Tiger Orchid

Here is my 'go' at
a
art nouveau
attempt to make a pseudo tiger orchid. It's very pretty! Pretty must count for something. I shall dedicate this flower to Kitty Eaton Cannell. A Paris fashion correspondent, during WWII she reported on occupying forces' press conferences for the New York Times.
William Carlos Williams, an American poet, pediatrician and general practitioner was quoted as saying about Kitty, "Kitty Cannell
       in her squirrel coat
          and yellow skull cap
             which made the French
                           man and woman
turn in the street and stare
         seeing a woman
approaching six feet
so accoutered"
When I first tried to write this quote, it seemed not one person had all the commas in the correct place and then, when I thought, maybe, I had them all in the right place... the sentence seemed too full of commas. So, I changed the form to poetry and voila'... now it reads right, to me. One can read the quote as a poem, pausing after each line and speaking each line as if it were 'a story unto itself' already.
Somewhere in the cosmos I think I hear, "It's brilliant!"
Isn't it fitting that the plaque dedicated to this man, at St. Mary's Hospital, Passaic,
                                                                                                   reads... "Poet Physician."  
So, here's to Kitty and the rather rare orchid that she must have been...

... yellow skull cap and squirrelly attire notwithstanding.

Church Hat Blues

6:30 a.m. Monday morning... would Deborah be awake and, if she was, would she appreciate an offer of going shopping at 7:00 a.m.
Simmy decided to risk it. Deborah answered quite quickly and Simmy drew her hand across her brow with a Whew! at least I didn't wake her relief.
"Well," Deborah said, "I would go out if I was showered... but I'm not yet!"
So, Simmy headed out to see if any other crazy shoppers were out that early. It was kind of icy out and the car in front of her suddenly decided it was going to turn so... stop it did... Simmy applied her brakes... stop she didn't...
so, what the heck, she was driving a 4x4, so... up the snowy boulevard, avoid that tree, down the boulevard, and on she went,... just a bit too busy to honk her horn to let 'can't decide where I want to turn' driver that she was somewhat displeased at the slow signal display and the fast decision making on an icy Monday.
Well, at least she had avoided an accident for both of them.
She did her fabric shopping, purchased a roast, went back home to make a homemade cream of mushroom soup, put the roast in the slow cooker, pre-washed the fabric, made a flower, adorned the church hat that had belonged to Deborah's mother with a spunky flower, wrote a sweet card to mother- in- law who liked getting mail at the old folks' home, sent a happy 'new home' card to the people who Sam helped move on Saturday...
then the phone rang. It was Deborah.
"We should start a business, you and I."
Simmy's eyeballs bugged out as she patiently said, "I have more than enough work with the business I already have and writing books."
She hoped it sounded more diplomatic than she felt.
11:00 a.m.- still Monday morning...
Finally, Simmy dissolved in a heap of exhaustion on the sofa and sent Sam a text to let him know how hard she had been working. Then at the end of the text message she wrote, "... and you?"
A little beep later soon needed a bleep as Sam responded with, "Too much to list!"
This was followed by, 'Heh, heh, heh!'

Simmy felt her feisty kitty attitude rise but all she responded with was, 'That is an evil laugh.'
Then she went to put her feet up. 

Hospitality Suite

Sam had started his day by helping a family member move and so it was a perfect day for him to redeem his coupon that middle construction son and his wife had given him as a birthday gift. A dinner and games were the offer and Sam and Simmy were not disappointed.
Fresh tossed salad, sprinkled with brightly colored carrots, and candy bright peppers made healthy~ look yummy. Mashed potatoes so fluffy they could float on a cloud and roast beef so tender... it was amazing. There was even a dish that matched what the weather had been doing for a few days now... snow peas. With the amount that had fallen to whiten the ground, I think God must have heard somebody say, 'Snow please.'

The charming theme of this young couple's wedding had been LIVE LOVE LAUGH and the evening was a good and happy outplay of that.

Happy yellow mums in a mason jar with spring blue napkins paired sweetly with the sprinkles on the cupcakes. The cupcakes on the glass pedestal plate announced, 'We got to sit on the fancy plate today... ooh, you guys must be special!'

It just warms your heart when you see the kids growing up and becoming part of the responsible and endearing solution- oriented part of society.

Oh, and contrary to the rather zany stage play Hospitality Suite, this evening turned into Hospitality Sweet.  

