Chosen

Long ago, before there was time, before the questions were asked, while the answers were being formed, I stood with God. He hugged me tight and said, "I choose Summer. She is mine."

Jesus came over and ruffled my hair. He said, "Then, I will go to Hell and back for her."

And, the Holy Spirit said, "And I will live in her heart. I will be her guide and comforter."

On this day, while there is time, while the questions are asked and the answers are sought, I walk with God. I hold His hand and I choose Him back.

Haiku

I found a little tea shop around the corner from my work. I went to Potbelly's last night to pick up our supper--Jones Day buys supper when we work overtime. And, right there sits the Tempest Tea.

We've been working on a document production the last couple of days--I got 12 hours overtime in two days--so this afternoon I was feeling drag-y. I thought this would be a great time to try out the tea shop--drink a little tea, visit with friends, great idea. Great idea though it was, no one wanted to come hang with me. So, I wrote a Haiku instead.

Do you like hot tea?
Aroma and spice mixed
Soothing soul and heart

I think I'm going to try that tea shop out one of these mornings before work. Maybe even take one of my writing books with writing exercises and do a little practicing while enjoying a cuppa.

Garden 2007

There is nothing in this world more rife with potential than the opening of a seed catalog. January brings these pamphlets of dreams to my mailbox--this year they started coming during the second half of December. I peruse each one imagining the smells and textures of summer abundant in my garden.

Friday, I made the largest part of my seed commitment. I purchased from Pinetree Seeds as I have the last several years. I chose Pinetree because their seed packets not only contain a smaller number of seeds but the packets are priced much lower than most other seed companies. This is good for my pocketbook and good in my garden system.

I don't grow for quantity--I just grow. Since I started my garden back in 1995, I have loosely followed Mel Bartholomew's Square Foot Gardening. I've got four 3.5' x 8' -ish raised beds. I want more but haven't really put in the time or effort on the garden in recent years. Now, if I do more, I'm going to hire some help for the digging and building.




Garden 2006-two beds of four.


This year, though, I'll do with what I have. I am going to experiment with growing potatoes in a bin. Supposedly they do very well like that. I will have green beans as I always do, and tomatoes. I grow beets every year--they are pretty and I have sure success with them--build success into the things you do and you're more likely to do it again--or at least that's my theory. I ordered some lettuce seeds I'm going to plant as soon as the seeds get here and I ordered Swiss chard. I'm thinking about going to the feed store and buying some onions and broccoli plants to round out my produce.


I have neglected my yard and garden so for the last 8 months, I have a big job ahead of me getting everything into any sort of order. My energies and motivations have gone away from my outdoor pursuits. I think I'm ready to once again take up where I left off.


There really is nothing so wonderful as a garden.

Gmail

I have recently switched to using a gmail account for all of my email needs. I love it--have you looked at it? It's completely intuitve, the help is great for the things you cannot intuit and so very user friendly. It does the things you've always wished an email client to do.

I have been ranting to my friends the last couple of days about the shooting stars I've been seeing.

I spoke in another post, Beautiful Fall Day, about praying in the backyard. I've kept it up for 6 weeks now. I am amazed at the power of praying just a few minutes at a go but with complete focus and praise and gratitude. My heart has opened up.

Night before last I was out there and I began asking God if he could see me, right then, standing in my backyard. I know he "sees" me and I know he "listens" to me--I just never really personalized it. With my question, that's what I was doing--did he look and see me standing there in my flannel PJs barefoot and tired praying my prayer. As I opened my eyes in finishing, I saw a shooting star. My only response was, "I love you too, God. Good night."

Then comes last night. I had just come from having dinner with a dear friend and was feeling just a little lonely at having left good company. So, I began by asking God to please connect to me, to really be there with me--and what did I see as soon as those words were out of my mouth? Another shooting star--this time I giggled in absolute delight and said, "Thank you, I love you too."

God is so good to me. I am so riddled with un-love and selfishness and still he shows himself to me--he caresses my cheek with his breath on a wind and looks right at me from a shooting star. I am precious to him--in all of my messy-ness. Praise God and thank you, Jesus.

Paths

Paths
Off we go down divergent paths
Walking ever further apart
I hang on to an image of you
Neither timely nor accurate
My connection to you is gone
Though I pretend it's just getting
Thinner like a rubberband stretched
Dreams & hopes of togetherness
Get more distant with each step
Soon I must turn from you
And find my own Heart's way

I wrote this today. I've got a poem I wrote the other day but it needs a lot of work. This one just came tumbling out, fully formed.

