The Weight of our Witness

May 23

Matthew 5:16

“Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”

▶︎ LISTEN TO THE DEVOTIONAL

The witness of our life carries more weight than the witness of our words. Did you hear that? That’s what Jesus is saying when He tells us to let our light shine. Certainly the words of our witness for Him are vital, but they ring hollow if our life does not back them up. You see, the world is looking for authentic Christians. We know one when we see one, and we all want to be one. How do we shine our light? First we must have a light to shine, by receiving Christ as Lord and Savior. We keep our light bright by growing in our relationship with Him through reading His Word, prayer and worship. As we grow in Him, we develop a hunger and desire to serve and please Him. This leads to the good works of service that shine before others. So I ask you now – Where can you shine your light for Christ today?

The Sabbath Day

Good Morning…my dear Lord,

You have brought me to a new days beginning. You have freshened me during the night. I ask you now to renew my heart. Bring me new strength and purpose for this day.  Forgive my mistakes from yesterday. I give you this new day. I want to walk closer with you.

All praise to you on this Sunday morning. I give you all my love and adoration today. All praises and honor I send to you this Sabbath morning. 

• AMEN •

Shade Perennials for a New Home Owner

We have had two consultations with a new owner who bought in November. He could clearly tell that garden bed space was non existent. He is successfully growing some healthy looking herbs in pots on his stoop. He’s from the southwest so mint is important to him because he makes Mojitos. He also is growing Oregano and Thyme and Basil and Sage, as enjoys cooking. We can see he is serious about his growing. All his herbs look really healthy. Unfortunately he has very little bed space to plant peppers or lettuce or onions or tomatoes. Because of the shaded plot and no back yard area he’s going to need to rent a garden plot at Chinquapin to successfully grow any vegetables. For some reason the previous owners had Laurel bushes placed in the front beds. Very low maintenance and they most likely wanted it that way. These bushes have grown to an enormous size. There is no bed space left. And two very crowded Hydrangeas are trying to survive. We are going to trim these Laurel bushes way back. Bring them to a manageable size so as to make an attempt to dig the root balls up. He offered them to PFX as a relocate, but they say they don’t need them. Our guess is they are just too large at this point to easily relocate them. So we will dig them up. Then we will amend the beds with some new rich soil and plant a few shade perennials. We’ve provided photos of some we recommend. And its possible to enlarge the beds slightly by removing the little amount of grass that there is on either side of the sidewalk and stoop. It’s certainly what we would do if we lived there. In our next post we will provide photos.  

Our resident wants to plant. And he wants to learn how to create a garden space. So we are going to visit the nursery this week to take a look at some perennials. Here are a few suggestions. He liked them all. So let’s see where this project takes us. It can be fun. It can cost some money and it will take some time. He is definitely up for it.

Shade Flowering Perennials 

Brunnera

Huchera

Mixed Colors of Hosta 

Feathery Ferns

Woodland Phlox and Grape Hyacinth

White Peace Lily

We think a nice variety….and these will add color along with the two smallish Hydrangea bushes already in place. It will be fun to create, and our homeowner is so anxious to pull his project together. We are happy to teach, to watch and to guide.

YOGA Today

 

We were scheduled to begin a ten week Yoga class this morning….but due to heat indexes in our area, we have rescheduled to next Saturday, May 28. We are aware it’s a Holiday weekend, but if you are in town please do come and join us at 8 am, at “the triangle” in Parkfairfax at the intersections of Gunston and Valley Drive…. The beautiful grassy area is a perfect spot for Morning Yoga. 

We are conscious of excellent health and because it was 81 degrees at 8 am this morning, with humidity levels making it feel like 86 we wish to be cautious in starting a new class.

Below is a self-health check list that you can refer to. There can be occasions where you feel very well….but following a new exercise routine…..you head home and feel the results of fatigue, and you just know your body needs a cooling off period to balance your recent Yoga routine. For that reason we rescheduled this morning.

