Let's see if re-sizing this helped at all...(I originally made it larger, but THAT made it fuzzy...like this) Oh, well, the caption is STILL "Don't I know you?" lol (Thanks, L!)
Hey, it helped quite a bit--COOL! :^)

Oranges and applets...

Buddy R pronounces it "Or-AN-ges", and we here in the north say "OR-anges".....lol...but they're mmmm, ALL good.

Here's an applet with a stunning rose, for you...
http://www.riversongs.com/flo/mis.html

My friends R and D were in Florida recently and brought these back for me. I can feel the vitamin C pulsing through my veins already! lol
(Did you see how cleverly I managed to show you the amaryllii?)

December wind

Last night as I slept, I became aware of the howling wind, sometimes huge gusts that sounded verrrry cold and ominous, rattling the windows, singing through the wires and the pines in front of the house. Ahhhh, the pleasure of being warm and well fed, sleepy and safe inside...LIFE IS GOOD here on the tundra.

R carving the roast. The platter has wild rice and steamed veggies, too....Mmmmmm, an excellent dinner! 

Music!

A close friend, D, sings with a local Chorale, and last night they presented a 'Christmas Caberet' in a former church at one of the nearby colleges. I was invited to attend with her husband, R, and two sons.
WOW.
Having never been to a caberet before (I was thinking 'night club', or the decadent German one featured in the movie Caberet...lol), I knew to dress up and to expect wonderful Christmas music, but oh, man! The evening was exquisite--we were seated at tables for 10 and plied with carols while we ate dinner...a roving MC told us about the music as he strolled around the hall....the churchy acoustics made their voices reverberate...the food was excellent and at one point, a Caberet Carver was chosen from each table to carve the Pork Crown Roast. At our table, R was chosen, and he did a masterful job.
The evening ended with the Chorale singing Handel's Hallelujah Chorus from the Messiah (swing tempo!) and it was wonderful.
(Did I mention before how MUCH I love Christmas??)

You know how sometimes you can't sleep? I was up at 3:30 this morning. Had a piece of toast and went back to bed, but not before noticing the startled expression on #2....(amazing what I do for my readers, huh?) LOL 

Just get 'em a poinsettia!

Whew! More than you EVER wanted to know about the ubiquitous Christmas plant...lol

http://www.apsnet.org/online/feature/xmasflower/

...and no, they're NOT poisonous!

Speaking of "outdoor colorlessness" in a Minnesota winter (we were, weren't we?), here's my garden fairie all excited about the icecicles hanging from her elbows. Whiner! 

Awwww! LOVE that color! 

Like any kid, an amaryllis goes through a funky period, all gawky and out of proportion. This is the second one I found curled in a box that day...and they BOTH have a second flower stalk. (Just think of all the pictures I can subject you to in the next few weeks! lol) 

Amaryllis #2 as a straight man....or a giraffe...lol  

A red amaryllis makes all the difference

Here in the Northland, we talk about how COLD it is...how difficult to survive, how dangerous it is to drive in the winter, how short the days are, gray and gloomy....and, as Garrison says, we live in a place that tries to kill us once or twice a year.

I know.

These goofy myths keep visitors away!

In Minnesota in the winter, real life happens indoors. While outside it's all white (or brown, like this winter), the COLOR and joy is inside.
Hmmm...thinking about where I've been lately, places where I've noticed the colors: a lovely old theater, the cathedral, a friends' house, walking into the grocery store where I work....and here at home. The cold and lack of color outside makes me appreciate how colorful and warm it is inside. Especially, right now, this amaryllis:

Oh, man, I LOVE the exuberance of amaryllis bulbs! I bought this one at Home Depot, and when I opened the box, the bulb had eight inches of weird sideways growth in a startling shade of white....poor thing! A day or two in my east window and it was straight and green...and a week later, it was showing color. ( And I think I've done something good just by taking it out of the box).  

OK, I may be belaboring the point here...but I'm so delighted with how easy candle rings work! Today, I started with these HEAVY clay pots (they hold a 1/2 block of John Henry) and had six done within an hour. Three stages shown here: the one on the left is almost done; in the middle, I've glued the ring down and shaped it; the third one is ready to be shaped........hey! I can keep showing you these things because this is MY blog....and having the camera along is just TOO tempting! (This is what the scroll bar is for, you know?)
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This is cool because it's just a candle ring and two matching branches....ahhhh, the artistry it takes to be a florist, huh?
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A candle ring in a pot with crystal branches in the center. I added a spray of red berries up through the branches to finish it.
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One box of today's finished product. See the whitish branches? They're covered with plastic 'crystals' and glitter. See the red magnolias (upper left)? They're edged in glitter. See the snowy-looking pine there in the center? Glittered. LIFE IS GOOD!
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Another use for a blowdryer...(maybe this is only funny in the northland?)
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"It's the most wonderful season of all..."

