Thursday, February 28, 2008

Happy February 29th!


A whole extra day ... wishing you a good one! x


February 29th is an extra day, once every four years, to align the calendar with the seasons.



The day is often seen as a lucky omen: February 29th (1504) was especially fortuitous for Columbus.



People born on this day are known as 'leaplings' and include: Pope Paul III, Dinah Shore, Joss Ackland, Tony Robbins and Ja Rule.



Traditionally, February 29th is a day associated with romance. This is a day when women propose marriage. Leap years are so called because February 29th was a day when women could 'leap' the law that prevented them from proposing marriage.



What will you do with your extra 24 hours? How about making a leap towards a greener life? (Try the Nag too, if going greener interests you.) Whatever you do, I wish you a positive, uplifting extra day.



Yasmin Boland has this to say about today:



"We are now entering a period where profound healing is possible, and yes that includes physical healing, if that’s what you need. But it also covers emotional and spiritual healing too.
Look at where you’ve been hurt or upset recently, Ask yourself if you in any way, shape or form somehow managed to bring it on yourself, eg: by not being honest with yourself about the fact that you were clearly cruising for an emotional bruising but determined to kid yourself that it wasn’t so. If you can, forgive yourself for any perceived failure to Do Your Best.
And so now. Where does that leave you? What next? This cycle is all about transitioning to the next level, once the healing is done. PS Forgiveness, including self-forgiveness, is extremely healing."

:o)

Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Huge "Thank You" and Warm Fuzzies to Karen!

I've been buried in research about flowers since the post I wrote about Floriology, or the language and meaning of flowers ... surfacing late last night to discover this fab award from Karen:


Karen, thank you so much, it really made my day!
And your comment really touched me, what a lovely thing to say: "I'm going to pass it on to Moondreamer for her impressively long (and interesting) posts." You really made me smile, because I sometimes worry my posts are just too blooming long! (see below)
Now to pass it on ... passing awards on is just as lovely as getting them, but I always find it hard to choose from all the fab blogs on here. (A big Mwah to all of you!)
I pass this one on to:
Sarah Dunnakey, at The Write Words, for her interesting, poetic and humourous blogging.
Aliqot, for her wonderful, thoughtful and often visually stunning alithoughts, and her lovely, much-appreciated, 'grumpy' rationalism!
Casdok, for her Mother of Shrek blog: consistently amazing posts and fantastic insight into autism. (Comments on her blog often make for deep and meaningful conversation too.)
Pacha, to say "Welcome back, honey!" I missed her warm and entertaining blogging.
Lisa, because she deserves an award and a huge hug for her wonderful honesty and her amazing, inspiring sense of humour under rotten circumstances. (Sending good thoughts, Lisa!)
:o)
If you haven't already, check out the very funny first post on Karen's new blog, That's Life!

Monday, February 25, 2008

A Blooming Long Post!






This truly is a long post, I should probably have made it into more than one! It was an organic process - I daren't start pruning and dividing now, as I'm sure it will mess all my spacing up!
Flowers are a part of almost every aspect of human life. Traditionally, they are present at all the most significant times and anniversaries in our lives: birth, coming-of-age, courting, marriage and death. We associate flowers with moving home or changing job, with romance and friendship, with successes and with disappointments, tragedy and triumph.
But they are also a part of the daily stuff too.


With daffodils mad footnotes for the spring

And asters purple asteriks for autumn

~ Conrad Aiken





Like humans, flowers come in all shapes and sizes, and they each have an important job to do here on earth, even if it's only to make people smile!




Earth laughs in flowers


~ Ralph Waldo Emerson









From the largest flower on earth ...




The Titan Arum at Kew Gardens









... to the smallest.



Ok, so the smallest flower is really Wolffia microscopica, the Duckweed flower

(several of which would fit on a pinhead)














Flowers thrive in the most amazing places.




From desert ...



















... to tundra.





















They even grow on the moon ...