Bespoke Shoes

Have you ever wondered, 'Why do I still have these shoes? They must be 30 years old already.'
It was one of those moments, 'Ooh! I love those shoes!...' and into the shopping bag they went and marched home right alongside you.
Once they were safely in your closet, they were worn every now and again for, oh, 30 years... and counting!
Bespoke, a term for 'made to order' seems to be making a comeback of sorts in a economy where many are thinking about economy.
Now, these shoes were 'ready to wear' but I do find it interesting that they have a little bit of Steven Arpad inspiration mixed with Chanel... in style.
But, the most important thing is... how many people buy shoes that they desire to wear, on and off, for 30 years?
I say, 'Buy what you love, love what you buy and,... most importantly... know thyself!'
Then, when you go shopping, you'll be looking for that special something,
 instead of,
hoping for that something special to find you...
you may save a lot of money with this 'West Avenue' approach.

Hertz So Good

Inspiration can come from... virtually... anywhere. Heinrich Rudolf Hertz and John Mellencamp are my inspiration today... and, maybe... a little article in the Christian/ Science/ Monitor. Please do not leap to any conclusions of my own beliefs here... try to be unbiased as you read this little application of time warp reality... a good pun on warped time reality.
So, Google tells me it is a day to celebrate Heinrich Rudolph Hertz. They suggest, by having certain articles at the top of the search engine,... that I read... so, I do.
But... I am distracted by a song running through my brain by John Mellancamp... I turn on my radio,...
Thank you Heinrich Rudolph Hertz.
... and find a virtual reality of the song... which inspires me to thinking about my 'young girl days' so... I go find my biker jacket and soon all the physics of the moment just dissolves into an invisible shimmy of movement as physics dissolves into dance... invisible to most of you, except for the photos above...
and all those arthritic joints just scream... 'hurts so good, hertz so good...'
Then just to make sure my virtual reality is similar... I look for my fish net stockings... just to have reality come back into the picture when I realize...
my pastor might check out this blog.
So, I settle for a little flower in the buttonhole of the jacket cause... 'don't have to be so exciting... just trying to have myself a little bit of fun...'
So,... come on, get up and dance... and be thankful for Heinrich today.... love those physics guys.

Affordable Luxury

... is a term that is bandied about as if every marketeer who brands his 'goods or services' with these words... somehow can help us all feel that if we would just buy this liqueur or go to this resort or buy this car... we would be living the prized life of affordable luxury.
But... what if affordable luxury is simplified.
Here is a list of affordable luxuries that may be new thoughts on a seductive phraseology...

• sleeping late on a holiday
• sitting together without anyone needing to... talk, work, do
• enjoying food together
• enjoying sunshine
• enjoying pets
• appreciating- people; talents; gifts
• appreciating oneself and how wonderfully we are made, (which we had nothing to do with)
• appreciating the One Who did
• losing oneself in the luxury of good thoughts
• lacking nothing in the moments of the day

Now that's an acronym for affordable luxury... make it your own.

Raspberry Rose'

... palate cleanser was served at the dinner party. Sweet presentation made the little feast pleasant for the eyes as well as the palate. So, we could say, a palatable palate it was.
Rock and Star of the Sea were incredible hosts. They served one course after another with practised ease. The accents around the table were all quite heavily Germanic. Peace didn't have as much of an accent but, her husband, Famous Wolf, showed his roots in speech patterning and then suggested, 'Let's speak our native language the next time we get together.'
Oy! Simmy felt her tongue getting all twisted already... then Famous Wolf had to use an English word right in the middle of a Germanic sentence and Simmy relaxed.
'Whew!'
The pressure was off.
Rock was a natural born history buff... Simmy's favorite subject... it was like listening to her Grade 10 teacher, who was magnetic when he started talking history... except more fun because there would be no homework after this party.
The 'Mennonite Girls Can Cook' subject was introduced. The pictorial aprons in the wind was a metaphysical reality at this dinner party and every belly went home replete as the Star of the Sea spoke with food and her rod was a spoon.
And, by some little miracle, Simmy had managed to bring a raspberry dessert, fulfilling the raspberry themed evening... sparkling raspberry cider, raspberry palate cleanser and raspberry cream cheese pie for dessert. The only sassy 'raspberry' may have happened during the Farkle part of the evening, but even that was funny enough to be called a Farkle Sparkle.