I read through this and my eyes cry. I am not good at the ebb and flow of life. I try to "sit" as still as I can, take up a little room, not be a bother in hopes that nothing will change. Amazingly enough, everything changes pretty constantly.

I have been writing my life story for some friends of mine. I'm up to my Junior year in high school. Even back then, my relationships (particularly, romantic) did not last very long. There was always someone more interesting than me. And, so it is now.

I have kept myself hidden for so very long--in defense of the leaving and in seeking to stop time. I wrestle with how to be attracted to those people/person who are interested in me. I seek out like a homing pigeon unavailable and avoidant people--surely, if I'm still enough, they will not leave this time--a big fantasy laid to waste every time.

Christian Pumpkins

This is a note from my friend Leslie here at work. I think it's very appropriate and timely--for me anyway.


Okay...I know it is not Halloween and the title of my email, Christian Pumpkins, is way wierd...but it is what came to mind when I read this morning's bible verse passage...I am reading in Galatians..I am reading a chapter each morning. Today was Chapter 2.

Gal. 2:20 "I have been crucified with Christ. I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me."

That made me think that we are pumpkins. We are living....the world scoops us out and carves us up and leaves us feeling pretty hopeless, misused and abused, and worthless. But that dying, carved, empty pumpkin lives again. A candle is placed inside..filling all of the pumpkin with light...and showering it's light to all the world through the holes in the pumpkin....the pumpkin lives again...for a greater purpose..not just living for and by itself...but living because of the light inside and for the purpose of shining that light on all the world.

So it is with us....all the scars and holes left in our hearts...and bodies....that doesn't matter...those are not what makes us broken...but little windows God uses to shine His light through us. We die to what we were....God loves us and takes us for His purpose and plants himself inside us like a glowing candle....He fills us up and shines through all of our holes. Isn't that cool?

And how comforting is it to think that all of my holes are not holes at all...but windows :-) beautiful carvings to be used by God. There may be something to this word we use Holy....it is possible at least that those with holes...holes that God uses to shine through....those are Holy ones...and those without any breaks at all..who've never had anything carve a chunk out of them and do not allow light to shine through...are Unholy....the very word Holy would suggest one with holes...the adjective describing one having holes, right? :-)

A little food for thought this morning.

Hope you each have a wonderful day. Thanks for letting me ramble on and share :-)

Leslie
****
My friend Leslie is a wise woman.

Beautiful Fall Day

The last 3 nights I've gone out in the backyard with Maxine before bed. The first night I stood there and raised my hands high and wide up to God. I sang Him the first verse of "Revive us Again." Then, last night I went out and did the same thing only I prayed. Tonight, I went out and prayed--with my hands held high.

(Some of you may or may not understand the significance of this. I belong to the church of Christ. We are uncomfortable "raising holy hands" to God. We are black and white thinkers and we like nice solid facts. I do love the church of Christ, bless our hearts.)

My heart has found a place to rest right here in my backyard. For those moments that I'm out there with God, I am OK. I am talking to Him. I even just listened tonight. He didn't say anything but I know He was there with me.

I've not spent much time doing this--it's been a little chilly and I started out a little unsure. Tonight, I was looking forward to my time outside with God.

I think this is a good way to meditate. I have been longing for God to fill up this empty spot I feel right in the middle of me. I think this is one way for me to get filled.

I'm including a poem today that I wrote a couple of years ago. A friend of mine was doing something that included making up your own words to that song from Sound of Music "A few of my Favorite Things." She told me about it and I thought I'd write a list of my favorite things.

I found myself going through my day picking out the best things that I liked. Pretty much these are my absolute favorite things about my life. God is good all the time.

My Very Own Personal Most Favorite Things
A wiggly dog in the morning ready to get up
Two kitty cats lazing on the patio waiting to come in
Happy emails bold in my mailbox
Hot water out of the tap
A job to go to; a house to come home to
Books in the mail, books on the shelf, books anywhere they happen to be
A big ole glass of tea with lots and lots of ice
Or a steamy cup of English breakfast with cream and sugar
Foot-tapping music and the songs of the birds
Good, good friends to learn to love
A niece and some nephews on the other end of the line
Giggles at bedtime and guffaws on surprise
Little blank books and mechanical pencils
Thoughts and ideas to witness and write
Prayers to send to Heaven and miracles coming back

Finally a new post

Mostly, my days have been rolling along. My nephew was here last week. Above is a picture of Everett and my dog, Maxine on his last day here. We had a great time.