I LOVE the Christmas season, way beyond the 'glittering' possibilities.

I'm an agnostic with RC guilt from childhood, so while the nativity story isn't part of my holiday, the trappings are:
Christmas carols....vivid colors.....jingle bells....great food...TOO MUCH of everything.....
Ahhh, wonderful, just wonderful.

(Tonight, I almost took a picture of traffic--red tail lights, white headlights, green signals...lol...see? It was just so festive!) :^)

In the interests of full disclosure....here's the LEFT end of my counter...the 'business' end, with all the important tools :^)
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I finally got a chance to do some 'sets' today. The idea is that only a few customers will buy the largest piece of a "look" (in this case, burgandy and crystal Christmas), or, they haven't the room for a big arrangement, so they'll purchase something smaller in the same colors and flowers. The largest piece here is about $100, the smallest about $15. The radio's not for sale...
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Do you GLUE?

Oh, man.
This is going to be 'one of those weeks' at the shop.
A looming deadline to get multiple centerpieces done for a holiday party, a wedding on Saturday and Winter Formal at the local high school, too.

And we're still short one designer.

Corsages are probably the most labor-intensive thing we do, and believe me, the thrill of making them went away a LONG time ago. The only thing that helps is that we glue flowers in place these days instead of wiring and taping. The finished (wrist) corsage is much lighter and more balanced on the arm than the clumpy things we used to produce.
And, oh yeah:
We glitter them.
....sigh.....LOL

"Cluster Ballooning"

EVERY florist has heard those clever remarks about a bunch of helium balloons being inflated in the shop:

"Hey! You going for a ride?"

"Careful--you'll float away!"

"How do we get you off the ceiling?"

Har, har, har...even a hundred 11" balloons have very little 'lift'....but oh, man, LOOK at this!

http://www.clusterballoon.org/intro/intro.html

(Thanks, Presurfer!)

Oh, WOW! Someday, someday.....
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Sometimes, I get product that I can't imagine how to use. THIS ugly little beads-and-pearls candle ring is taped in brown..ugh...and I have six dozen of them, plus 4 dozen matching stems. (I pulled it open a little so you could see it better...) In 'real life', they're even uglier. Gah. HELP! :^)
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The Seven Minute Centerpiece

Wow...how intriguing is THAT?

I was, indeed, at Central yesterday and thought I'd take pictures of my mass-production method. I'm sure it's not a new idea...but after years of one-at-a-time arranging, this pumps 'em out fast, and made me slap my own head for not thinking of it sooner...lol

The secret? Candle rings!

LOL...hey, I could see these just fine...the clutter in the background didn't distract at ALL...(BTW, some tools of the trade there: a fan, a CD player/radio, stack of CD's, the bowl of hard candy....since I'm decidedly LEFT handed, the glue pan and pick machine are on the left side of this counter. This IS the 'presentable' side!!
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4" x 6" basket, with 1/3 brick John Henry foam and a bit'o'spanish moss...
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I took pictures of two sets of 12 baskets...this set is about 4" x 6" each. (The round set is 6" baskets) All the candle rings used are for a 4" candle. Obviously, this ring is too wide across for the basket, so I squeeze it with my stomach...lol....against the edge of the counter. My belly: The Oval Maker...
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A buncha baskets, ready to go...with one started by the time I remembered to snap a picture :^)
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See? Prep 12 baskets at once...add the 'secret weapon' (candle ring) and you're almost done. I should have taken pictures of the baskets before I add John Henry...there's a piece of duct tape in the bottom, and then a chunk of scrap granite from the local fireplace store, for percieved value (weight!) The duct tape? Pan glue sticks to it, even when it wouldn't stick to the slick surface of the bottom of the basket...ok? AND, the duct tape/glue combo stays, even if the thing gets cold....on delivery, you know...or when I'm taking them back to the store. Hey, it's a PROBLEM in Minnesota!
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Here's the candle ring on the basket...using two pieces of pine at each side twisted around the handles to secure the ring. Usually, with these centerpieces, I add a snowman or santa in the middle, and fill around it with 5-6 pieces if greens...and it's DONE!
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What to do with a green basket? This set has six red and six green in each box...I'd better figure it out, huh? Silver and white, with a frosted candle-ring.
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Still 'Breathing'...WOW!

