life – thunderrose

Heart and soul

So cold weather has come or maybe? It’s has been so cold for about a week (at night) daytime is perfect if the wind isn’t blowing. Frost got the flowers for the year but some of the green leaves are hanging in there. They are pretty tuff plants. River and I went out to watch and or chase the birds lol so I snapped a couple pictures. I have been working on taking apart the garden beds in the garden and sifting the dirt . That way I can make the dirt much better with some work. Container gardening is the answer for me at my age and because the moles and gophers are relentless. So to live peacefully with them I choose to have containers. Better for me anyway.

This is a picture of a mesquite tree in our back garden area. This is where the birds come to eat the food I put out for them. River, our sweet little boy we adopted this summer, likes to chase the birds and play ball.

You can see the awesome wood pile, in the background, we have to keep us warm. The squirrels love the wood pile. They are out there playing all day long unless the hawks come by.

This is River and his tennis ball. He loves to play catch.

We had a beautiful flower garden this year that brought us a lot of good feelings. Here are some pictures.

Even though the summer was way too hot we had a good time. It’s always a blessing to see all the flowers , herbs , and birds.

Have a beautiful day!
Blessings to you !
Debbie and John

The beauty of a new day

Waking up before the sun has came up is a real treat. First thing is coffee then I get Rosie (my fur baby) and we step outside. The birds are always busy doing what birds do and the morning glories have just opened up and are ready for a new day. Hummingbirds are flying by finding flowers to enjoy. What a beautiful way to wake up.

This morning when I looked up Grandmother moon was there in the blue sky with a few clouds surrounding her. The clouds had a touch of pink with the sun almost ready to peak out from the small mountain. Oh what a treat!

In this grateful moment in time I decided to snap a couple pictures of the moon and morning glories.

garden 2018 — Grandmother moon in the morning sky

We have been blessed with a awesome monsoon season this year. We have a few days of dry weather before they start up again. We are so thankful for the rain.

I wanted to share these few pictures . There is beauty all around us. We don’t even have to go away from where we are to find it. The magic of Mother Earth surrounds us.

Blessing for a beautiful day!

Debbie

Love Summer Rains

Our summer rains are here and it makes everything feel so much better. Of course the high humidity before it rains is a bit uncomfortable for us Arizona folks. The rain storm that moved through a couple days ago really gave us a good soak. As far as gardens go I really had to switch everything up this year. We have so many little squirrels ,they ate all the vegies as fast as I planted them. So I decided to go with flowers . Preferably ones they don’t really like.

They love morning glories . I had lots of those coming up from last year and they ate them before they put on their third leaf. Now with all the rain there are bunches of them coming up all over the place. * Don’t tell the squirrels*. I ended up planting honeysuckle and other vines for the fence. But I was also able to have parsley , sage and lavender. For some reason they don’t care for any of those plants.

Gardening in Arizona is a challenge. So I am going with flowers . The geraniums I got for free at home depot are doing great. *Not squirrel food*.

One day I walked into home depot and this nice man said see all those racks of plants over there? They are all free. They won’t last long. So I went and picked some out. They are mostly pink flowers and one red one.

Our Rose bush is really getting big . It has been blooming all summer. Considering how dry it has been I was surprised. It is more geared up for the Arizona weather.

Other than that John and I have been making our leather goods and bead work and trying to stay cool.

Oh and yes there are bunches of night shades growing around my buckets. But I am not worried about that. I love going out and setting with the birds drinking my morning coffee and watching the hummingbirds.

Sometimes the hawks come by to say hi and Rosie gets to chase the squirrels when they come out to see if we have left.

So I’m not trying to win some kind of competition with my garden. Never was into it for that. I love playing in the dirt and I love sitting outside with the birds and any friendly faces that come by. Even the night shades have pretty little purple flowers.

I love Mother Earth and she loves me!

This is before in the spring.

Here are a couple of our neighbors the squirrels and the rabbits.

Our sweet fur baby Rosie. Sweetest girl in the world! Love her so much! ❤

So I have said enough.

Would love to hear from you. Comments are welcome but I do moderate. So as soon as I see you I will post your comments.

Stay cool and have a great summer!

Blessings!

Debbie

Thunder Rose Leather

A beautiful loving week

It has been a beautiful loving week.

I got a visit from a dear friend from Canada. We love to sit in the garden and catch up. She always brings me a four direction medicine package. Not only does it look beautiful but it smells awesome. She picks her own sweet grass and makes the sweetest bundles. I won’t be sharing pictures of the gifts I received, I just want to share the goodness of true friendship with sister friends.

Just being real, real to who we are along our journeys. Not perfect, just real, honest….

I also received a beautiful package from a very dear sister friend with one of my favorite dried flowers (roses) . Not only were the flowers beautiful but the glass canning jar added to the beauty of the whole package. My sweet sister friend who always knows what to say. She has supported me kindly with her heart for several years now. We even got to visit each other this past year. I don’t have large groups of friends but the ones I have are really beautiful people. I am so lucky to have found them.

