"E.........arth Laughs in Flowers"...

...at least according to Ralph Waldo Emerson! With the delightful bouquet to the right it's easy to see that joy. This arrangement is especially precious because it was the gift of a dear friend. For more than six years, she and I and eight other incredible women have been enjoying laughter, tears, good times and sad times as we join together twice a month for lively games of mah jongg. When the Red Hat Society appeared in our area, we enthusiastically participated in "Red Hat Fun" as well. We always remember each other's birthdays, and this year, the flowers were one of my gifts. Isn't the red and purple appropriate? Flower arranging is just one of many talents that flourish in this group of ladies that I number among my dearest friends. So I would like to add to Emerson's quote, "and blesses us with their glory".

Flower Child

As regular readers to this blog may know, I belong to a very unique and creative group of ladies who get together twice a month for mah jongg and red hat fun. This is the next in a series of posts about those ladies, and I hope this very special gal will forgive the silly title to this post. She excels at flower arranging, to needlepoint, quilting and more. Delicate stencils are featured in her home including this whimsical basket of flowers which escape the frame. The intricate Christmas stocking was lovingly done for her first grandson, and the quilted pillows were gifts for her daughter. An avid gardener, she delights in arranging flowers, such as the sunflower bouquet, and delights each of us on our birthdays with an arrangement especially for us. A couple months ago, she presented me with a selection in a tea cup (did I mention she also gives fabulous teas?) which she called "Herbs and Edibles" because the whole arrangement could have been eaten! I chose to photo graph it instead, and enjoyed it for the longest time.