We went to the fair, we went to Austin, he went to San Antonio. He was duly impressed with Texas.

We had to fix up a box for all the stuff he bought while he was here. He bought all kinds of souvenirs. That's the fun, though, of being a kid on vacation.

My Wednesday night Bible study group has started up again. I am absolutely ecstatic about that. We haven't been meeting--for almost a year--and that small study group really is church for me. You get really close to each other when it's a small group.

I guess Mega-Churches are fine for a lot of people. I like a small church--actually, I prefer a small group within a large congregation.

I saw a great video clip the other day of this dog named Skidboot. He lives in Quinlan, TX with David & Barbar Hartwig. Take a look at the videos they have posted. Skidboot is incredible.

I guess that's it for today.

My Story - Installment 1

I think everyone struggles with purpose--hence the popularity of The Purpose Driven Life. Some years ago I came to the same epiphany; we are here to be. Out of that being comes everything. If we are not Being then all we do is wrought from pain and anguish and compulsion.

I really saw that when I was laid off. Tom had me read John 10 everyday for a month. That is the chapter Jesus talks about being the Good Shepherd. I knew roughly what a shepherd does but I decided to do a little research. I came to the conclusion that shepherds pretty much do everything for the sheep but chew their food. Which for me, translates to my job is to be, to show up. It's Jesus's job to make everything right.

I know some people think Jesus is talking spiritually. I think he's talking spiritually, physically, and emotionally. His and God's job is to take care of me as much as I let them. Mostly, I don't trust them to do what they say they're going to do.

Now, about story. My story is pretty much blank to me. I remember pieces parts and that's about it. I have recently written a poem picturing how I experience my life. I will include here.

Torrential anger floods my heart
Pain has taken up residence
I wander through my life
Like walking in a blacked-out
Cave with a flashlight
A few moments of illumination
Then all is forgotten
But the pain . . .and the anger
Love has no firm foothold
I want what I want
And I won't let go
I strangle my future with
Darkness from my past

So, bear with me, and I will write as I see my story in my head.

I was born July 17, 1966; just less than a year after Mama and Daddy married. Really, I think, that's not the start of my story. My story began with Mama and Daddy. And really, I think I know their story better than my own--which doesn't surprise me.

Mama's daddy died when she was 5. Mama was the middle sister of 3 girls. Grandma had married young (16) so was not allowed to finish highschool. When her husband died, she went to a business/typing school to learn to make a living.

They lived in Pensacola, FL where Grandma was raised. Mama and her sisters were kept by their cousin Ralph and any other available relative while Grandma went to school and worked. Grandma eventually remarried.

Both of Grandma's husband were of the military. Her second husband was very straightlaced--or so he seems to me in his pictures.

So, Mama had a lot of leaving in her life. She didn't really know her real dad and her mother was gone a lot and I'm sure was very strong, indeed. When Grandma remarried, they moved all over the country as any air force family would. I have her highschool annuals--they are from 3 different schools.

Daddy's parents had 7 children and then his dad died. He worked for the electric company and fell into the lines and was electrocuted. Daddy was very young when this happened. My aunt Debbie, the youngest, doesn't really remember their dad--she was still in diapers.

Their mother, having 7 children remarried. I'm not exactly sure when. I know she worked at the Vallen Paint Company in Garland (I don't know if it's still there or not.)

The man she remarried, Joe, was a drunk and he beat her in front of the kids. He didn't work. He went to the Terrell State Hospital a couple of times. They had a son so there were 8 kids in all. They lived down in the name streets in Garland in one of those little bitty 2 bedroom houses.

One morning, the kids got up and found their mother on the floor. She had died from ovarian cancer. The chief of police in Garland drove Joe out of town and told him never to darken the city limits of Garland again. An interesting side note to this is, Daddy's real daddy was building a house along side of his two brothers who both turned out to be alcoholics.

When their mother died, their family didn't have anything to do with them. My aunt Jeannie was near 18 at the time and she pretty much took care of them all for awhile. Their mother's mother was a mean drunk and did not help. A man from the church (Saturn Rd I think) named Mr. Odom found out about the family and arranged care for the kids.

