Mother's Day & Orchids

Mother's Day was great! My DS and her DH were at my parents' house when I arrived but left before a late lunch. DD and her DH brought barbecue and gave me a very nice card. I gave my Mom a card along with a beautiful multi-branched phalaenopsis* covered with blooms and buds. I was finally was able to give DD the orchid I had purchased for her birthday in March. My offer to take her to lunch is still hanging out there - now in permanent limbo. After DD left Dad wanted me to watch his new Les Mis DVD (10th anniversary ed). I'd already seen it 3 or 4 times, but it's his newest focus and had declined previously. But I enjoy Les Mis and because it was important to him, I watched it again. Mother napped. Sitting back down on the couch after a quick break, I felt something stick me. It took 2 or 3 minutes to find and needle nose pliers to extract a long sewing needle embedded in the cushion. At least it didn't embed itself in my tush !

Orchids: *Phalaneopsis have blooms which last for months so though the one for my DD sat in my window or by my bed for 2 months, it had only dropped a couple of them. I have had some phals that had blooms lasting more than 5 months. Although some orchids do require meticulous care, I've found both phals and dendrobrium AND my catteleyas (which bloomed even after they froze - but never longer than 14 days) to be incredibly forgiving, over- or under-watering being the primary culprit along in orchid demise. As long as all the leaves haven't wilted and turned yellow and the roots haven't all dessicated, they can usually be nursed back to growth, and often bloom. For as little as $10 at Kroger, well worth the investment! Try one! Ask me if you have any questions. Warning: like potato chips, you can't stop at just one.

Photo: These are a couple of my dendrobiums from a few years ago. The small stained glass hanging was made unassisted by my daughter when she was 11 or 12 (25+ years ago). I'd picked the center white pansy from my flower bed and pressed it with that type of project in mind. The house in the photo background left is the other side of the small, spring fed creek that runs across the back property line. It's bed is about 15' lower than the house sits - meaning I have a very steep backyard covered with native trees and vines. I call it "my forest."

Orchid Freebie

One of my other hobbies is raising orchids in my south-facing home office window. Pretty much all you really have to do is water them, give them a bit of food and stay out of the way. Mist occasionally or set in a tray with pebbles and a bit of water to kick up the humidity. I treat mine with studied neglect. One of my favorites was Blazing Treat, a cattleya. After 3 years, I sadly managed to kill it with too much studied neglect. Usually this one had 2 bloom stems with 5 blooms on each one. Unfortunately, the blooms only lasted exactly 3 weeks. I currently have a phalaenopsis that has been in bloom since before Christams. I so loved my Blazing Treat that I converted a similar photo into a cross stitch chart. Never again!! However, I present this for your stitching enjoyment. Download is subject to the copyright information on the right. If you stitch Blazing Treat, please let me know. I'd love to share your work on this blog!!