Flowers and Magic

Mary and I took a flower arranging workshop on Sunday 

at the same local shop 

where we did the Christmas wreath (here) 

and decoupage flower pot (here). 

So fun!

The instructor, a florist at another local shop, 

brought all the tools and materials we needed -

all we had to do was have fun. 

And it was a great opportunity to do two more of my favorite things - take fancy flower photos and play with the new AI filters on my phone. 

I was very impressed it was able to cleanly remove the pink gloves on the table

Used to be, you could only do this kind of clean-up/removal magic with high-end, very expensive computer software. 

Now anyone can do it with the gadget in our pockets. Incredible! 

Plates and Plants

Way back, like 45 years ago, we bought a set of dishes using stamp books (remember those??) from our local Alpha Beta grocery.

The cups and bowls fell (literally) away over the years but we still use the plates as our everyday dishes. A few weeks ago I fell in love with a random flowered plate on FB, which made me think we needed more COLOR and PRETTY in the house. Three stores and a bunch of websites later, we found these at Home Goods…

Not flowers, not super colorful, but they make me laugh. And 4 plates for $9.99 is a deal. (Even if they are melamine and neither dishwasher nor microwave safe. So not practical…)

Bowls were 4 for $10 too

I didn’t realize how much of a deal until I checked the manufacturer’s website (looking for bigger plates.) The ones I bought are apparently last year’s model, but still for sale at 4 for $48. 

The new design? Available now for pre-order? 

$20 per plate. I feel like I won the jackpot. 😂 

 My favorite color. So pretty.

Hubby made some contributions to COLOR too. We now have a couple of orange trees in the backyard, visible from the kitchen windows, that light up at night…

and what I thought was a hollyhock 

- correct name is Sea Mallow - for the front. 

He’ll be heading back to Home Depot soon to get a few more. Love them!

Snippets

The baby aloe Cheyenne gave me from her mama plant is blooming for the first time. I don’t think I knew they bloomed? And Marie says I need to get fertilizer foam for it. Didn’t know they made that either…

Had a birthday lunch with the CA branch and only took 2 pictures. Bad, grandma. 

But at least they were of the important things? (Hubby and ice cream candles.)

How we kept warm in The Great Power Outage of ‘24. Get under the covers, fully dressed, with Jaclyn ’The Human Heater’ in the middle. (She’s very proud that she runs hot, just like her daddy. Comes in handy when the power is off for 13+ hours…)

Addy is fascinated by genetics and the history albums I’ve been making into print-on-demand books for the family. (I’m THRILLED!)

First it was the nose she shares with hubby’s Welsh great-grandmother. (From the pictures we have, it looks like only Addy got this particular trait.)

And today she spotted the resemblance between hubby’s sister, Vickie; her mom, Rachel; and herself at about the same age. And hubby looks just like Matt and Donovan when they were this age. So cool!

Planting Bug

For Mother’s Day, Matt & family gave me a plant, 

a nursery gift card and offered to go plant shopping with us - who could resist???

We filled the back of the SUV - and put a hefty hit on hubby’s credit card - but came home with some very pretty plants (that I hopefully won’t immediately kill…)

Jac and I spent a few hours Monday 

making our own dirt mix (Matt’s special recipe)

and repotting succulents

while Leo took charge of the wine barrel planter*. 

She did such a good job**!

We finished up today, so hubby could have the garage back, and all but one plant are either in the ground or repotted. 

Hope the lizards enjoy their new plantings!

*See the smallest round pot at Leo’s feet? We needed it to be deeper for the plant we wanted to put in there… so we smacked the bottom with a sharp tool until it broke (Jac was shocked 😂)… then put it back in place with no one the wiser (until Leo snitched me off to Pop 😂). Instant DIY deep-dish planter! 

** A local cat decided Leo’s plants would make a good bed and slept right in the middle of the red one, crushing it. 

So… Pop and I put flower lights and wood stakes in and around it to discourage further naps. Hope it works!

Rains in Haines, Day 8

Our scheduled shore excursion wasn’t until 3 pm today, 

so we thought we’d take a walk into Haines 

and maybe have some lunch . . . do a little shopping . . .

It was cloudy and gray when we started out, but the clouds parted momentarily so we had an amazing view of the mountains above Haines. 

We made it up the 1/4 mile of dock and across the street to the first shop when the rain started in earnest. Since there’s no restaurant around here, we headed back to the ship . . . to get caught in the loooooong line of fellow passengers waiting while QE’s crew manually moved and reset the gangplank (ok, the gangway) to allow for changes in the tide. This was at noon, and was at least the third reset of the day.

By the time they got it fixed - they are not fast - the line of soaked, very annoyed passengers stretched almost the entire length of the dock. 

We debated canceling our shore excursion, but the sun was out and the clouds had receded, so we decided to chance it. 

The Tlingit cultural center was well worth the trip. 

We had two excellent Native guides just for our group of 17. No pictures were allowed inside, which was a shame. 

They have an amazing selection of Chilkat and RavensTail weaving, done mainly by one local multi-generational family.  

The river junction is also one of the few places in the world where all 5 species of salmon live and spawn.

One of the things I especially love about Alaska is that, although the growing season is short, there are flowers deliberately grown everywhere, including along the deckway to the cruise ships.

So beautiful. 

Movin' On

This morning we reluctantly said hasta la vista, baby! to Niagara Falls and headed northward to Whirlpool National Park. Gorgeous!

Beautiful flowers too;

love these fancy tulips.

And see the air trolley?

I soooooooo wanted to ride that! But it's on the Canadian side, darn it. Next visit we're bringing our passports.

Tap picture to enlarge.

Further up the coast, at the juncture of lakes Erie and Ontario, is old Fort Niagara, built by the French starting around 1726.

The Castle

Hubby and I like visiting old forts,

so when I saw this listed on a sign at Niagara Falls,

we didn't pay much attention except to say we wanted to go see it.

Can I just say "wow"? Interesting to see, great history,

beautifully preserved and a fantastic view - this place has it all.

Freezing!! Temps in the 40's and a strong wind blowing off the water.

Including a lighthouse in the parking lot -

and a great textile artifact.

This is a garrison flag from 1813, captured by the British as a war trophy, then preserved in a Scottish ancestral home until 1994 when the fort's historical/restoration association purchased it, restored it and put it on exhibit.



So wonderful to see something that old, with that much history, being so well cared for.

We've headed south again, into Pennsylvania, with the goal of spending a couple of days near Hershey (chocolate factory!!) before heading back to Philly on Monday. Almost time to head home . . . .

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