Fruits of the Garden

 Although we did not plant a "fruit" garden, nor even a vegetable garden this year, we still are beginning to see our hard work pay off- in all different colors!! We had every intention of doing vegetables this year, but last year's trouble with the weather- droughts, heat, and seeing baby squash and cucumber lying in the most pitiful positions, dry and malnourished and, well, crispy (not yet cooked)...caused us to..well.. let's just say "we didn't go there." It was too emotional for this NICU nurse to see her baby vegetables suffer from malnutrition, dehydration, and "IUGR" (for the plants- all you medical folks know this as intrauterine growth restriction- these plants, had they been in a uterus, would have most definately suffered this as well- ) or for the plants' sake- IGGR "Intragarden growth restriction" secondary to hyperthermia. That's that.

 But, I am pleased to say that my three sweet hydrangea bushes are flourishing quite nicely. They were sick last year- some sort of "something" that I couldn't figure out, but they hardly had leaves, and certainly did not have enough "Umph" for flowers! I fertilized last year, but nothing worked...last year... but THIS year- leaves came...big leaves, then more leaves, then small buds, then bigger buds, then different color buds. I know that the color of the hydrangea is influenced by the acidity of the soil- the more acidic, the more tinted blue. I remember my great-grandmother and my Gran talking about putting nails in the soil to get blue hydrangea's... granted, I was 3 years old at the time, but in my 3 year-old mind, putting nails in the soil seemed like a task fitting for me, and I can vividly remember the excitement of finding a nail near my Grandadden's truck and sticking it in the ground...what I didn't know was there weren't any hydrangea's nearby where I was "planting nails."  Oh well. I'm sure mom and her lawnmower appreciated the especially "larger" nails I planted. (sorry momo)

So, all that to say- we have three very large-and-in-charge hydrangea bushes.. they share the same soil and yet God, with all His artistic phenomenon, decided to make one blue, one pink, and one a very light pink-almost white. Amazing! My face lights up everytime I come up the driveway and see the colors- what a reminder of how creative God can be with us, as well- in the same circumstances, but how different we all are- and since we are His creation, we are all beautiful in our differences.

My lilies are well on their way, pregnant with blooms..some already bursting with life and vivid color- gorgeous!! My hostas, also large-and-in-charge, have sprouted their tall, ladylike stems and are just about to pop with delicate purple blooms- love those!! The cannas and gladiolas are growing tall, no blooms yet though. And the hibiscus my MIL (mother-in-law) gave me last year has gone from 1 stalk (as big around as my wrist) to 8 stalks! I am currently working on finding nice homes for some of these :) I hear they have a tendency to take over, and I have enough "large-and-in-charge" in the front- will find a new home for these in the side yard and hopefully with some neighbors (mom- bringing you some, too- soon!!)

perfect blue

and pink

and a little white and blue mix

and purple

just lovely

Vincas- doing well in their sunshine

there's a small purple flower inside that bud, just waiting to burst out1

these lilies in the backyard never cease to amaze me- tall and strong and vivid red! reminds me of an independent woman- or like my mom, strong, able to stand on her own, resilient to life's harsh seasons

gorgeous and perfect

I love my "Noah Bells"- they are distinctive from all other bells in their melodic and echoing tones. Each one is handmade- no machines- and each ones rings differently. Shepherds love these bells as they enable them to easily hear and find their flocks from many miles away. And Old Indian belief is that bells scare away devils and evil spirit- what about evil tornadoes??

Bouquets, of course, are a must with flowers like these!

Again, the colors! Hard to believe each of those different flowers and color schemes came from hydrangea bushes within 6 feet of each other. Wow, God, Wow!

What kind of flowers do showers bring?

It's been a while since the last post- and sure we've been busy...but I've also been waiting on something exciting to blog about. Alas, there is nothing. But oh well- so what have we been up to? First things first, I finished my race in Nashville April 30th- I was nervous and anxious because I felt like I had not prepared for it like I should, hadn't run long enough, hadn't had enough "long" runs, etc etc....Yet, I had so much support and love from my family. Ain't is amazing how that will get your through? Just love family- even though sometimes they drive you nuts! Unfortunately, my uncle wasn't able to run with me after throwing out his back and messing up his knee...we tried to talk Trey into running it with me. After all, he can pick up and run 6 miles or 8 miles- he's done it before, right?? haha But all I could get out of him was a promise to run the St. Jude Half with me in December. You better believe I'm holding him to it! So Trey and mom and me set out from my aunt's house in Spring Hill at 4:30 am and drove to Nashville. God bless Trey and my mom because I was a nervous wreck, combined with traffic on the interstate and the threat of missing the last shuttle..but they got me there. They got me to the shuttles, and then it was just standing in line waiting. Although the day was going to get warmer, it was about 48 degrees and there I was in shorts and my sweatshirt, which I had to part with before getting on the shuttle. Shaking and convulsing like a freak because I was nervous and cold, I waited there with Trey for the shuttle.. with the masses.

