survive, but to bloom again brilliantly, and with more blessings to share than when we started.  What a blessing!