Dried Naturals

"I'm sorry, ma'am, but those aren't on sale," the checker informed me today as she pointed to the dried branches and flowers I was unloading from my cart.  I had thought that in a vase they would look lovely in a window cutout we have along the stairway.
"Aren't they floral?  Floral is on sale, isn't it?"
"These are dried naturals, not floral, so they're not on sale," she said. "They were just on sale last week," she added helpfully.
Deflated, I handed her the dried naturals and said I'd wait for them to go on sale.
As I left the store I got thinking. What am I doing?  Am I really going to spend my time and money waiting around to buy a bunch of sticks?  I went home and looked around my yard.  I eyed the shade trees in the corner from which the boys' swing is hung.  Could they spare a few branches?  Then I turned around and, Bingo.  The whole top half of the lemon tree had frozen this winter and was nothing more than a brittle bunch of sticks!  I got to work with the pruners and soon I had this.

So when life hands you lemons, make lemonade.  And when the frost gets your lemon tree, make use of the dried naturals.