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| Halloween Flower Arrangement |
It is a windy day, here. We are having Santa Ana winds, which are hot, dry winds from the inland desert areas which flow downslope over the mountains to the coast of southern California. Gusty winds which bring a threat of fire danger. At least one power company has cut off power to certain areas in order to prevent fires due to downed power lines. Our temperature went up to 80F, very briefly, but, the house didn't warm up that much. It was 62F inside when I woke up, this morning, and I opened the windows to get some warmer air in, but, it only warmed up to 66F inside. I've since closed the windows.
I walked for a short period of time in the early afternoon and checked on the garden to see if anything had blown over due to the winds, but, fortunately, nothing had! I did find a small twig of eucalyptus that had fallen from the tree in the front garden and picked it up to bring inside. Then, I cut some chrysanthemum flowers (from one of the plants that were in the second photo in yesterday's post) and put together the arrangement pictured above. The green foliage is from the gardenia flowers that M gave me; the flowers had died, but, the foliage still looked fresh.
I made pancakes for brunch, today, put away the laundry from yesterday, tidied the house a little bit, and took a nap on the living room sofa (I had gone there to warm up in the sunshine that was coming through the front window; that is my favorite spot in the house during the cooler weather). I haven't turned on the gas heater, yet; the service technician from the gas company is scheduled to come over, tomorrow afternoon, to check on the heater to make sure everything is OK. Then, I'll stop going on about how cold it is and start complaining about the high cost of heating! LOL.
Today, I am grateful for:
- There was no damage from the winds to the garden and the patio roof stayed on!
- Sunshine and a warm afternoon
- Flowers from the garden
- Warm clothes
- My electricity stayed on
Today's joyful activities included doing another flower arrangement and an afternoon nap on the sofa!
Plans for tomorrow include having the gas appliances checked by the gas company service technician.
How was your Sunday? What are your plans for Monday?
More rain... my neighbour tells me that her dad (who lives 20 miles away) has suffered serious flooding. His wife (already very ill and awaiting treatment ) is staying in a local hotel, but he's stayed on at the home, which has damp floors, a black mould - trying to sort out the damage. I feel so sorry for them
ReplyDeleteSounds like you are having a lot of rain over there! I'm sorry your neighbor's father's home has flooded and he has to deal with the damage! Black mold is a health hazard! Hope your neighbor's dad is wearing a mask when he is in the house!
DeleteI hope the winds don't do any damage in your garden. I have a tree surgeon coming today to take down a tree in my garden as I am concerned about storm damage, apparently there is another on the way this week. Good to have your boiler serviced before the winter months I had mine serviced last month. Your flower arrangement looks lovely.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Eileen; so far no damage to my garden, but, I had to drive to the pharmacy, this morning, and I saw plenty of tree branches that had fallen down! Glad you're getting your tree tended to; I need to schedule the tree trimmers to trim my eucalyptus. M said he had a new tree trimmer and he will ask him for an estimate. Otherwise, I'll use the service I used last couple of times.
DeleteYes, I want to have the gas heater/furnace serviced before I really need to have the heat on.
Thank you; I enjoyed putting the flower arrangement together. :)
Very windy here too and yesterday we walked to our sea front prom and were nearly blown away, but it was lovely. Love your chrysanthemums I haven't got any in this garden, a must for future years,
ReplyDeleteGlad you didn't get blown away, Chris! Thank you! The chrysanthemums I have were rescued from someone else's garden (she was getting rid of them) and planted in my garden. I think I might buy a few more to plant for next year.
DeleteWhat a very pretty floral arrangement you have created. Glad that the winds did not cause any damage. I like the idea of an afternoon nap in the sunshine.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Mary-Lou. I'm very happy with my little flower arrangement. A friend of mine, who has actually studied ikebana, gives demonstrations, and has exhibited his arrangements, complimented me on it! I was very pleased!
DeleteAfternoon naps in the sunshine during the colder months are lovely! :)
I like how you are purposely arranging flowers for inside. After a bit, do they fade into the background or do smile a little every time you pass them?
ReplyDeleteThank you, June. A monthly flower arrangement was on my Autumn Joyful Activities list, although, I've been doing one almost weekly! I'm really enjoying doing the arrangements and I do look at them daily and smile.
DeleteI like the different green foliage in your arrangement and how it sets off the fall colour of the chrysanthemums. I love eucalyptus but we can't grow them in places where you wake up and find snow on the ground, like this morning! Those mini pumpkins look as if they are up to no good! What are they plotting between them?
ReplyDeleteGlad you like the arrangement, Bushlady. The mini pumpkins were leftovers from the wreath! I had them all on the old wreath, but, the newer wreath has only five of them. Maybe they are plotting how to get back on the wreath! LOL.
DeleteOh, wow! Snow! Brr! Winter is moving in, isn't it? Keep warm!
Haha - there's those little pumpkins from the wreath changeout.
ReplyDeleteThe arrangement looks really nice in the blue vase.
I imagine you were cold at 62. It was 62 in my house on Wednesday and I turned my heat on for the first time this year. I always try to make it to November and it was November 1st so I turned it on. :)
I hope the gas technician gave you the all clear to warm the place up. You are certainly welcome to complain about the high cost of utilities to my sympathetic ear.
I'm glad you didn't have any damage from the high winds.
Thank you, Debra; I'm very pleased with my flower arrangement! And the little pumpkins came in handy! The Halloween items have all been put away for another year.
DeleteThe gas technician made some adjustments to try and fix the "delayed ignition" problem I keep having with this heater, but, he said it is ready for use. I am going to wait until mid-November to turn on the heater - our daytime highs are in the 80s, right now (night time lows are in the low 50s and high 40s). The house is coldest in the morning, when I wake up - then I bundle up and sit in the sunshine outside! LOL. But, I will allocate myself a higher budget for heating, this winter. My recent gas bills have all been around $30 or under.