More Pictures

(Hi! If you've come here to see the amaranthus picture, scroll down to Tuesday, January 4th....and PLEASE, I'm dying to know why so many people are googling that picture!! Let me know in the comments, ok? thanks )


Whoa...my last amaryllis buld is growing s-l-o-w-l-y...very unusual for an amaryllis!
And showing you that gives you a chance to see how much the paperwhites...I mean ABBY...have grown.

You're welcome!

Abby as art. 

Existentialism on the Prairie

(You probably should read the post called "Stellar Parallax and the Prairie" from the 28th first....this is the rest of that...lol)

Okay, this morning I wrote a long more-than-you'd-EVER-want-to-know post about my childhood as an explanation of how I form relationships with people. Oh, man...it bored even ME!
Boiled down:
We each have formative stuff in our pasts...for me, it was second generation German parents, an insular and naive childhood, Catholic schools and nuns, the 60's and 70's in my life, and a failed marriage. Not so unusual, and one helluva lot shorter.

So.
How are people like the shifting view of silos and water towers on the prairie, you carefully ask?
As I drove along that morning, the water towers on the horizon seemed stationary, while the silos seemed to move from right to left depending on how close they were to me, like the pencil in the example.

The illusion was fascinating and made me think about people in my world...how one person can be so important for awhile, and then another, and another...how some stay forever...and how sometimes I have very little choice.

So, who are my water towers, and who my silos?

As I drove by, a distant silo appeared to stop, while nearer silos were still 'moving'....(this metaphor is really getting weird lol)...like a friend who stays in my life long term, or whose influence stays with me after they've gone.

Some questions arise here:

CAN I separate 'silos' from 'water towers' in my life?
Do I need to?
Are 'events' like 'people' in the above?
In fact, are 'choices' and 'places' like 'people' in the above?

So, life is a kaleidoscope made of water towers and silos....! Sheesh!

'Laugh out loud' in Pig Latin--ollay!

Ursdaythay, Anuaryjay 27, 2005

Ustjay otay akemay youay OLLAY
Ayay enadegray ownthray intoyay ayay itchenkay inyay Ancefray ouldway esultray inyay Inoleumlay Ownapartblay.Ownay aysay isthay eallyray astfay: "Apoleonnay Inoleumlay Apoleonnay Inoleumlay Apoleonnay Inoleumlay...."OLLAY!

Want to convert something into a dialect? http://rinkworks.com/dialect/

Stellar Parallax and the Prairie

My normal route to work is farmland mostly, and flat as far as the eye can see.
Yesterday it was my turn to open the shop, so I was driving that way just before dawn. What stood out visually were the silos in the near distance and the watertowers on the horizon. Blink--two fingers apart...blink--one!

("Hold out a pencil at arm's length so that it covers your view of a more distant object. Now close each eye in turn. The pencil seems to move relative to the distant object when a different eye is closed. Each eye looks at the pencil from a slightly different direction. With both eyes open you get more visual clues as to how far away any object is.")

http://www.ast.cam.ac.uk/~mjp/parallax.html

LOL...and THAT made me think of Sr. Roderick, my high school Earth Science teacher. The subject fascinated me then, and still does. Str'Roderick was one of those clear teachers...she knew her subject thoroughly and wanted to pass that knowledge on. She wasn't a fanatic or giddy about Earth Science, she just saw the value of knowing.
We did fossils, plants, the night sky, rocks and sediment deposits, oceans and tides (and tsunamis), glaciers, rain and wind, chemical reactions....and one concept was bound to the others with examples.
Maybe that's where the idea of 'variations on a theme' gelled for me..the concept of "water" was a variation on what worked with ice, lava, blood in a vein, heat, chaos, electricity...so if you understood one, you had a toe-hold in the others.
I've found also that relationships with people work that way, too.

But right now, I need to go to work....to be continued...lol

Just to make you LOL

A grenade thrown into a kitchen in France would result in Linoleum Blownapart.

Now say this really fast:
"Napoleon Linoleum Napoleon Linoleum Napoleon Linoleum...."
LOL!

From the Mother of the Groom

LIFE brings all kinds of experiences our way, hmm? For years, I've talked to brides and their moms about weddings. I've suggested 'cool' things to try, helped them decide what was elegant or fun or beautiful for their special day, given them ideas about long-standing or brand-new "traditions" to use in the ceremony.

Ok...so speaking of experiences: I've been 'the florist', I've been 'the bride'....and now I'm 'the MOM'....ohmigawd.

From the distance of three and a half months before the wedding season in my little family (son in May, daughter in July), I'm thinking about some rules for myself:

1. Don't get frantic. Weddings are a lot of last-minute-making-do and we'll do it with panache. (Bring safety pins, corsage pins, wire, tape, bandaids, tampons, breath mints, gum and lotsa kleenex!)

2. Try to get a couple full night's sleep before the wedding. Tears are appropriate from the moms, but weary sentimental waterfalls are overkill.

3. Look GREAT.

4. Keep a perspective on how (un)important the flowers are....(blaspheming again...) The wedding will happen even with a wilty lizianthus blossom, and NO ONE will remember it two weeks from now.

5. CHILL.

6. It's THEIR wedding.

7. Yes, you DO have to wear lipstick and pantyhose and carry a purse.

8. You're making memories today...do it with elegance and love. It's the best gift you can give them.

9. No, you're NOT omnipotent or clairvoyant. Deal.

10. There will be things you'll wish were done differently...but so what?
"Memories Are Made of This".

OK...ten's enough for now...lol
Let's all check back here right after the weddings to see how I did, ok?
Ohmigawd....lol

A blue and white day in Minnesota

My office window looks out on my backyard. This morning, the snow and sky seem to reflect each other--deep blue shadows on the snow and a clear blue sky washed with white. Green pines, black branches, and that purple mylar whirlygig STILL stuck in the snow-covered flower bed...but damn...it took care of the squirrels, right?

