Bamboozled

I absolutely hate this vase, counter top, etc....so I want to be sure everybody knows this is a picture from the Internet, it is not my stuff.

However, the above photo is the source of inspiration for this post title, which I must admit was something I thought up while laying in bed and I had to chuckle to myself and then find a way to work it in. I love the term bamboozled and my bamboo plant has been slowly sort of dying for the past 6-8 months, so I thought it fitting.

I bought a lucky bamboo plant two years ago and at first, it shot up like a weed and was so beautiful and green and wonderful...but then, the poor bamboo plant's fate became not so lucky. As I threw my belongings into my car and got ready to go home for Christmas break, I let my house plants sit outside to soak in some still rather warm air, breeze, and sunshine. Sadly, I absentmindedly forgot about the poor dears and when a frost set in, they were done-zo! At least the other plant was. The lucky bamboo has been soldiering on in a crispy on top curly-q for at least half of the year and I still don't know whether to get a new one and scrap this one, or just let it keep on going.

The bamboo and the other house plant are still on the back patio, at least until it gets cold because I don't think house plants have the warming, welcoming effect when they are crispy and brown. None of these pictures are my actual bamboo plant, but this is similar to what it looks like since I don't have a picture and don't want to take one right now.

I miss the days that my poor bamboo plant was this lush and lovely.

Similar to what it looked like in its former glory. This is the same vase and rocks that I have mine in.

I'm sure anybody who stumbles across my little blog here has been waiting on the edge of their seats to hear about the outcome of the tomato plant I talked about way back when. Well, I am happy to inform you that my humble little tomato plant has now yielded a total of 10 tomatoes to date! Some large, some not so large, but all very tasty. Daddy told me to pick them right before they are totally ripe so that the birds don't get them before I do. So, I put them in the window sill to ripen the rest of the way like you see above.

There is just something about a homegrown tomato that you can't beat! They taste SO much better than grocery store tomatoes. Even if mine are not the size of my head like the ones in the store, they taste 20 times better.

Speaking of tomatoes, I made a tomato pie a couple of weeks ago and brought it home to share with the fam last time I was home. It's a recipe from "My Mama Made That" the cookbook that I got for Sara Jane for her birthday last year. She made the same recipe here, you should read this post and try it even if you aren't crazy about tomatoes. Sara Jane said one girl who ate it doesn't like tomatoes but LOVED the pie!

Also, this recipe calls for basil, how handy since I also have fresh basil growing in the back yard. Gardens are so lovely to have and the growth of a plant is really pretty amazing. That reminds me of how if God loves even plants who don't have souls enough to keep them going (even my sad little bamboo) and he provides the fruit on the plants to feed the birds who will try to steal my tomatoes, and food for me, how much more will He provide for my needs emotionally, spiritually, etc. Even if I feel like I'm getting crispy and brown and not making a lot of beautiful tomatoes, he hasn't forgotten or forsaken me...he'll just prune and garden until I'm lush and fruitful. Wearing out a metaphor? Well, Jesus used the plant metaphor so I figured I'd just follow suit. Funny how when something hits you what Jesus was saying just suddenly sinks in in a new and fresh way. I love that about the Bible and Jesus. As Sammy quotes all of the time "the bible is deep enough for an elephant to wade in, yet shallow enough for a child to play in", there's always more to know and little by little it is being revealed more to me and I hope to you as well.