Friday's Fave Five #382

Hi everyone!  Welcome to Friday's Fave Five.   I hope you are able to join us this week as we look for blessings around us in the last week.  And then we share 5 of them.

I will have to join in later.  I was not able to get a post together on time so will try to jump in as I can today.  But please don't let that stop you!

Updated:

Thank you for being so patient.  The week turned out crazy as we were dealing with some things in extended family and I was just not able to post.  But I don't want to actually miss doing this discipline as it is so good for my life in general.  Thanks for joining in with me.

1.  Flower garden in!  Last weekend I got to work on the flower beds and pots and got them all finished.  It's always such a relief when that is done as it's pretty much a good day's worth of work.  This year I went super simple.  The beds, suprisingly,  grew up lovely clumps of Sweet Williams all on their own, seeded off of plants I had in there last year...or was it the year before?   But in any case, they came up all on their own and looked even better than originally.  All I had to do was move them to the spots I wanted.    A nice hydrangea was put into a spot that sorely needed something with a little bulk.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed it will survive our winter.  I need to do a little extra work in the fall protecting it and then hope for the best because it sure is pretty.  That's the trouble around here.  Places like the hardware stores and Costco and grocery stores all carry some plants that look gorgeous but are really not zoned for here and we might get a winter kill on them.   But hopefully my little hydrangea is of good constitution.  My pots I went super simple too.  Usually I fill them with all sorts of varieties of blooms but this year I just put 2 varieties in each one and just made it so it will be thick with them.  They are looking a little sad right now as they were pretty root bound in their store plastic containers waiting for the weather to allow them to be put out.  But I know with the lovely rain and the sun we've had this week they will soon take off!

Free prettiness, what could be better?!

2.  Inexpensive lantern.  I really, really wanted a lantern for the top porch by our front door but yikes, the price of those babies!  And we live on a busy street that is also busy with pedestrians at all sorts of hours through the night.  So to buy an expensive lantern that might actually get stolen in the middle of the night was not something I was willing to do.  But lo and behold, I went on one of the local Swap and Buy groups on facebook I belong to and there was a nice big wooden lantern and just a few dollars.  Great deals always are a blessing and great deals on something I really like always makes me very, very happy! 

3.  Surprise visit from my boy.  Though he's definitely no longer a boy, that's for sure.  He showed up on our doorstep for a day visit on his way to a shift with an ambulance service close to here.  So nice to have him home.  He was home for his sis's wedding at the end of March but it was so busy and everything, of course, was focused on her so that we were not able to visit hardly at all.  We had a picnic supper at the lake and he played a little frisbee with his dad, one of their favorite activities to do together, and just enjoyed his presence in the house.  His grandmother was especially thrilled to see him as she misses him so much since he's left for school.  

4.  "God"incidence meetings.  I love when just the right people cross your path at just the right time.  I call these little happenings "Godincidences" rather than coincidences because I believe that God knows just what you need at the time.  I ran into a lady that I have not seen for years and years in the grocery store.  Her encouragement and uplifting words were exactly what I needed for what I was struggling with as a leader of a bible study group.  The lady has many, many years of experience leading various groups and teaching and her wisdom was definitely for the moment.  Needless to say I didn't get my grocery shopping done because of the time spent chatting with her but oh well, the slim pickings at home was worth the exchange.  :D

5.  Massage.  I know I've mentioned this before but boy I needed this yesterday.  I missed last months and with my job lifting little ones, stresses we are facing at the moment and previous issues with muscles in my back and neck maintaining my muscles is important.  Once those big ol' knots were released and the relax massage started I literally almost fell asleep right on the table and had to force myself up when it was done.  I swear I could have slept there for hours.  So thankful that I can go for these with a good therapist I trust.

What were your favorite blessings from your week?