So, Daddy had nothing but leaving--dad dying, mother dying, family abandoning, siblings seperated, abusive and alcoholic step-dad, grandmother and uncles.

So, we have set the stage for Summer's twinkle in her Daddy's eye. And, I had better leave it there until later this evening.

Hard Weekend

This past weekend I had a hard time getting through. I know part of my struggle was I got tired and was hormonal--which always intensifies whatever is sneaking around in my heart. I've been working a lot and I must say that here in Texas we are actually living in a precursor to hell--you know that song that says "hot, hot, hot!"

Weekends are always hard for me. I spent most of my time during the weekends with my best friend. So, having to do it differently is hard. Sometimes I feel like my heart is being ripped to shreds and left inside be to try and limp along.

Personally, I am struggling with loneliness. I pray that God will comfort me. I am craving a place of comfort for my heart.

Here are some verses of comfort that I found:

Isaiah 61
1 The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners,
2 to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn,
3 and provide for those who grieve in Zion— to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor.

And

2 Corinthians 1:3-5
3Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort,
4who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.
5For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows.

And


Psalm 56 (English Standard Version)
1Be gracious to me, O God, for man tramples on me;all day long an attacker oppresses me;
2my enemies trample on me all day long,for many attack me proudly.
3When I am afraid,I put my trust in you.
4In God, whose word I praise,in God I trust; I shall not be afraid.What can flesh do to me?
5All day long they injure my cause;all their thoughts are against me for evil.
6They stir up strife, they lurk;they watch my steps,as they have waited for my life.
7For their crime will they escape?In wrath cast down the peoples, O God!
8You have kept count of my tossings;put my tears in your bottle.Are they not in your book?
9Then my enemies will turn backin the day when I call.This I know, that God is for me.
10In God, whose word I praise,in the LORD, whose word I praise,
11in God I trust; I shall not be afraid.What can man do to me?
12I must perform my vows to you, O God;I will render thank offerings to you.
13For you have delivered my soul from death,yes, my feet from falling,that I may walk before God in the light of life.

I love these verses--I comfort myself with them. My most favorite is Psalms 56:8 (I bolded it) where David talks about God saving my tears in a bottle.

I was just talking to a friend yesterday after church about this verse. I can see when I get to Heaven and my turn comes to talk to God about my life and everything and He comes to me with this bottle. He spills the bottle out at my feet and says to me, "Oh my precious Summer, I am so sorry for the hurt you had to feel, please, come and rest from your journey, all is well, all is healed." And I run through that puddle with my arms opened wide, and He leans down and scoops me up and hugs me tight, and kisses me on my check and we laugh and cry together for the joy of reunion and the tears are forgotten.

I do miss my friend.

I have to trust that God will take care of me even if I don't feel it or believe it. I do have hope of resolution, at least in Heaven if not here and now.

He will heal my loneliness when I let Him. He will heal my pain, when I let Him. He will heal my anger, when I let Him. And, I think the letting Him is where He holds my hand and strengthens me while I do the work of healing, and He sends His people to put their arms around me to give me a place to rest when I am tired from the work.

I see all of this as a two way street. Two people can be in the same emotional spot. They will both be hurting at the same time but have hope and comfort to give the other that we do not feel for ourselves.

I want to encourage and strengthen myself and anyone who may be reading this. I want God to enter in and move in our hearts. We are the children of God--if we were not we would not struggle.

God is good, God is good.

August

OK. So, I haven't written much this summer. I haven't really felt like writing much at all. I have been wallowing around in depression for most of the time.

In June, my best friend and I had a falling out and our friendship has ended. I had thought that wouldn't happen but lo it did.

Needless to say, I have been anti-motivated for almost everything. I am amazed how these seemingly small changes effect the grand scheme of your life--at least of my life. I do not "roll with the flow" very easily. It's like I try to stand as still and quiet as I can so that nothing will move--nothing will change. Amazingly, things move and change whether I am the impetus or not.

Well, there's not a lot going on in my life right now. I get up and go to work. Sweat like a pig getting back in the car to drive home. I have determined that, at least this year, North Texas is actually Hell. I think that the heat and drought here should be enough to drive every person in the DFW metroplex to their knees seeking forgiveness just to avoid living in eternal Texas summer with Satan.