We are so enthusiastic to meet all of you next Saturday.  Please follow our blog – Contessas.net – for additional updates. 

Do find some “cool” today and truly enjoy your weekend.

“Penny”

Txt – 703-548-1882

ContessasHome@gmail.com

Gardening Today is Done……

We were out this morning at 7:30. It was nice. A little breeze, and very calm and quiet. We had a mission today to rake all the yellow fallen Holly leaves from under an enormous tree. Mission accomplished and deposited at the leaf pile. We tidied, watered and it was a morning.

A bunny joined us this morning. We tried not to invade his territory but he stayed a good twenty minutes, feasting on some sweet clover. It was a moment!

Left at Noon. 84 degrees. Calling it a day. But a task accomplished and now for indoor time. We’ve projects to “put on to paper” for a couple folks. Definitely next week when temps are steady and favorable in the 70’s we’ll do another nursery site visit. We’ve one new client who wants to go …..and one to buy for.

Our Weather will be quite warm for the entire weekend. Be safe, find cool….and hydrate. See you all next week. 

“Contessa”

 

 

Oh Come…..

Jesus, please come and enter my/our souls this “mornings light.”

We are present, We are waiting for you. We are open to receive you.

We need your everlasting love right now.

We need your strength and your understanding.

Thank you for being our protector and our refuge.

We now offer you our adoration and praise.

Holy God hear my/our prayer

Oh come Jesus…,Come!

AMEN

 

.

All Glory to God

Glory to God in the highest,

And
peace to his people on earth.
Lord God, heavenly King,
almighty God and Father,
we worship you, we give you thanks,
we praise you for your glory.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Father,
Lord God, Lamb of God,
you take away the sin of the world:
have mercy on us;
receive our prayer.
For you alone are the Holy One,
you alone are the Lord,
you alone are the Most High,
Jesus Christ,
with the Holy Spirit,
in the glory of God the Father.

• AMEN •

The General’s House – spring gardening tomorrow at this property (REVISED) Wednesday – 5/18 – 11:18 am –

Your kind attention please!

When we first visited this property it was way overgrown from continuous change over of tenants and an owner who was on continuous travel with the Air Force. We were tasked with removing everything, saving what we could, amending the soil, and cultivating a new green space that could be low maintenance but attractive. Here was where we started this Project a year ago, late summer.  Certainly quite a transformation. Agreed?

And today we are here…..and ready to roll again. Our pleasure for certain.   A beautiful gardening day!

••••••••••••••

Today we accomplished a spring clean/up, some transplanting, removing weeds and cutting back,

BEFORE

Today we accomplished a general tidy and spring cleanup,  weeds were everywhere; no wonder with all the rain and wind we have had. We transplanted, trimmed back the woody stalks of the Hydrangea that we cut back last year in late fall. We have bern tasked to provide ongoing maintenance weekly and plant some new spring flowers.  It’s a nicely established bed now so our continued involvement will help keep it presentable. We have arranged to bill by the month and we will include watering during July and August. We will provide updates as we go along.

AFTER

•••••••••
Tomorrow we return to do some additional spring maintenance. The weeds have been growing, the  Winter Pansies need changing out and we will attend to the Hydrangea that we took a chance on last year, when we completely cleared this bed and cut it back to about fifteen inches. The dead stalks can be cut back now, because lots of new green growth, nearer to dirt has come back. We took a chance and cut it way back in the fall. We heard neighbors expressing horror at our plan. “Chance” can be hard. But it’s showing great promise and within a couple years time itceill be thriving once again. The homeowner had given us permission and said if it died he’d replace it. It was a monster and was so overgrown it wasn’t really producing any blooms.  And the burgundy Peony came back with amazing gusto as did both Azalea bushes. We will pull weeds and add a summer annual for color in the bed, a few pockets  here and there. A fresh summer look. 

