Stand Alone Flowers, Cute Pets and Barbie Christmas Clothes

 A Whole Lot Of This And That!!

Good morning (or afternoon or evening depending on when you read this) everyone!  Today, in true "this and that" fashion, I have a variety of things to share, in no particular order. As we move into mid-October my porch flowers are starting to show quite a lot of wear. I have already emptied containers of petunias but my brave impatiens are hanging in there for a little bit longer. I've noticed some individual flowers doing some unique things, maybe to make themselves stand out? Or stand alone? This particular impatien has decided to grow much taller and with a thickened stem than all of the other little impatiens. Hmmm...

And here is one lone impatien growing under the porch steps. Last year, you may recall, there were many impatiens under the steps and all along our driveway. This year, only one single impatien has left the safety of the porch containers to venture forth on its own. 

And here, even on this huge driveway shrub, one tiny bloom has appeared...all alone.....to shine forth its beauty...all by its lonesome. 

Interesting, no?!

Of course, I have to wax philosophical about these blooms. Perhaps it is nature's way of showing us that we must be our unique selves no matter what surrounds us. And that being our unique selves may involve standing alone at times. 

Even scripture speaks to this:

1 Corinthians 15:10: "By the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect."

God is with us in our uniqueness. So go out today and stand alone and be yourself!

On the doll front, I have been sewing or crafting a Christmas outfit for each of my four Barbie dolls. This is a beautiful red Christmas gown with a sparkly wrap. The dress was made from a thrifted pillowcase! 

These two dresses are very unique and different from each other but fit the "personalities" of the dolls in my opinion. The long formal gown on the left was made from a plush, velour type placemat! The short polka-dot dress on the right was cut from a Dollar Tree child's sock! The hat is the toe portion. I love both of these dresses and I also love how pillowcases, placemats and socks can be repurposed into Christmas doll dresses. I have so much fun designing, sewing and crafting outfits for my Barbies. 

In other news, here is a nice pic I took of a brass quintet my husband plays in occasionally. They played a concert a couple weeks ago and it was really enjoyable. Much of the concert was very classical music-Gabrielle and other pieces, but they did "9 to 5" as their encore piece which was absolutely loved by the audience. So much fun!

And, of course, the "Three Amigos" wanted to stop by to say hello to all of you today! Cassie, Garden and River tend to stay close to each other frequently. Of course, there are times when each animal wants their alone time but they oftentimes are in the same rooms together. I love their fur-family closeness!

A dramatic side-view of Cassie.

Garden striking a formal pose. 

And, finally, River looking like a happy fellow while sitting on his favorite rock in our backyard!

We all wish you a wonderful "this and that" day!!

Until Next Time,

Debbie This and That