Ruffled Rose Ruffles Dream

A night of dreaming gave way to morning. The sun was shining brightly with promises of a good day. A dinner party invitation was a beautiful long weekend happening.
New relationships were always an opportunity to embrace the richness of life and the sparkle of good conversation.
Simmy put together the 'Ruffled Rose Ruffles Dream' in a fabrication of chiffon. A Nina Ricci necklace, a superb find at the thrift store, was a beautiful addition to the outfit.

'Silver Lining' Rose

Simmy listened to the whole forty minutes of the February 12th speaker at Riverwood. In a way, the topic was about self- esteem, bad esteem, good esteem, and God esteem.

A story of ice follies but not a lot of frolics came to mind... Simmy had decided to take a job working for an area of construction that was more of the finishing end of building... the install after the dust settles , so to speak. One of the women , Darling , had been a Olympic competitor in the 1940's. Darling presented well. Simmy assumed that any woman over sixty who has competed at Olympic level would be very secure in 'who she is.'

Simmy was wrong. One day , Darling had looked at Simmy and said , 'Do you like your own company?'

That was an odd question so Simmy was still thinking about it when Darling continued , '... cause , I was thinking you should keep your own company.'

Now, it was the little  feral look in her beady eyes and the thin lips compressed into a faux smile that really let Simmy know that Darling was not really very darling at all. She was afraid of the possible competition. Simmy had been hired on as part of the sales team. Simmy quickly termed it the 'snake pit.'

The little team of vipers were so busy pitting one woman against another, against another and so on and so on... that it was a highly stressful atmosphere.

One day Darlingwhowasnotsodarling said something that was so insulting to Simmy that some of the other women were actually fairly shocked themselves.

The next day was a day off forDarling. Simmy's phone rang first thing in the morning and she answered professionally just to hear, 'This is Darling. Shh! Don't say my name. I don't want the other girls to know I'm calling you.'

'Alright,' Simmy had replied cautiously.

'I want to apologize for what I said yesterday...'

It was a moment that Simmy had worked hard to get to... purely through modeling... the easiest and yet, most difficult, method to bring about change in people. 

A silver lining rose upon that day... but the sad part of the apology from Darling  was that she thought it was a character weakness to apologize... or did she?  

La Vie En Rose

55 petals make up the Edith Piaf rose according to Meilland International. And so,... here is my attempt to see if my faux rose can look like the real one.
I think it is not perfect. It has similarities but... no, not perfect... only in the number of petals is it exact.
Music, it seems, holds a fascination equivalent to the beauty of roses. The voice of each is an enduring garden. At the height of WWII, Piaf wrote La Vie En Rose and that song endures.
La Vie En Rose can mean...

“Life in Shades of Pink”  

Looking at life through rose colored glasses

A rosy tint on life

Life is just a bowl of cherries

Ah, the pink roses that bloom in the spring… Magnifique!

And,maybe, if you string these translations together,, like a story, they portray how Edith Piaf looked at life.

Roses and...

 

Valentine's Evening List

Roses

Cupcakes

Chocolate

Candlelight

A warm fire

Wine- optional

Clothes - optional

Amore Attitude- mandatory

... and the sweetest gift of the day.

A card arrived in the mail from our sponsor child with Mission Without Borders.

He says 'Many thanks for your special care about me and your great Christmas gift that brought me so much joy! You are wonderful! Wish you all the best in the New Year!

Sigh!

That's some wonderful love right there.

Twilight Rose

... as the sun dipped below the horizon. The river trail at the Forks was busy with ice frolics and follies. Children and parents played in the snow and... skated, walked and ambled down the winding ice. The 'Woodpile Warming Hut,' the 2011 winner of the Art and Architecture competition, was glowing with flickering flames that drew people in a steady flow to warm their hands.
Roy Talmon and Noa Biran had managed to get the 'Winter Garden' display situated, rather strategically, beside their 'Woodpile Warming Hut' and at the bend in the river, making the 'garden' a pass through for all to enjoy as they walked to the other competitors' displays.