I wanted to write about this today because I was so deeply touched by the warmth of my friends this week.

Life isn’t always easy as we all know. So just a little loving kindness goes a very long way in my world. Isn’t this what we all truly want and need in our lives? To love and be loved in an authentic way. Just being yourself, not holding anything up. Respected for who we are.

I am feeling grateful for this!

One of my favorite tea blends. Hibiscus , oatstraw , and green tea.

This tastes so good and is good for you if you get along with the herbs. I pull the green tea out after a few minutes and let the hibiscus and oatstraw sit for hours in the glass canning jar , pulling out all the vitamins , minerals and good stuff.

This week I think I will add a few rose petals 🙂 ❤

Sometimes I add a little piece of ginger too.

Thanks for stopping in!

Peace, love and blessings!

Debbie

Welcome to fall

TGIF and welcome to fall! We are feeling awesome fall weather today in Arizona. The very long hot days are coming to a close as the days move by very fast. I woke up this morning to clouds too! Extra special for us.

The rose bush John gave to me last year is still blooming. It has bloomed all summer! It has grown so much and seems to be a very happy camper here.

The morning glories are doing well too! I didn’t think I was going to have any this year because the squirrels ate them all spring but finally after the rains they started popping up in the front garden and the back! So there will be plenty of seeds for next year. 🙂

Of course the art world is our world in so many ways. Everyday we create and create some more. I have to say I really feel grateful for what I do everyday.

In celebrating fall today here is a beaded leather boho turtle bag we created that really brings out fall colors.

beaded turtle fringed leather handbag — Boho fringed leather handbag with turtle totem.

What an amazing leather handbag this turned out to be. Our customer wanted really super long fringe. It turned out super cool !

I have decided to learn to play my Native flute. Here is a picture of it.

hummingbird Native flute bag — This is my Native flute with one of our flute bags.

When I sit in our garden I love to bring my flute. I have started to just breath and blow and make some pretty sounds. I haven’t learned songs. I might not. I might just play with my heart and see how that goes. ❤

Another of my goals is learning how to blog more. Have more interesting content. It will be mostly from my garden and my home right here in Arizona. I am a very simple woman with a very simple life. That is something I am grateful I have cultivated in this lifetime.

Feel free to leave a comment or contact us on :

Thunder Rose creations > Facebook

WEBSITE > Thunder Rose Leather

Etsy > Thunder Rose

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Have a beautiful day and a lovely fall!

Debbie ❤

Life is precious

Good Morning! It’s Wednesday morning and sun hasn’t came up yet. I thought I would sit down and write something. I would love to start writing here more and sharing the things that make my life a little better in my days. Of course my family is everything to me. God, Great Spirit , the universe that lives inside me and teaches me each day how to overcome the hardships that are in life is my “go to “when my mind is heavy with sorrow. You see when the people are suffering I feel the suffering too. I have to say I have felt the suffering lately. I turn to my spiritual teachers . I guess you could say I have no one religion I have love and compassion, love and compassion is what I learned from Christ and Buddha. They live in my heart. I have been taught to be kind and have compassion. To be still and gentle. When the world is upside down it is very hard to stay in a place where love and compassion are strong. But the more you practice the more easy you stay or come back to it. My life has been full of moments to practice letting go and coming back.

When I sit quietly and talk to them the holy ones, the holy spirit, they come and show me the way of peace and gentleness. I am so grateful!

That doesn’t mean that my life is easy. But I have learned through the most difficult experiences how to go deeper. How to find the place to be so I can be at peace.

I had to bury two children this time around on this earth. It was a long time ago but I really had to find my way. It felt as if the rug was pulled out from under me. I was groundless. My spirit went directly to god, the great spirit, the universe and I prayed and cried and felt what I felt each day. There was no escape from the deepest pain I had ever felt in my life.

“LIFE IS PRECIOUS”

As time passed I found my way. That doesn’t mean that I don’t miss them so very much but I have come to accept that life is life and things happen that we can’t control. I am very grateful for the living teachers that are on this world right now. The Dalai Lama , Pema Chodron , Ajahn Brahn , and many more. I am also so very grateful to the ones who came , learned and shared what they learned so long ago. Christ , Buddha, Lao Tsu.

I also find refuge in nature. Right in my own backyard. I listen to the birds and find joy when the hummingbirds come to visit. I love when they dance around me as I water the garden. I love animals. My fur baby Rosie is a joy in my life. Mother earth is my refuge. The Great mother nourishes my body , mind and spirit.

I love to do my art, beads and leather and am grateful that this is a part of my life. I listen to dharma talks and music as I bead and sew for the world.

I have so much to be Grateful for. My husband and lifetime partner , my beautiful daughter and 4 Grandchildren.

I love and adore all of you. I am so very thankful you are with me always in my heart.

My friends, old ones and new ones. Some who are still here and some who have gone.

I am Grateful.

Blessings !

Love and Peace!

Debbie

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