(Well, ok, but they are called Moon Flowers!)























We grow them in fields ...

















... in meadows ...














... and in gardens.




















We arrange them in bunches ...











... in chains ...








and in vases ...





















We have flower festivals to celebrate them in their thousands ...


A carpet of flowers at Christchurch's Flower Festival










... and carnivals ...

Battle of the Flowers in Jersey















And we love them as single blooms ...

















We decorate our homes with them in other ways too.


Pictures of flowers on the walls ...





Van Gogh's famous Sunflowers







I love Dali but hadn't seen this before: Woman With Head of Flowers












Monet's scrumptious garden




I perhaps owe having become a painter to flowers


~Claude Monet











We decorate tableware with flowers ...


This plate has been decorated using pressed flowers













These cuties were designed by Warhol













Japanese flower plates















And soft furnishings ...






















Flowers are a traditional symbol in quilting







We decorate ourselves with flowers ...
























We can eat flowers ...











Nasturtium flowers are gorgeous in salads

(and you can use the leaves and seeds too!)













Elderflower heads make a spectacular dessert fried in batter













Lavendar is often used to flavour sugar and makes unusual fragrant scones or biscuits













Crystallized violets make pretty (and very yummy) decorations









We wear flowers.


As floral dresses ...





... dresses that make us look like flowers ...






... and dresses made from flowers ...






We have flowers on hats ...






... on bags ...






... and groovy shoes.






And ...


(Wow!)






Let us dance in the sun, wearing flowers in our hair


~ Susan Polis Shutz





We make artistic arrangements of flowers ...

Japanese warriors used flower-arranging as a way to relieve stress






We give them as gifts.

In big bouquets ...





... or VERY big bouquets ...





... or tiny, hand-picked posies.

(The best kind of all!)





***


A different point of view:


Why do people give each other flowers? To celebrate various important occasions, they're killing living creatures? Why restrict it to plants? "Sweetheart, let's make up. Have this deceased squirrel."


~ The Washington Post



***







We use flower names as names for girls ...

Jasmine




We have flower girls at weddings ...

A Tradition from Greek and Roman Times







Erm ...

(Not sure where this came from, but you know me and daisies ...

I really can't bring myself to delete it!)




The poet's darling ~ William Wordsworth "The Daisy"








Flowers are linked to identity.



We represent our heritage and nationality with flowers ...

The Wars of the Roses - the Red and White roses of the Houses of Lancaster and York






The Thistle of Scotland








Welsh daffodils (changed from leeks)







A four-leaved clover for Ireland?







England's Red Rose








We have worshipped flowers as goddesses ...


The lovely Xochiquetzal or 'Flower Feather'

Patron of Women and the Arts

We have incorporated them into religion ...




The Madonna Lily - an early symbol of Christianity




The lotus blossom is important in Bhuddism and Hinduism










We have linked flowers to astrological signs

Freesias for Pisces




The delicate Violet represents February




The violets in the mountains have broken rocks

~ Tennessee Williams








We have chosen flowers as emblems of the places we live ...



The state emblem of Western Australia is the Red and Green Kangaroo Paw






The emblem of the Canadian state, Saskatchewan, is the Western Red Lily


When you have two pennies left in the world, buy a loaf of bread with one,

and a lily with the other


~ Chinese Proverb





Certain flowers are associated with certain places ...


Tulips are synonymous with Holland




Edelweiss is forever linked with Austria in the song from The Sound of Music






Please Don't Eat the Daisies!






A few more random flower songs ...


Going to San Fransisco?

Wear flowers in your hair!





Bette Midler - The Rose








Buttercup Baby

(Eldest daughter's favourite ... makes me smile!)











Then there are flowers in literature, films, folklore, ritual, medicine, romance ...



Oh, enough about flowers!

(At least for today ...)




There's a special bunch of flowers for you here!


(Previous post about floriology: links to more about the meaning and language of flowers.)




And here are a few more daisies ...

Just because!



:o)