Thats me, just after parting with my sweatshirt. People around me verbally noticing my goosebumps- nice.

The masses.

 I sat next to the nicest man on the shuttle- he had been over a hospital in Nashville and had recently moved to New Orleans and was over a hospital there. So we talked about hospital stuff, Magnet status (which LeBonheur is trying to achieve) and whatnot... it helped the nerves for sure. I hope I didn't talk his head off!! But I just love watching the people who are preparing for these races. I like to run, but would hardly call myself a "runner"- I'm not fast, I just try to finish...I barely ran the entire way- had to walk some. But some of these folks are crazy!! Sprints to warm up, eating all kinds of nutty cardboards and washing them down with electrolyte gels, coating their thighs and armpits with vaseline and body-glide...weird. I just stood there, looking for my corral (which was definately in the back with the slow folks and the "older" folks... but we all looked the same. Some folks around me were running their first, so I talked to them about the first time I did the race. And thankfully there was some guy who (I'm assuming) used comic relief as a coping mechanism for anxiety and he was truly nuts- yelling out cheers and jokes and dancing like an idiot...older gentleman about 45-50, big belly and scratchy beard. It made the time go by faster. And the race started, and there I went- no choice but to somehow get myself to the end of the 13.1 miles so I could say I did the thing and get a ride home. :) But then I started enjoying it... lots of funny ladies in matching tu-tu's and cowboy hats and beads and painted shirts. Lots of folks standing on the sidewalks, cheering for their friends, funny jokes on their signs (some too vulgar to put on the blog...but you get the idea) And I finished- in one piece, sprinting at the finish line, no knee problems, only one small blister on my right foot...it was fabulous!

On the phone, trying to call Trey and mom to see where they were...didn't see them right in front of me!

Oh, haha, there yall are!

No mom, you stay there. I'm going to go get some food and water and I will find you!

Totally about to devour some grub!

Yay mom- who has been up since 4am! Waiting on me to finish. (The race started at 7. My corral started at 8. I finished about 10:30)

The love of my life and my pack-mule

After this picture, I'm going to sit down and eat because I'm still starving!

Complimentary beers for all runners- what should I hydrate with??

The pack mule- gotta love him!

So, finished the race and had a fabulous visit with mom. Came back to Memphis and found that the city had become a disaster area in some places..

Water, Water everywhere...But not a drop to drink..

One of the parks on Mud Island

Beale Street, just east of Riverside Drive

Evacuating

No words

 Trey and I began working at the Shelter at Hope Presbyterian the day we got home. Thousands of people displaced, showing up to the shelters with nothing more than the clothes on their backs, and whatever they could throw into garbage sacks and into the trunks of their cars.

Most of the families at the shelter were Hispanic, speaking very little (if any) English. They had children of all ages, some as young as 2 weeks old. Sleeping on cots and sleeping bags, showering in outdoor trailer showers, doing laundry in portable washers and dryers, sleeping in a gym with 175 other people of all ages. But who really slept? Between the snoring, the crying, the cramped conditions, and the anxiety of "what now?"

They tried to maintain some sense of "normal" during the day- the men went to work, the women helped clean the church, the kids either went to school or played..

But the waters never went down. In fact, they river was still weeks away from even cresting. These people lived at Hope, and at other shelters, while watching as the waters crept closer and closer, rose higer and higher. It made national news- even Diane Sawyer made a trip to Hope to visit with the people.

The river finally crested last week- and the waters are beginning to go down. But now what- homes damaged, some beyond repair and beyond their worth, snakes, rotten stench, mold, everything lost. Everything gone. And the areas hit the hardest were the poorest. People with strikes already against them- and now this...

But the Memphis and Shelby County communities did an amazing job of pulling together. Volunteers at shelters, donations so plentiful that the shelters had to acutally say "We don't need anymore..." Although the disaster isn't over, and the shelters expect to be full for at least another month, this had made me proud to be from thsi city- which isn't always the case. All the negative light that is shed on Memphis- I hope this has changed some of that.