Tuesday, July 07, 2009

Frugal flowers and bloggy business

The spring was not kind to my deck flowers.

Now is the time to go out among the merchants and find clearance flowers. My flowers on the deck were looking stressed (all that rain we've had since early spring and then the week of intense heat) but just the addition of two pots of clearance flowers added lots of depth and color.

This was a hanging planter on clearance for $5.00 at my grocery store. I clipped the "hanger" off and it is now on the deck.

The zinnias were on clearance at my local Ace Hardware. Since taking this picture, they are now sitting with the other flowers in the corner of the deck and the blue & yellow flowers above have taken this spot.

I'd love to add even more flowers but my food budget needs to be for... food. As it was, I figured these two were food for my soul. :)

As for blog business... I'm behind on answering e-mails since all my computer time over the weekend was spent "tweaking" the sidebar. There is a lot of information there, including the links to all the Pantry Talk, Stocking Up, and Recession Pondering posts from the past few years.

Actually, almost all the Pantry Talk and Stocking Up posts overlap each other (I went back and added Stocking Up to the later Pantry Talk posts). The Recession Pondering posts are mostly about living on a small income and the two separate years we lived with NO income... those lessons learned.

Although the link to the "Cozy books and films" recommendations is still on the sidebar (click picture), I also added it to the CTB&Me Favorites list (which, can you believe, had not been updated for two years and I'm still working on it). I've gotten lots of e-mails asking for another list so I think we'll do another in late summer. More specific info to follow. There were so many people (including myself) who printed the list off and are keeping it handy.

I'm reading through a book for a Thomas Nelson review right now and I'll try to answer some book questions asked in Comments soon.

Life is still happening around here. Lots to do inside, outside... and in town. Hubby's stress test at the cardiologist is today. The doctor doesn't think he has a problem but, of course, they want to check it out.

9 comments:

Scrappy quilter said...

Oooh I love Zinnias. they are my favorite annual. Glad you were able to get some flowers at discounted prices. Hope you have a wonderful day Brenda.

Anonymous said...

I think it would be nice to sometime have a book list of people's favorite Christian authors. I have discovered some great ones since I started reading blogs.

Friend Debra

Deanna Rabe - Creekside Cottage Blog said...

Your Zinnia's are so pretty and cheerful!

Stickhorsecowgirls said...

Your flowers are lovely! The zinnias remind me of the rows of them my mother planted every summer in the flowerbed in our backyard! They seem so cheerful, and yes they are good for the soul!

Thickethouse.wordpress said...

Hi Brenda, Another great post from you. I need to work on my deck too. But mostly I'm sharing that my daughter Alice and I are just leaving for Pennsylvania because my daughter Emily is getting ready to leave for the hospital for the birth of her second child. I'm so filled with happiness at the moment I had to share it with someone.

the Pleasures of Homemaking said...

I love zinnias! I grew some from seed this summer and couldn't believe how easy and quick they were. If you see any seed packets on clearance grab some!

I printed the list of books too and have read 4 so far and enjoyed them all.

Manuela

Jennie Shutt said...

Your flowers are very pretty. I second the comment about the list of favorite Christian Authors.

A Joyful Chaos said...

Your flowers are very lovely! Thanks for sharing them with us!

Lallee said...

I love Zinnias. I haven't gotten any this year. The basket of yellow and purple flowers look so pretty together. Enjoy!

Hope hubby's test went OK.