Note to Patsy's Daughter: Good to hear from you!
E-mail me at the address over there, ok? lol---->

I KNOW you've been wondering about these anonymous bulbs. I've named them Abby, so I can include 'em in our "A" month. The little birdies? Ha...I bought a new tiny set this week..as the others became gifts...lol 

Portrait of Abby....lol

White kitty, white flowers...lol 

File under: Why didn't I think of that?

OK, sooo....how is THIS floral??

Awww, the things I'll do for my audience, huh?
Here I am a few minutes ago, preparing to do a Minnesota 'snow trick' for you!
I'm asking myself, "How much do I honestly WANT to get wet...just for a few giggles?" But, I haven't LOL'd in at least 5 minutes, so here goes: I've got to......

...fall backwards in the snow and settle in. I've always loved this part...... 

...ahhh...nothing like making an impression on the world, eh? OK, now I've gotta get up...to show you: 

... ohmigawd....a giant snow angel!

LOL & tee-hee!

It's seven thirty, and LOOK who's here...lol...see you tonight! 

My driveway last night after I made it home....

...and this morning! 

Really? SEVEN inches?! WOW!

LOL...ahem...yes, I'd say that's about how much snow I brushed off my truck after work today.
My drive home is normally about 15 minutes, but tonight it was 40 minutes. (I take the 'city' route--through town-- when it's snowing ).

Tomorrow morning's drive ought to be a REAL white knuckler!

Silly...of COURSE I have pictures):

See why living in Minnesota is such an adventure? Waiting for the green light, and for the train, the guy in front of me finished clearing his windows. (I should talk...that pile of snow behind his car? It's ON my hood...!) 

Looking out my front door, and down at the steps...BETTER than a mowed front lawn ANY day...lol 

If you take a flash picture while it's snowing, you get the FULL effect. (Tonight's backyard). 

OK...remember the bulbs I showed you on January 11th? THIS is why I love flowers! 

This is ASCLEPIA. Yes, I know you think it's butterfly weed, (a form of milkweed)...and you would be right. 

The Comfort of Flowers

At a funeral last month, I saw one arrangement that made me wanna take it apart and start over...lol...it was made of excellent fresh flowers, but (in my unbiased opinion), it wasn't balanced, and too artsy-fartsy to really convey sympathy. The deceased was a farmer, for heaven's sake! The arrangement said more about the designer than about the reason for sending it.

Have YOU ever been 'challenged' by a flower arrangement? Something so odd that you felt uncomfortable, even if you couldn't say why?

Birdie pontificates:
It seems to me that "everyday" flowers (you know....for get well, funerals, birthdays, anniversaries, etc.) should be easy on the eye and comforting.
There should be balance, serenity and harmony. NO challenges.

Birdie blasphemes:
For most occasions, flowers should be like candles on a cake....in the
background. A mere accoutrement to the festivities, ok?
An "Oooo, and Ahhh" thing, but still sweet and comfortable.

Birdie will probably be shot at dawn by the flower police.

"The Bridge" theme

My daily trip to work is about 8 miles, mostly through Minnesota 'farm country'. Every time I drive it, I'm enchanted by something along the way...a flight of geese, sprouting rows of corn, the sunrise, three wild turkeys walking across the road.
And, there are on-going stories, too: the kid who waited for the school bus every morning last year must have his own car now, but there he is today...hmm; the wheatfield being transformed into "Whispering Oaks" subdivision; a paper mill and it's steam as it's caught by the early morning sun; and, my favorite bridge as it changes with the seasons.

It's a bridge over the Mississippi River and the road I take parallels the river, so I go under the bridge.
The seasonal changes on the river are beautifully framed by those magnificent arches of concrete.....don't you agree?

September view, and.... 

...how it looked in November... 

....and THIS month. 

Here's the Bridge as seen on Sunday the 16th of January. 

Minding the store

Yes, S and D are "doing" the show today, while I'm keeping the home fires burning at the store...lol
(Schlepping fresh flowers at -20 is no fun, and for a change, I get out of it!)

SEVEN bouquets for the wedding show

Whew...this year, we really got into making bouquets. With a new designer on staff the cool ideas just kept pouring out, and I had to be the one to nix some things...ME, who usually goes ape with flowers for the show....LOL
I'm really proud of these designs, BTW...the design team we used to have was good, but this NEW team is gonna be excellent. Whoooo-whooooo!

(Oh, and also by the way, the 'sticks' you'll see behind some of the bouquets are just supports for suspending the flowers in water till the show, ok?)

AND NOW.......THE BOUQUETS:

I made this bouquet with my Precious Daughter in mind, frankly. Before last summer, I'd never considered burgandy and orange as a combo in a bouquet, but it WORKS...beautifully. Those are velvet merlot and orange roses, burgandy alstromeria, red hypericum berries, orange mini gerberas and (unusually small) orange asiatic lilies. I think it works! 

J, our newest designer, made this bouquet using (yes, it is...) kale, peach tulips, carnival roses, kermit mums, genistra, solidago, acacia, seeded eucalyptus, bear grass, immature queen anns lace, buplerum and plumosa....what a list, huh? She's damn good!
(Or, as we say here..."She's a KEEPER!", an obscure fishing reference...LOL)
.....oh, nevermind....