At Home in Wyoming

Flowers In A Pinch

 
If you are in a pinch for flowers to arrange this summer, don't forget the lowly little petunia.  They are not usually the flowers that you think of for arrangements, but they are colorful and last forever...and make a sweet little country bouquet by a bedside table.

You've probably got them anyway, they are cheap...so what's not to love?

Antlers, Dried Flowers and Potpourri

 
If you live in Wyoming, you generally have elk and deer horns hanging around...I finally found a good use for them!  They make the perfect place to hang flowers upside down to dry them.  The above peonies, once dry, were added to the lilacs that I dried on elk horns, and turned into this.

 
A dried flower arrangement for a bedroom.  If you are interested in this sort of thing, some of the easiest flowers to dry are roses, lilacs and peonies, because you can just hang them upside down and let the air do all the work. 

The lilacs are a little delicate though (i.e. they make a big fat mess when you are working with them), so the less that you have to handle them, the better.

I like drying these three flowers for Christmas potpourri too.  I kind of gather flower petals and pinecones and things all summer...but if I get lazy (which happens often) I will buy some cheap potpourri at Walmart for the base, and then mix it up with what I collected and dried, like slices of oranges or orange peel. 

Once really dry, I scent them with the essential oil that I get at Walmart (it is cheaper there) and put eveything into a paper bag to absorb the scent for a month of two.

Then at Christmas I go to the florist and talk them into selling me some of the little celephane bags that they put corsages in.  Tied up with a silk ribbon, homemade potpourri makes a pretty but inexpensive Christmas gift.

Because Ho Ho Ho, Christmas will be here before you know it!

Are You Ready?

A garage sale teapot and a $3 bundle of flowers from Walmart brightens up my kitchen during the long wait for the 'greening up' of Spring!

In my Bible reading this week I was struck by what Paul told Timothy...

"This know also, that in the last days perilous times should come."  (2 Timothy 3:1)

Now I don't know about you, but things out there seem perilous to me!  Earthquakes, tsumanis, nuclear meltdowns, economies collapsing, unemployment rampant...I think that they should change the name of the news to Bad News.

Caught up in the daily grind of our lives, we often forget that, in the words of the great Hank Williams... 

"No matter how I struggle and strive, I'll never get out of this world alive." 

For many people in Japan last week, the end came quick.  When they were least expecting it.  And I wondered, how many of them were ready to meet their Creator?

The Bible says...

"For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.

For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape."  (1 Thessalonians 5:2-3)

So let me ask you a question, friend.  Are you ready?  Have you repented of your sins, asked for forgiveness, and turned your life over to Christ?  The Bible states 'For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God' (Romans 3:23).  That means that we don't get to Heaven by being a good or nice person, by attending church or even throwing a little something in the offering plate on Sunday.  We are not perfect, and we all have sinned.  And sin separates us from a Holy God.

But, I have good news...Jesus said, "...I am the way, the truth and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." (John 14:6). 

If you want to be ready to meet God, then ask His Son to take away your sin today.  Accept Him as your Lord and Saviour.  Give Him control of your life.  We deserve hell, but we never have to taste it.   Jesus died to take away our sins, and restore us to God.  That is what the cross is all about.  If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us.

So when you flick on TV and hear all about the Bad News, remember the Good News.  The best part about it is that when your time comes, even if it comes as a 'thief in the night', you will be ready!

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Fragrance of Spring

The weather in Cody, Wyoming fluctuates wildly this time of year...we had a beautiful Easter but I see snow in the forecast later this week.  Those of you in warmer temperatures are already enjoying Spring flowers...but in Wyoming you have to be a little more creative. 

Some of the Spring bulbs that I bought at Walmart a few weeks ago are in bloom on my sideboard today, and I have been especially enjoying the fragrance of the hyacinths.  One whiff and I am magically transported back to my childhood in Virginia.  Isn't the sense of smell fascinating...you hadn't thought of a place in years, and then in one sniff you are transported in a split second back in years.  So many gifts from God we often take for granted, but the smell of a hyacinth will awaken thanksgiving for the gift of smell...and for me the memory of Spring in the south!  DLB

 

Toward A Brighter January!

Once all of the Christmas decorations are packed away, the house looks so bare...so I decided to try to find a cheap way to spruce things up to carry me through January.  Above is a garage sale urn of some sort, stuffed with florist foam that I poked lilac branches (spray painted white) into, and then hung some snowflakes that I found at a local florist from their 75% off Christmas bin...Presto!  A cheap snowflake tree...January looks brighter already!  DLB

 

 

Drying Lilacs

Each year that I am fortunate enough to get my lilac bushes to bloom, I gather big armloads of them to dry for Christmas potpourri and flower arrangements (some of last years lilacs made their way into the flower arrangement on top of the fireplace, left).  Simply hang the lilac upside down to dry.  It goes without saying (but I will say it anyway) don't dry lilacs low enough for children or animals to reach and ingest, and if you are lighting a fire in your fireplace, the fireplace screen would probably not be a good place to dry your flowers!).  That said, I have no small children and try to find creative places to hang them to bring a little color into the room.  When flowers are dry (you will be able to tell by feeling, but I let them hang a week or two) I separate the blossom from the stem and put into a paper bag.  The purple color deepens and forms the base of my homemade potpourri that I hand out at Christmas.  DLB