An Unruly Choir!

While I was visiting my Dad, I wanted to do something with flowers for him. He has wonderful "Birds of Paradise" blooming in his yard and a variety of berries or blossoms on his palm trees - so my plan was to create something contemporary and whimsical.
Well the only vase Dad had which was tall enough was a beautiful cut glass piece but it was an oval shape which soon became my nemesis!

Collecting the "birds" was not a problem but gathering the berries from the palm trees was -to say the least - ridiculous! I never knew that the palm fronds had short spiky thorns that were really sharp and trying to stay on the ladder and saw through the stem was not an easy task! My sister, Cathy, was great at encouraging and steadying the ladder and keeping me laughing.

We nicknamed the flowers, "The unruly choir" because they really didn't work well in the shape of vase I had and continued to move around no matter how many leaves I tried to stuff in.....

So in this picture I really do think they are laughing at me and singing their own version of "I'll do it my way!"

Giving Thanks

This past week has been a very busy one for me. To begin, just before I embarked on a little trip to see my Dad and two of my sisters in sunny and warm San Diego - I was offered a part time job in a flower and gift shop in Newberg. It has been delightful and scary at the same time. I love arranging the flowers and having so many options to choose from but also scary when I think that I am using someone else's money to make an arrangement and it needs to say "professional and beautiful" at the same time.

I am learning a lot quickly on managing flowers - keeping them fresh and marketable, having bouquets and arrangements ready for customers to walk and pick or helping people choose something - for their table or as a gift.

Yet even though my feet and legs are definitely tired - I am so thankful for the opportunity and for the blessings I have received from the women that I get to work with - they are both fun and encouraging.

Thanksgiving was bittersweet - waking and feeling very lost without Al, yet I enjoyed my day together with Michelle, my niece, Paige and Ryan (who was working until 6:30). Another college friend joined us for dinner, too. Not having dinner until later, gave me plenty of time to prepare and still help with the 1000 piece jigsaw puzzle! God continues to show me blessings in little ways - for which I am truly thankful.

Amy, Forrest and Ephraim joined us for part of the weekend which was of course - Wonderful! Ephraim is so much fun - playing soccer and baseball in the living room - how many 19 month olds do you know that understands running the bases and kicking!
Time with him are treasured memories.

Sunday was Alvis' birthday and God blessed us with a gorgeous sunny afternoon. We visited the cemetery and shared memories and watched Ephraim run in the grass. It was wonderful to be together and just think of Al and the role he played in each of our lives. I am grateful to my children for allowing me to spend time with them and their Dad.

I know your day was glorious, Sunshine. I miss you and dream of the time we will be together again.