Last night I was looking through a catalog from Hancock's of Paducah. It's a fabric store that is out of this world. I started getting the itch to learn to quilt. So, I guess I'm going to have to get a few things together and start some place mats or something to get started.

What else? What else? I can't think of anything else fun and exciting going on--I can't even think of anything not fun and boring--so this is the end of today's post.

My Trip

I am home from my trip to see my sister, Amy and her family. I had a great time visiting with her and the kids.

I worked out at their place where they are building a house. I went to church with them on Wednesday night and met a bunch of their friends. Amy, the kids and I went to this place called Bunnies by the Bay and had tea, which was a lot of fun. I got to love on the kids, read stories and help with chores. I really enjoyed my time there.

Coming home, now that is a story! I was flying on a buddy pass from Amy's mother-in-law, and that should tell you everything. Amy dropped me at the airport on Saturday at 12:30 P.M. I was there until about 12:30 A.M. trying to get out. Amy came and got me and took me two hours north where they said I'd for sure get on a flight to Salt Lake City then on to Dallas Sunday morning.

I got to Salt Lake City just fine. It's the getting to Dallas part that didn't happen. I found out it was Mary Kay convention here this week. So, I spent all the live long day in the airport at Salt Lake City without the faintest chance of leaving that day.

Happily, I met a girl, LaRae, who was trying to get here for the conference. She was from Salt Lake and said, "If we don't catch this last flight, you should come home and stay the night with me." And me, in my bleary eyed and foggy headed state said, "OK." So I stayed with a stranger I met in the airport.

We went back to the airport Monday morning. I didn't get on the first two flights and it was really looking like I would be there another day. Miraculously, I got on the 1:00 PM flight to Dallas. I got in at 4:30 P.M. our time and I was never in my life so happy to see Terminal E at DFW Airport.

I am still exhausted from my trip. I am planning to sleep as much as possible this weekend.

That's the news of my big vacation. I hope I won't be seeing the inside of an airport in a long time.

Another poem

Little Girl
A two year old girl
Fussing with her purse
Where has she gone?
Is she lost to the world
Floundering in her Family Song?
Be strong, be strong
Put your feelings away
Little girls shouldn't be
She hides way away in the
Middle of her heart
Waiting and watching
Squnching herself down
She wants and she hopes
For a safe place to be
Where her heart can take a rest

I am starting to write. I got this poem today. That's two days in a row I've had a poem. I love writing poetry.

Waiting

The weight of waiting
Unbearably heavy
A suffocating blanket
A dark ocean of pain
Misplaced gift of life
Leading down to death
Cocooning—embracing
Stretching and becoming
Making a bigger space
Scraping out decay
Giving up life
Getting it back again
The lightness of being

A friend of mine sent me an excerpt from the book When the Heart Waits by Sue Monk Kidd. She had lent me the book sometime ago but I never could get into it. I guess it just wasn't the right time.

The excerpt was talking about waiting tied to spiritual overcoming; our walk being a process rather than a Hallmark Moment.

I really don't like that concept. Waiting to get all the way through the pain until I am ready to take back my life and give it to God. Giving my life and heart away to anyone or anything else leads to death and misery--where I am now. Giving my life and heart away to God leads to life and light and shining as the sun.

I know this. I know giving myself up to God is the answer. Wallowing in His love and healing is the answer. I persist like a stubborn two-year-old to hold onto my fantasy that this world will make me happy--will fix all of my woundedness.

Hang on, Summer, hang on! Wait a little longer. All will be well.

Friday again

This has just been the worst couple of months--actually, it's been the worst year.

Have you ever had a time when you would just rather fall off the face of the earth than face another day? I am there now.

I comfort myself with Psalms 56:8 which goes: Record my lament; list my tears on your scroll -- are they not in your record?

The New American Standard version reads it "Put my tears in your bottle." Wow! God keeps track of my tears.

I think maybe it's a bit like when I was younger and I would tell my mama that some one of my friends was being mean to me. She would never like that kid again--whether I made up with them or not.

I don't mean to say that I think God keeps grudges. I do mean I think God knows our hurts and pains and He records them and keeps track so that when we get to Heaven He can kiss each tear away. He will "make up" for all of our pain.

Going through this time is really bringing me to my knees. I am having to re-assess my relationship with God and Jesus. I think I have been "stiff-arming" them for most of my life. I thought I had resolved those issues but apparently, I only put them on hold.