What an amazing concert it was...especially since Dare To Breathe is disbanding with the new year. St. Mary's was one of their last concerts, but man, they're going out on TOP.
I'm listening to the CD 'Bright Morning Stars' right now....wow, it's magical and funny.....sacred...and ephemeral....
I feel humble to have been there--it makes me remember how much GOOD there is in the world.

Here are the lyrics to #10, called "Other Songs". They do it as a tight round, and it's totally stunning:

"Many creatures sing their own songs and who can say if they are not able to feel the same joy as a human with a complex vocal apparatus? How does evolution give us any right to be conceited?"

LOL...this just makes me laugh...(it's a tee-shirt design I found on the web...)
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Dare to Breathe

I almost forgot! I'm going to a concert tonight at the cathedral. The group is Dare To Breathe http://www.daretobreathe.com/

Ahhhhh, this alone will get me through my day! :^)

Coffee

Oooo, groggy this morning. I'm ......BRB....the coffee's done....

OK! That's better........Good Morning!
Today is a 'full thermos' day...lol...or so I've been told. I can test the waters by calling the shop on my way to work--"Do you want me to turn left here" (go to the main store) "or should I go straight to Central?"

(There's something about management's power: an obsequious question that amounts to 'What's your whim, oh, great one?' is often all it takes. LOL
On the other hand, maybe I'm finally learning to be a bit manipulative...?)

Well, we'll see, huh?
We definitely need the arrangements in ALL the stores, and it's December already. I try not to feel the frustration....or like it's ME letting them down...but if I'm not sent to do silks, they don't get product to sell...the totals go down...argh.

Have a great day, both of you...see you here tonight?

I suppose every town has one of these...the family whose house just glows. lol I imagine that 'friends' have given these folks Christmas junk for years...and they just keep adding it to the front yard, every year. The street this house is on crosses the Main Drag in my town. They're a half block down, on the left. Ya GOTTA go look! The sensory overload is excruciating....LOL
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Are we ready for Christmas or what? The picture was taken this morning, BEFORE we got 150 MORE poinsettias...and yes, the sign says "Flower SHOPPE". Argh.
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Having fun!

Whew...really, today was FUN. A goofy sense of excitement and a deadline is all it takes, huh? LOL

At 6PM, it was 25 degrees outside and even without snow, people were in a festive mood. Of course, the staff was a little wired: people who normally spend the whole day behind a counter were walking around the store (lookin' spiffy in their christmas clothes) with trays of goodies to hand out.

At this moment, my stomach contains three (ok, maybe five) roll-ups, two pieces of Ghiradelli chocolate, a chunk of apple with carmel, two pieces of turkey skewered on pretzels, a sip of eggnog, a half meatball "with wild rice", and a dollop of ice cream--all chased by a tall glass of water.
A local duo sang carols, the store manager......What? You want pictures?
Ok, ok...! This was my day:

Ahhhh......tonight, when I got home, I found these in my smock-pocket.
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Looking from behind the floral counter toward produce...this was during a break in the crowd...lol
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This is what I put together in about an hour today...LOL...just count the candles.
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This afternoon, I was sent to do a few more holiday silk arrangements...so this is me, at Central. It's a LOT messier than it looks, trust me!
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This is the display that I love the most. Rich oranges, burgandies and purples...it makes my mouth water.
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This morning, looking past the counter on the left...all decked out for A Taste of Christmas.
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A Taste of Christmas

There ought to be a buzz in the air today at the store....we can 'dress up' no matter what shift we have. The event is 4-7 tonight.
I'm working 7:30 to 4, but I'd rather wash a smock than a holiday sweater :^)

Oh, yes, I'll stay awhile tonight.....with the camera....just for YOU, my readers.

Both of you.

('Genacreating a little excitement', like Tommy Smothers said...lol)
See ya tonight!

"Don't forget your beer, dear!"

You know, it used to be, 8 or 10 years ago, that the Minnesota man-in-the-street took on a decidedly scruffy look this time of year. Before the three-day beard was a fashion statement, we'd have a steady parade of prickly-faced men buying roses for their wives, to be delivered on Saturday.
(I know only one man who's done this every year...because he works from home, and because he CAN).

Why, you ask, are they getting ready to play Santa?
Or, 'cuz Minnesota's --brrrr--pretty cold?