Winter Garden

The 'Winter Garden' is a garden in the same way that the 'Rose of Sharon' is a rose... it's not really.    The flower (pictured below), is a Hibiscus Syriacus named 'Lucy.'                                                                        
It is suggested that the 'Rose of Sharon' is possibly a hibiscus.
As far as facsimiles go, both are enjoyable but, definitely, a new take on an old theme.
The leafless trees were more architectural than sheltering.
They provided three paths for people to travel through, making two- way foot traffic possible.
In this way,... the project is well directed.
Sam and Simmy had arrived at The Forks while it was still daylight and then, they had walked the long path to view all the projects in the competition. By taking pictures at twilight and then at dusk... the feeling of shelter changes quite dramatically. The daytime light gave almost no feeling of shelter at all. As twilight edged in, the feeling of shelter increased quite dramatically.
And then...

Dusk settled on the little 'Winter Garden,' the twig-like branches getting more solid and thicket-  like in the waning light.

Dame Edith Helen Rose

The Edith Helen rose was a regal strong stemmed beauty named for Edith Vane- Tempest- Stewart. Roaming about Dunrobin Castle as a wee child, we might imagine inspiration for floral fancies that would later be birthed into gardens that represented a Mount Stewart Eden.
It is said that this rose does not bloom that often,... but, when she does,... it will have been worth the wait. The rose was introduced in 1926.
As the 7th Marquess of Londonberry, she was a political hostess and a writer.

Old Blush China Rose

The 'Old Blush China Rose' alternately known as 'Parsons' Pink China' was assembled quickly to bring out to the Old Rose herself, Simmys' Mother.
If there were two things this woman loved... it would be china and roses.

Check back later to see how the Old Rose is doing.
Well, Sun Ray was having a lovely day. She was at her best when she was hostess at a dinner served by a restaurant. That is when she shone and was able to apply her best manners.
The smooth skin of her 80 year old cheeks had a soft winter blush.

Madame Edouard Herriot Rose

Novel-
Edward espied The Daily Mail rose sitting in a silver vase, solitary and beautiful in its essence, ears perked as if listening.
"Madame Edouard Herriot' is present today, I see," he remarked amiably.
"Yes," Fern replied. "She is thriving in the garden. "Her ears are attuned to all the other roses."

Blush Rose

'Edward, did you espy Mrs. Euclid Snow peonies in my garden?' Fern asked. 'They have only just been introduced this year. Why, I do believe these flowers are the exact colour. How divine!' Fern fingered the fashions in her personal fashion show.

'This is a lovely chemise, Edward. I think I shall have that.'
The large bouquet of Mrs. Euclid Snow peonies became the center of attention... but only momentarily... as it is with most fashion.
But then,... Fern turned to the peonies again and said, 'Schiap, do you think these would do well on a coat?'

'Hot Coco...a' Rose

Novel- The hot cocoa arrived on the hand of a gloved butler. Nestled into a demi tasse, a rose of rusty orange awaited release.
As the designers sipped their cocoa, the flower suddenly jumped up, like a jack-in-a-box, startling the three and... very nearly,... staining white gloves.

 "It's like... a bowl of beauty!"

The prophecy was spoken for a peony... oh, just 10 years into the future, in 1949, introduced by Hoogendoorn.

Was the conversation a then and now time space interchange?

Molyneux Rose

Novel-
Coco and Schiap pulled up to 5 rue Royale. Coco sat in the car, a bit sulky, perhaps. Schiap jauntily entered the atelier calling out loudly, "Are you ready to go visit Madame Bedaux?"
Edward was adjusting a flower on a chemise and a two- tiered, ribbed silk, soft, pink, evening gown stood in waiting.
"Ahh, you do have something to model for Madame. Come along then. Let's get it into the car. Coco has got her German lover driving us out to the Chateau. Come, come, Edward. Surely the two of you are not still mad about the No. 5 perfume?"
Schiaparelli looked at the face of Molyneux and grinned, "She needs to be number 1 with this, my darling. You should stop needling her."