Now, I have no where to turn for comfort or hope. God is ever faithful. He keeps His promises so I know He is right here beside me holding my hand--whether I feel Him or not.

Sometimes, in the midst of my struggle--when I can turn my eyes from my hurting heart and look towards Heaven--I feel God soothing my heart. Just a little balm for my weary soul. Only as much as I will stand until I turn my eyes back to me.

My mantra is: one foot in front of the other, breathe in, breathe out, keep my eyes on Jesus. Doesn't sound all that difficult. It's the hardest thing I've ever done in all of my life.

Dying

I am dying; if only it were true
Instead I bear a hurt too great
For any girl to shoulder
Still I keep breathing
In-out; In-out
How can it be my heart so dead
But my eyes keep on crying?

The Race

Hebrews 12:1
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.

The race marked out for me.

Is all this struggle and pain that I go through part of my race? Or is it incorporated into my race as I go along? And for that matter, how am I supposed to tell where the markers are?

Right this minute, I stew and obsess. Where is God and what is He doing? Does He know my heart is crushed and does He care? When will He save me from my hell?

God has a plan for me--I know, I know. Won't He let me in on at least a little of the plan? Though, I'm not sure it'd do me much good to know. What on earth would I do with that knowledge? Already, I project my future and mourn over what I see. If I knew the reality of it I think I could not bear it.

I have a difficult time--OK, I get downright--angry to think that my weaknesses and temptations and pain and struggles are part of my "marked out race." I mean, really, what is God thinking?

And that is the question--What is God thinking? I will never know this side of Heaven. My story is greater than I know and my small little life has great cosmic consequences that I cannot see.

When I can remember my life, with all of its ills, matters and it matters how I run my race I am more comforted knowing that someone knows what my course is. It's like the little inkling of confidence you feel when you're in the bad part of town but you know your friends know where you are.

God knows where I am. He is holding my hand and catching my tears. When I cry so hard that I'm coming out of my skin, He knows and He holds me. In some kind of way my heart is comforted when I remember.

Another Update Posting

Again, not ready to write but want to keep blogger happy.

A Short Update

I haven't much to write today but began worrying that not having written anything in a couple of weeks blogger would delete me.

This weekend was good--beautiful weather. I got my yard mowed but not weed-eated. I did plant a few flowers and I have a few yet to plant. I also need to get a few more seeds in the ground.

That's about it for the moment. I'm not too inspired right now.

The Gardening Has Begun

I am amazed at how old I feel after two evenings in the garden!

Monday, I had planned to mow at least my backyard as it is now a hay field but it was 100 degrees out when I got home from work. So, I ate some dinner and went out to work in my garden beds instead.

My brand new Texas Tomato Cages had arrived with the mail so I wanted to get them stuck in the ground protecting my week old tomato plants. (Week old meaning they've been in the ground for a week.) My friend Kim had given me two bags, 40 lbs each, of expanded shale. I needed to dig that in before fixing the tomato cages.

By the way, these tomato cages are colossal! They're 6 feet tall and 2 feet in diameter. They have 4 legs that stick in the ground. They are in two parts and fold flat when not in use. Way cool, these tomato cages.

So, I hefted the two bags to the back. Then, hefted two bags of pecan shell mulch to the back. I spread the shale out--dividing the two bags between my four beds. Then it was just me and the hoe. I was only able to get two of the beds (the ones with the tomatoes) dug in the other two would just have to wait till Tuesday.

I spread a good thick layer of pecan shells around each tomato plant. This should help the tomatoes to not dry out and protect the leaves when either God or I water from splashing dirt, etc. I put the cages out and stood back and admired my work--Beautiful!

Yesterday (Tuesday), I stopped by the feed store for dog and chicken food before going to work. I, of course bought plants for the garden and some seeds. I got jalapenos, bell pepper, one more tomato, marigolds, verbena, and squash--those were the plants. The seeds were for green beans and okra.

When I got home last night, I dug the shale into the other two beds then set about planting plants and seeds. If everything produces the way I dream, we'll be rolling in fresh vegetables in just a few weeks--well more like a couple of months but woo hoo! Can't you just taste that fried okra with some pinto beans and cornbread, with sliced tomato and onion? That is a feast worthy of Heaven--and will probably be in Heaven when we get there!