As many of my regular readers know, I periodically like to include a blog based on the theme “If These Walls Could Talk.” Usually, it is an interesting picture of an actual house a person has actually lived in at some point. This time, I am featuring something different. I stumbled across a fun picture of a “house” covered in pumpkins, squash and gourds. After some research, I discovered this is a picture of a structure at the Dallas Arboretum. Each fall, they host a festival called “Autumn at the Arboretum” with a different theme each year.
If I am ever in the Dallas area in the fall, I definitely want to check this out. From the pictures on the arboretum’s website, (http://www.dallasarboretum.org/visit/seasonal-festivals-events/autumn-at-the-arboretum) it looks as though they do an amazing job creating a spectacular setting for guests to walk through and enjoy. The display includes 150,000 plants and 90,000 pumpkins, gourds and squash. Which gets me back to the photo. How cool would it be to have a building made of pumpkins and other assorted squash relatives? And how does one go about building such a structure, anyway? If these walls could talk, imagine the stories they could tell about the sweating, straining people trying to put all of the shells into place! Plus, can you imagine the conversations they might hold amongst themselves when no humans are around? Do they discuss the people they saw? Are there cliques or quarrels? Will the pumpkins even talk to the lowly squash? Do they both shun the gourds? The mind boggles! If you live near Dallas or will be in the area, this sounds like a great place to spend a pleasant fall afternoon. The festival runs from September 22 – November 21 this year, and the theme is “The Adventures in Neverland.” There are several stops along the winding path where visitors can see recreations of locations featured in Peter Pan. While you are there, try to guess what the fruit would be saying, If These Walls Could Talk.
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![]() This is the first blog I have written since my husband and I moved across the country. I am glad to be back blogging. The move was a lot more work than I ever dreamed it would be, but it was still worth it. One of the reasons why is napping on our sofa as I write this. Our old granddaughter has a cold and couldn’t go to day care today, so she is spending the day at Grandma’s house. She recently had her second birthday, so she is at that age when children learn new things more rapidly than I can keep up. It was fun playing with her this morning and observing how she thinks, but I’ll admit, it was also exhausting. I’m glad she is sleeping now! Our second reason for moving, our younger granddaughter, was four months old yesterday. She is a very easy-going baby, and also is seemingly a very deep thinker. Whenever I look at her, she has such a look of deep concentration on her face as she stares at something. I’m fairly certain she is redesigning her car seat in her head, or some such thing! All kidding aside, while this move was a lot of work, it was definitely worth it. Being able to see our son and his family more than a few times a year is no small thing. So as I write this I am feeling not only joy but also a mixture of satisfaction and gratitude. The joy is probably obvious. Let me explain the others. ![]() Satisfaction because all of those years of hard work and setting aside money paid off. It allowed us to move closer to our son when the possibility arose. We didn’t have to have new jobs in place prior to the move, which made it that much easier (and slightly less stressful.) Gratitude because we have been blessed to live in a place where our skills and hard work could put us in the position to make such a major life change. And more gratitude because I know opportunity does not fade away when one reaches a certain age. I know that if I work hard and persevere, I can have a whole new successful career as an author, one which could last for many years. So I guess I want to leave you with a thought which crossed my mind as I was writing this. It pays to have a life plan – and to work the plan. But don’t be afraid to change the plan. Be open to new opportunities. In the meantime, if you keep plugging away toward your end goal, you’ll be ready to take advantage of other opportunities which cross your path. That’s it for this week. I guess writing my first blog in many weeks made me a bit reflective. Next week, I’ll lighten things up a bit. See you next week. |
AuthorI write historical fiction, and I invite you to share the journey to published author with me. Archives
December 2022
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