Hi Ho Silver Rose

We all love heroes. This Hi Ho Silver rose is my 'hats off honour' to oldest construction son for his service to Sam and Simmy this past weekend.
The dryer had 'gone on the fritz...,' but the 'barrel' would still tumble. The automatic shut- off switch had worn out.
Simmy and Sam had been using it in this condition anyway but... Simmy had found that her quicker than quick reflexes were a little less quick than she imagined.
The first time she used the dryer in this 'half working' condition... she had thought, 'I can just open the dryer and fetch the piece of cloth that I want out of the rotating barrel.'
(Drum might be the more technical term.)
Ahem!
'Holy...,' Simmy was amazed at how strong and unstoppable the dryer actually was.
Well now, at this point in the situation, most people would likely turn the dryer off and then fetch out that piece of cloth.
No, no, no, no, no, no, no... not Simmy!
Now, the situation had gone from problematic to challenging.
'I am not that slow yet,' she thought ridiculously.
Back into the dryer went the lightning fast arm... which felt like it would be ripped off lightning fast.
'@#*!' She pulled her arm out... quickly, of course.
Now, she was really determined. That @#*!ed dryer was not going to win this battle!
A few more dangerous tries later, she had used the mathematics of rotation to calculate the timing... and finally,...
Grasp!
She pulled out the piece of cloth triumphantly and slammed the door of the dryer shut.
Well, much more linear thinking construction son had not thought the story nearly as funny or exciting and when Simmy came home from running her errands on Friday, the dryer was fixed.
Sometimes, you need a hero to come to the rescue.

Pointer: Tears work Better

'God has favored me' was between smiles and sorrows when Sam and Simmy visited the old folks' care home on Saturday.
The flu bug that had been a viral hell had finally subsided, on this floor at least. One of the other floors was still closed to visitors. Five, yes, 5 obituaries were pinned to the wall from this floor alone. The life toll had been great but 'God has favored me' was spared... a woman with a very large family can have a very large army of pray-ers behind her... yes?
'Thank you for the cards,' 'God has favored me' said. 'You didn't forget me, hey?'
'No,' replied Simmy. 'We didn't forget about you.'
Communication during 'lockdown' had been a challenge. 'God has favored me' can't hear well enough to use a telephone and the rules had been very strict during the flu virus situation.
Mama did not have computer skills, so... Canada Post was the method of communication.
As Simmy listened to the sad stories that Mama told, some of the other residents were staring at them. One women in particular was focused in on Simmy and it was difficult to ignore her.
Simmy concentrated on Mama and soon entered into her suffering as she allowed herself to feel the pain that Mama was expressing.
Tears filled Simmy's eyes. She looked, again, at the woman sitting by the window and,... as this old woman saw the tearful emotion in Simmy's face,... she nodded with satisfaction and smiled tenderly, all traces of belligerence vanishing in... acceptance?
It was then that Simmy realized... what you offer isn't meaningful to them... if you won't shed a tear with them. This little community had suffered greatly in the last month and they weren't interested in a psuedo friendliness.

Heart- shaped cookies won't fix everything but add a few heartfelt tears and you aren't likely to get attacked by any cane wielding resident.
As they were leaving the old folks' home, Sam said, 'My Dad was having a little fight with one of the seniors.'
'What?' Simmy was a little appalled. 'What do you mean?'
'She would poke him with her cane and he would turn around and point his finger at her. She just laughed and said, 'You point at me. I point at you.'
'Oh, oh,' Simmy said.
She was wondering why 'Rock' had been picked on this day.
Maybe, thought Simmy, it would have been better if he had shed a few tears... instead of pointing? 
As Sam and Simmy drove through the city the sun was shining.
It was hard to feel happy.
Most of the residents at the home hadn't been happy.
Sometimes,...
it is the little things that can make you smile...

A little emotional turnaround lifted Simmy's spirits as she espied this church sign.
'Ha Ha! That's the best one they've put up there yet!' Simmy laughed.
Emotions are designed to be situational. Pick the right one for the right situation and many things can be mastered.

Frieda Kahlo Homage

Parrots must be a common peculiarity of Mexican households. See corresponding story...
http://romancedesigner.blogspot.com/2010/12/latitude-for-compromise.html  
Purple is a very hard colour to photograph. The previous evening, Simmy took 20 pictures before she finally gave up...trying... to see if one of these photos would show true.
In the morning, Simmy said to Sam, "I'm going to take this rose outside and photograph it on the snow to see if it will 'show true.'
"Put some shoes on," he replied.
Simmy laughed, "I know, I have dashed outside, barefoot, least 4 times this last month. That is absolutely frigid, walking barefoot in the snow."
She slipped on Sams' big shoes and flip- flopped outside for the photo shoot.

 With freshly fallen snow as the backdrop, the very first photo turned out perfectly... this is the true color of the purple rose that I made yesterday.
Maybe all the difficulty just had to do with Frieda's fiery temperament.
I hope she's not scowling at me. Oy!
Somebody, Quick, go get her a cigarette!