Naw, they were going deer hunting, and part of the 'just guys' ritual was to seriously neglect personal hygiene for four or five glorious days...and, hey, if you're going to do it, you might as well rationalize that a new beard's itchy stages really ARE warmer up there in the woods....
Then too, if you don't bathe, you smell more natural, right?

(Oh, man! Ya don't want that 10-pointer avoiding you just 'cuz he gets a whif of after-shave, right?)

This year, FIVE different guys came into the shop or called to get roses delivered while they were gone hunting. It's hard not to laugh...

so I play the guilt card....lol

"You'll want extra babys breath with that?"

"How about a few 'I love you' balloons?"

"We can send chocolates, too, if you'd like..."

Don't get me wrong, I LOVE beards...mmm-hmmmm. Full, lush, grown-out beards.....

It's the half-inch, week-end back-to-nature guys I find hilarious...especially those I see again on Monday morning, clean-shaven and smelling good:

"Soooo....d'ja get your deer?"

A cool game with a digital camera

Hmm. I just found this at ChasingDaisy. It's a Photographic Scavenger Hunt where you take pictures to illustrate each of 26 items on a list. As usual, I didn't read it all...lol...but it might be fun to try.
http://www.sh1ft.org/26things/

Who's game? Wanna start with #21?

A view of the floral department. I used the 'cartoon' feature to make it more interesting to me...lol
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It's never what you expect...

Some mornings, I leave the house with a thermos full of coffee, and some mornings, not.

The coffee goes along when I expect to have the time to do silk arranging at 'Central' (the back room of another of our stores). This usually happens early in the week, right? And today IS Tuesday. Sheesh...I'm pouring out another thermos of luke-warm coffee tonight.

This is Minnesota, people. Coffee is precious and NOT to be wasted!

I'm not saying I never got there today...lol....yup, once this morning to pick up a set of larger arrangments, and then later today to get glittery snowflakes for store decoration in the produce department. With the Taste of Christmas event planned for Thursday night, we're finishing in-store decorating so everything looks it's spiffiest and most festive.

Trust me. Short of garlanding the egg case or glittering the guacamole, the place is FESTIVE as it is, right now.

So. Are we done? Please??

Fun with GLITTER

Whew! This is the part of the year that I wait for. My work-space is absolutely, positively SPARKLING!! (Not clean, mind you...it just glitters!)

When you work with artificial flowers and pine that's just coated with glitter....well, some of it HAS to rub off...(Yea!)..and fly around..(Oooo!)..and stick where it's not supposed to be....(Giggle!)
Whenever I get back to the main store in the evening, people look and smile because I'm carrying boxes of silk arrangements or wootsy wreaths. AND, because I'm literally plastered with glitter, most obviously on my face...LOL
(I know. I just figure I add to the already festive atmosphere.)

In fact, a co-worker told me last year that she could always tell when I'd been in the restroom (ohmigod...lol) 'cuz there's glitter on the floor.
Hey, it happens.

"It's beginning to look alot like Christmas...everywhere, oh everywhere, I go....."!

LOL...can you find all eight snowmen? This one's for a 'Taste of Christmas' event in another store...NEXT week.
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This one is for a charity auction and is supposed to be 'odd or unusual'...hopefully, the Santa Gnomes will do it...lol
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I'm especially proud of this one...it's for over the fire place in the living room of the store's 'first family', and matches the 15 foot tree that'll be across the room.
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Ok, here's more!

Oh, man...when I got to work this morning, I had a whole list of wreaths and arrangements in silk that had to be done right now! Of course, one wreath is for tomorrow, one for Friday, and one by the 10th. Sheesh. The silk Christmas arrangements need to go to other stores ASAP.
And, hey, I have pictures!
(See above......)

The end of a long weekend

Good morning! The sky's getting a little lighter as dawn approaches here in Minnesota.
Holiday prep ought to be in high gear starting today, as there's an "event" at the store on Thursday night called "Taste of Christmas"...everybody dresses up, there's a live band and festive atmosphere with almost every department passing around samples. Ho-ho-ho! Tell ya more tonight!

Looking foreward to the first 2-4"....
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After the big snow storm on Saturday
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Being left-handed helps...

...if you want to Become A Florist

See, you're already in touch with your right-brain if you're left-handed. It's the artsy-craftsy side of your brain, the aesthetic, visual, feeling side. The side that responds to colors, and to how music and the wind feels and how sweet stephanotis smells. It's probably even the side that appreciates glitter, but there's no scientific evidence for that yet.

I, of course, am left-handed.

