A First for me

I've done lots of flowers in the past 9 or so years, but I've never made a bridal bouquet.

My niece is getting married, a simple civil ceremony

and she didn't intend to spring for a bouquet.
I told her that a bride needed a keepsake from her wedding, and

I'd make her a bouquet.

Here is the unfinished product.

I'll add ribbons and some other stuff to it.

Now to get someone to help me bake and decorate a

wedding cake..

Here is the finished product,

I'll iron and curl the pink ribbon before

I give it to her

Desert Gift by Sally John

Imagine you are a national expert giving advice on keeping marriages alive. That is Jillian Galloway's  profession.She has a national radio program counseling couples how to communicate and not miss the tell-tale signs of a problem in their marriage. 

She has just published her first book, and has a book tour lined up.  The bags are packed, she and her husband are supposed to fly out in just a few hours.  Then Jack, her husband of over 24 years tells her he isn't going with her, instead he is staying in Chicago, and wants a divorce.  This is her first indication that there is a problem in her marriage.  She can't cancel the trip, so there is nothing to do but get into the cab, and head west.


Desert Gift is well-written and draws you into their world as it is  turned upside down. Can they follow
the plan that Jill has always thought would work, and will it work for them?  Or will Jack get the divorce, and move forward without her?

This book is well written, and draws you into the story quickly.
I received an advance copy of this book to read and review, from Tyndale publishers.  No other compensation was given.
All opinions expressed her are my own, and I'm not required to give a 'positive' review.

Another Thrifty Floral

I'm trying to use up some of the older floral stems I had in stock.

The container came from Dollar Tree...my favorite location to find thrifty things.

I had the large yellow sunflower left from another arrangement, so no cost there. 

Taking everything into consideration, I'm guessing that I have about $7 or $8 invested in this.

I'm ging to put it on my aunt's grave next Sunday.



Thrifty floral tutorial

If you know me, you know I'm 'Thrifty'.

No, I didn't say cheap, I said Thrifty, lol.

I ran out of baskets to do my florals in, because I sold more than

I expected this year.

I needed a couple of

arrangments for the cemetery,

and it is an 80 mile round trip to pick up more baskets.

So

I started thinking, what am I gonna do?

Then I spot a coffee can

And being a thrifty person, I grabbed it,

washed and cut the bottom out of it

and peeled the label off

Then I put it ove my styrofoam

and pushed

until it cut the circle out

perfect fit, a touch of glue around the foam

and it won't budge

I start in the back, gluing each stem in, extending the ones

that need to be taller.

Finished product, except for the ribbons to cover the can.

And with the ribbon and bow.

 

For this tutorial, I used a 13 ounce can, but some of the other ones,

I've used the larger cans.

THE DMZ by Jeanette Windle

Published by KREGEL Publications
512 pages

Julie Baker was born in Columbia, to American Missionary parents, and raised in that country until her parents died of cholera when she was about 16.  She then went to live with her godfather, Norm Hutchins, and went to college, majoring in Journalism, then going to work for him at Our Earth, an environmental magazine.
Julie had always said she would never return to Columbia, but when the opportunity arose to go for a short tour of the area where she was raised, with other reporters, she convinced  Hutchins that she was the one to go.  Shortly after her arrival, she slipped away to go see the graves of her parents, which she had never seen, and another reporter, Tim McAdams, followed her into the night. Before they could return  to the compound, they were surrounded by and kidnapped, taken deep into the jungles. Julie was accused of beinga spy, and threatened.  Anytime anyone may have found them, they were moved, and then Tim McAdams was taken to a different location.

This book is wonderful, I could not put it down.  It has suspense by the truckload, and the characters seem so real that you feel you know them.

PROMISES TO KEEP by Ann Tatlock

Published by Bethany House
a division of Baker Publishing

Set in the 1960s. 
When Janis Anthony packs up and leaves her abusive husband, Alan, she moves to Mills River and buys a house, near her father.  Her three children have differing views of the seperation.  Wally, her oldest, at 17, was the son of her first husband, who died when he was very young.  He disliked Alan and was happy to be away from the man who beat his mother.  Roz, 11, was hoping her father would change, and they could all be back together. The youngest, Valerie, was too young to remember much.
Shortly after they moved into their house, the previous owner, Tilly, shows up on their doorstep, and before long, she's moved back into her house, with the new occupants. She takes over cooking and childcare, while Janis works.
Roz makes friends with another girl, Mara, and they both are hoping to see their fathers soon.  Mara finally goes to Chicago with her grandparents and meets her father, but Roz, when she finds that her father is now in Mills River, tells no one.  Will keeping this a secret put her family back together as she hopes?  Or will it put them all in danger? 

This is the first book that I've read by this author, and I really enjoyed it. It is well written, suspenseful at times, and doesn't sugarcoat family issues. Very realistic.