This property is a good example of our particular gardening style and our business motto, to care for and cultivate a garden…. and a trusting client all at the same time

Last fall late, we met our client in a quick 20 minute meeting outside his unit. He literally was headed to Texas on assignment in an hour. We made a deal, he provided a $200 deposit and left town. He provided instructions on clearing the entire bed, saving what we could, and we did proceed.  One month later we billed him, payment was mailed to us and the deal was completed.  Sort of….

In FEB we went by to see how things were looking. Clearly the beds needed some spring attention. We txt’d him on Friday last week, with  a proposal. We heard from him immediately and tomorrow  we will execute.  Trust was built.  And a new job will be completed.  It is so rewarding to keep and follow a clients yard, For us, this is what it’s all about.  Good work and a trusting client that we will follow.

Do stay tuned with us as we will post progress and final video….as this spring project unfolds.

This is a win….win for us….and our client.

”Contessa” says….. it’s a good thing

The “ General” was in town from Texas this week and we encouraged him to retain us for a couple hours (2) of “spring tidy.” The above bushes were left in the beds after a huge clean up last summer. Everything came back very well, but the beds needed a little spring attention. It’s now looking clean and fresh again. We invoiced him via txt for two hours work this  afternoon. We’ll check back, in about four weeks just to make sure all is well.

Our distinct pleasure to take care of a rental property for our out-of-state homeowner.

”CONTESSA” says…..it’s a good thing!

Protecting Your Gardening Tools

Hello Gardening Friends:

I have offered this informative post prior, a couple of times, but if you prepare this helpful idea now you can use it throughout your gardening season. My sweetheart….. reminds me that folks often forget things I have posted,  and sometimes a refresher is helpful. He helps keep me on target, and he often sees things from the perspective of……a client.  I can get so caught up in execution I forget to offer tips on basics.  I hope occasional reposts are helpful for all of you.

I will begin posting some helpful reminders of projects I work on and perhaps they will inspire you to do the same,  After all…. a gardener is perpetually thinking about “spring” so keep your mind focused and satisfy your own indoor boredom with your spring ideas. It can’t hurt and it gives you a head start on things you want to accomplish for your new gardening season – 2022.

Check in with me each day this week. I’ll post my ideas for spring gardening prep. Feel free to call or txt me if you have ideas you’d like to share, and with your permission I can post them here. I often get in conversations with my gardening folk and comparing notes is so fun. Love to hear from you.

We are accepting appointments for next week now. 703-548-1882

“CONTESSA”

**********

What You’ll Need

• 10″ Terra Cotta Pot (weve used an aluminum tub)
• Clean Sand
• Mineral Oil

Begin with  a simple terra cotta pot. The aluminum one I used is about 14 inches in diameter.

Paint it a pretty color if you’re feeling fancy.

Next, working in a large bowl or bucket, mix together enough sand to fill your pot with some mineral oil. You want to use enough oil so that your sand is fairly evenly coated. It should stick together but still have a “crumbly-ish” texture. Place your favourite hand tools down into the sand when you’re done with them.  Each time  they’ll get a little sharper (kind of like when you use sand paper to sharpen kitchen scissors) and they’ll be coated in just enough oil to keep them rust free! It’s magic.

For those of you with a tool collection that is smaller, a terra cotta flower pot will do the trick. It’s heavy enough not to tip over and can easily sit right near your front door –  indoors without getting in the way.  And the habit uf taking care of your tools will become second nature “it’s a good thing.”

I Pray…..Let My Light Shine

 

Good Morning Heavenly Father, I give you thanks for the blessings of awakening to a new Monday morning. I’ve a new week ahead and I humbly pray you will walk beside me as I open the challenges for today and of this week. I will take it one day at a time, and I give You my week.

Father, Give me new strength. May I walk in total faith along with you all the days of this new week. Send me your angels to guard over me as I work in your gardens, and as I honor you with your divine purpose for me. Bless all that I lay my hands on and the lives of those I will visit.

My Father God I ask for a calm spirit as I practice and prepare for my new Yoga class. I hope to share my spirit through You, with those who attend my class.

I thank you now for all my many blessings. I give You all my honor this morning with praises and thanksgiving. Amen