I can hear your anguished voice asking, "Are there NO right-handed florists of any quality, then? Will I forever be not-as-good? Is there any hope at all for me?"

Not to worry. Of the maybe 50 people I've worked with over the years, I'd say 40 were 'left-challenged'. They did...ok...and it's heartening to see someone overcome a handicap, right? They can't help being right-handed.
Hell, some were even good.

Yes, natural ability helps. So does a floral short-course or evening classes, but a sense of humor is the most important.
Ok, ok....
I'd suggest getting a part-time job at a florists first, just to get the feel of it. Work there for a year at least, so you know the routine and the rhythm of the seasons. There ARE major crunch times--think Valentine's Day, proms, gardening, Mother's Day, weddings--all in the spring; then homecomings, weddings, Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas in the fall.

Being a florist doesn't do much for your pocketbook, but it's wonderful for your soul.

"Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!"

Ahhh, finally. Predictions of 2-4" of snow tonight here...and I have a digital camera!
(In case you're interested, here's the address of the National Weather Service radar from Minneapolis...
http://www.crh.noaa.gov/radar/loop/DS.p37cr/si.kmpx.shtml
...but right now, it looks like the storm could miss my house...rats! Just when I have the weekend off, too.
Late November in Minnesota....Ha! What are the chances it WON'T snow soon?

Blogging

Ever since I first heard about web logs, I've wondered why anyone would? Specifically, ahem, why would I?

Blogging seems like a relatively permanent way to be 'out there'. Anyone could go back six months and see my knee-jerk reaction to something that happened then. It's like a letter or a...gulp....birthday card, right? Once it's written and sent, you can't take it back, no matter how much you wish you could.

And I know me...my initial opinions and impulses aren't necessarily well-thought-out.
.......................................................................
Does knowing that about myself keep me from expressing those opinions?
No. It doesn't.
I'm of the "Oh, why not?" school.
Hmmm....
Right.
This is asking for trouble.
......................................................................
OK, maybe Ephemeral Florist could be an exercise in circumspection for me....to see if I can think stuff through first, before I commit it to the web?
(I mean, ten more minutes of thinking about something wouldn't kill me, right? lol)

But see, HERE is where blogging's difference/saving grace comes in:

Unlike that perfumed, suggestive birthday card I still can't believe I sent (blush), anything I write HERE can be edited, ammended or even deleted altogether once I've seen the light.
Oh my, what power.

LOL...this is all by way of justifying the changes I made to the post called 'Questions', below.
Yes, I DID think overnight about writing this, then gave it 10 more minutes just now. Hooray.

Giving Thanks

One really nice thing about working in a grocery store floral is all the other people you make friends with there. People from other departments, faces you see every day...eventually you know their spouses, their kids, their birthdays, and they know you....lol
Jeff works in the meat department, and our storage cooler is nearby, so we smile and say hi many times a day. He reminds me of Tigger...he's tall and wirey and rarely stands still. We tease that he's my other son, the one that J&E don't know about...

He told me yesterday that he'd be cooking Thanksgiving dinner for his family today. When he heard that it was my turn to work the holiday, he said he'd save some turkey for me. We laughed, I said thanks, and I forgot about it.
And then, tonight, as I was closing the flower shop....dear, sweet, thoughtful Jeff came bouncing around the corner with a complete turkey dinner for me. WOW...(instant tears and warm grateful hugs)...oh man...blew me away.
Mmmm, potatoes and gravy, stuffing, green beans, succulent turkey....even orange jello with whipped cream.
It was probably the BEST Thanksgiving dinner I've ever had, just because he bothered, you know?
So here I sit, turkey full and thankful for the blessings of friendship.
I hope you had a Thanksgiving that was every bit as wonderful as mine!

A little florist humor...
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Variations on a Theme

Lately, I've been thinking about time.

How fluid it is,

how long it takes,

how quickly it goes.

The subject isn't new, I know.

When I'm anticipating something,

( a trip, a concert, a birthday)

I think Oh, I can't wait...

But eventually

it happens

(or it doesn't),

and suddenly

wow

it's two weeks later.

When I know that something will get better

(from a wound, to a lost love, to a death)

it's that endless stretch of time,

that limbo,

when the pain is fresh.

I think back to my childhood,

the birth of my children,

last Christmas,

last week--

how amazingly distant,

how seemingly recent.

Even 1960 seems like

just yesterday...

but it's part of my now

and changes my future

you know?

Questions....

Ok, I DO get statistics on this blog, but they're really general.

I'm pretty sure the comments work.

