The official blog of Denise M. Baran-Unland, author. Discover her books for all ages at bryonyseries.com.
On July 25, Timothy and I were standing on my porch for a a few brief moments before the storms began.
I'd had surgery the previous week and during a heat wave, so it felt good to stand outside and feel the breeze.
While we chatted, he snapped photos of flowers near the porch and the threatening skies.
I thought they were gorgeous, so I'm sharing the seven best images with you today.
Enjoy!
So Cindy, who makes the BryonySeries Ribbit-Ribbits (her name for them), surprised me on Mother's Day with a bouquet of flowers, all crocheted, just like her Ribbits, just like Bertrand the Mouse.
She brought them into the house as Timothy was setting out the Mother's Day brunch he made (just as I was coming downstairs to make breakfast).
I can't even begin to imagine the time she put into creating this lovely gift (did you noticed the purple rose and the blue vase?) that will become a cherished keepsake for a very long time.
Aren't they lovely?
Anyone who feels a box of candy for a Mother's Day gift is cliche has never received a box of candy from Jasmine.
On Mother's Day, she presented all the mother figures in her life with a custom-packed box of sweet treats.
I don't know what the other women received. But in my box were:
1). Hand-dipped strawberries in as close to my favorite shade of blue as Jasmine could get.
2. Dark chocolate.
3. Dark chocolate with hazelnuts (I gave these to Rebekah, actually).
4. Very smooth, very premium white chocolate.
5. BryonySeries-ish purple flowers
6. A custom-made chocolate spoon with edible glitter with custom-made letters that spelled "Mom."
How can anyone not feel loved or special with a gift like that?
When a giver gives a gift like this, it tells something about the giver. It says the giver sees you as an individual person, is observant enough to to notice the things that resonate with you, and takes the time to prepare and present something you will value.
Anyone who feels a box of candy for a Mother's Day gift is cliche has never received a box of candy from Jasmine.
Timothy presented these flowers to me on Saturday night, in advance of Mother's Day and in the middle of an extremely busy working weekend.
They're lovely down to the vase. I asked him where he bought these and he refused to divulge, saying, "That's part of the Mother's Day magic."
Scroll down for a few personalized closeups that make this gift extra special (as if the gift weren't enough).
For instance, blue is my favorite color. And I love flowers Timothy included a blue vase with floral designs and blue flowers.
Roses are my favorite flower. And purple roses is a motif in the BryonySeries.
Gorgeous, right?
Happy Monday!
I love flowers.
When my children were young, I used to buy half a dozen bouquets of fresh flowers during our weekly grocery shopping trip and arrange them in vases all through the house.
One time, the person handling checkout remarked, "What lovely flowers! Who are they for?"
I didn't miss a beat: "Me!"
I fell out of the habit once we had the cats, who found flowers great nibbling fun, and I wasn't certain which flowers were toxic to them.
But I'm still thrilled to receive them, and five beautiful people gifted me with flowers on April 22 in the lobby of the Billie Limacher Bicentennial Park and Theatre on Saturday night, after WriteOn Joliet's first radio style readings of original writings.
I love the smell of flowers, I love the look of flowers, especially all the little intricate details that are just amazing to me.
It was hard to take closeups with a cell phone camera. But here's a couple that aren't blurry.
My nickname in the plant world is "Angel of Death."
That's because, except for my good plant deskmate Chloe "Lucky" Hawk (a gift in the fall of 2016 from a job shadower), any plant unfortunate enough to come under my care dies.
Always and without exceptions.
Period.
So you can imagine my "delight" when a Facebook friend offered to gift me with some of her plants for my balcony.
After explaining my lack of green thumbs to her (sounds less gross than saying I have black thumbs), she selected plants she felt could stand up against my lack of vegetation competency.
She also oversaw all their initial growings, ensuring they'd passed their most vulerable staged and could survive in the wild.
It was fun, too, because she sent updates and photos on my fledgling little herbages, which I likened to peeks at offspring via ultrasound images.
Encouraged, Rebekah even adopted a few tomato plants to round out our garden family.
So this post should really read, "An Quadruple Gift of Life." Except Rebekah brought home three tomato plants. Which is making the title of this blog post complicated.
So - no. No title adjusting.
As ill-fate ordained, Daniel and I brought my little plant babies home in their pots just as a heat wave struck our area.
The poor things wilted, turned brown, and curled up their little leaves. Whether that was due to the heat, homesickness, or the fact I kept forgetting to water them enough is uncertain.
I couldn't fix the heat and their homesickness. But I could step up the water.
Boy, did those babies slurp up the water! (Good there is no DCFS for plants - Department of Caring Flower Stewards - or I'd be in trouble).
In the meantime, my Facebook friend is messaging me, "Do you have any flowers yet?"
Flowers, ha!
I'm just trying to keep the little plants alive. First things first.
Such as coaxing them back from the brink of compost with encouraging words and regular waterings.
Yeah. No flowers yet.
But they are alive.
And like any proud parent, I'm whipping out the virtual wallet and showing off a few photos.
They may not bloom.
They may not last the summer.
But they are alive.
For now.
I may even name them.
If I can remember which species is which.
As I was preparing to jump onto a WriteOn Joliet meeting last Thursdau, Timothy walked through the back door of my townhome with an enormous vase of flowers for my sixtieth birthday.
And a card...
And then he had to take the flowers outside for a better photo, placing them onto the patio furniture Jasmine bought me for Mother's Day (that I've only sat on once...so far).
And here are a few closeups because the flowers are really lovely.
We love flowers in our family. I used to own many vases (before we lost the house in Channahon), and I filled the house with cut flowers every week.
I remember the cashier in the checkout once exclaming, "What lovely flowers! Who are they for?"
My answer was swift: "Me!"
Timothy buys cut flowers for himself, too, and places them around his townhome. The tall vase has the flowers is he gave me for Mother's Day this year. They are next to a vase of flowers Rebkeah bought for herself the previous week.
Timothy bought me some beautiful purple roses for Mother's Day 2020, too.