(Update..11-26-04 Silly me...I just enabled comments from 'everyone'...this should make a difference, huh? ....good grief! )

I'd really like to see who clicks this page, so if you would, just say hi and where you're from, ok?

Wow, you wanna write more?? OK!

Question:
Are you a florist?
Do you have a deep and abiding relationship with your florist?
Do you even know any florists?
Have you accepted glitter in your life to personally savor?
Why not??

Hmmm.

You know how, sometimes, stuff happening in the 'rest of your life' can affect your design capabilities...your creativity at work...your response to customers...your joie de vivre....? Yeah. "Whew".

The good thing here is that work is a major distraction. I can't dwell on a bummer situation for long, since there are arrangements to be made and Christmas stuff to display on the floor, customers to talk to, glitter to enjoy and revel in, ya know? Nothing (well, almost nothing...sigh) cheers me up like bright colors and a good dusting of glitter...lol

My pick-machine smokes while I'm pa-rum-pa-pum-pumming with Bing and David....those red, red berries amid the lush green pine, cardinals on a branch across the middle of a wreath, sparkling ornaments and beads...who can stay down for long with all that?

And you know....each time I come back to what's bothering me, it's a bit lighter....a tiny bit more OK.....

What, you thought I stayed with floral because I loved Valentine's Day??
Sheesh!

The Human Flower Project

I just found this tonight, via growabrain. "The Human Flower Project is an international newsgroup, photo album and discussion of how people live through flowers. We report on art, medicine, society, politics, religion, and commerce."
(And here I thought there were only 'florist trade' sites on the web--have you ever tried to google something like 'Florists associations'? They're mostly on-line wire services...when all I want is a place for florists to be able to talk with each other....)
http://www.humanflowerproject.com/
Think I'll go check 'em out again...join me?

Like a Tom Robbins Novel

Three of our staff attended the design show at Koehler-Dramm in Minneapolis on Wednesday night. S went looking for inspiration and found it in the KD coolers, with an armload of fun new flowers to try. D was checking out the hardgoods and the fresh possibilities in her new capacity as Floral Manager in the store and to meet our salesman in person. I was hoping for a "shot in the arm"--a burst of excitement to pump up my enthusiasm.

Hey, two out of three's not bad.

And I really wasn't that disappointed...lol...we just went to the wrong show.

KD intended to encourage party work and demonstrate ideas and techniques for large scale events. As always, the designers feature products that're available from the host wholesale house. Sometimes, though, you realize that they're also obviously pushing overstocked items....and that was the case Wednesday night. Feathers (peacock, turkey, ostrich, pheasant...pin feathers, feather boas, feather trees...red, green, white, black, silver, gold...draped, paved, glued and glittered...whew!)

Evidently, florists are not an alergic bunch.

Admittedly, we didn't stay and listen to the whole design part of the show. We did what the wholesaler hopes we'll do--we shopped--but we went back twice to see what the design team had produced.
I don't know and can't imagine what sort of event this design was intended for. I snapped the picture when it was already on the tables in back, so there are other designs behind it to confuse the image...but man! It reminded me of a Tom Robbins story (Still Life with Woodpecker, for instance, or Another Roadside Attraction) ...a jumble of ideas incorporated in one book. Here, in one arrangement. It only works sometimes!

Definitely a multi-media arrangement...but intended for WHAT event?
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A "Normal" Day

I've been considering the idea of blogging my day at work....a typical 'day in the life', you know? This morning I thought, well how about today?

By noon, I knew today wasn't at all typical...lol...but it might be interesting to tell about, anyway....

8AM: Two designers, the manager and two part-timers arrive. The PT's go to work on watering and balloons because fresh flowers will be here soon.
We designers check today's orders....not too much there, so I'm sent to do Thanksgiving silk arrangements and more fall stuff.
(I know. I started Christmas last week, but there are still fall arrangements to do. It's called 'multi-tasking'. Or 'confusion'. Take your pick...)

11:30AM: Would I go to another of our stores to help for a couple hours? They're short-handed today and need cooler back-up arrangements. I'm to have lunch first, go there and help, but be back at my store by 3:30. Sure.

3:20PM: Well, not bad. I'm leaving the other store almost on time.

3:45PM: Back at my store, I place the arrangements I've made today on the shelves and check next week's schedule, discuss tomorrow with the manager and leave by 4:30 to vote on my way home.

Today's output: 10 silk cornucopia arrangements @ $25
9 vase arrangements @ $28
6 small vase arrangements @ $15
1 blog entry....priceless.