In the Morning Sun we Glisten

I have a love hate relationship with the box elder bugs. I hate when they fly past my ears. I hate when I find them crawling on my bed. I don't like to share my kitchen with them. I can't stand to find their dead bodies in my water cup and I hate the thought that they are always there, always watching.

But they remind me of this place. I can't think of the past year and a half without them. Loves come. Loves go. Best friends bond then marry. The grass grows, then dies (we never remember to water it). Even as the furniture, trees, and garden change, those bugs are constant. There isn't a day that I don't see one scurrying in one direction or another and although it irks me, it is that one constant in my life of the past year and a half that I can't ignore. It reminds me of the cycle of life.

Starting a new. Running. Falling.

Starting a new.

And when I can't take it any more, when all my memories crowd my mind and all my pasts threaten to become my present and my future, then I retreat to the basics. The shoes, the street, running. The bugs. They are always there.

You can always count on the box elders.

Alstroemeria

I love flowers. When I was young I thought it was silly to grow flowers, why would you spend so much time, effort, and garden space on things that you can't eat. Why not plant just vegetables, berries, and delicious fruit? That all changed when I started to take my floral design class and I realized the powerful effect of flowers. One of my new favorite flowers is the Alstroemeria. Alstroemeria, also known as the Peruvian lily or Lily of the Inca's, has a vase life of about two weeks and makes it equitable in vase life to that of a carnation. And yet it is just so much more unique than a carnation (and just as cheap). It is like they are always looking at your with their exotic faces, enticing you to visit the lures of South America.

It also reminds me of Juan, because it is Peruvian. Even though Wikipedia states that these gorgeous flowers are grown in Chile and Brazil almost exclusively, we all know that Peru once covered almost half of South America and so the name is still appropriate.

Speaking of, Kevin knew that it was one of my favorites and bought me an entire bouquet which I was able to use to make this gorgeous arrangement.


And while I was practicing using the floral tape and wire for Cami's wedding, I made a neat little boutonniere with one of the flowers. I thought the orange, black, and green made a stark contrast that was absolutely irresistible. What do you think?

Garden Fresh

Anna and I went to take sister pictures after I threw together a practice boutineer for Cami to look at. I was feeling particularly cute looking and I couldn't keep it to myself, so here are some of the results.

Here you see a beautiful girl smelling a beautiful flower.

Anna is a cutie pie with a flower hat.

We are dating.

We hold hands.

Stick it to the man--- but not really

I had a great idea while in the loo today. As I sat down I saw a newspaper, on the ground, and I read it. And I realized, there should be newspapers in every bathroom stall. The Daily Universe has a super low readership, but I think this would get people's attention. Except, asking the Daily Universe to install newspaper holders in every stall is ridiculous, I still think it is possible.

It's a grassroots movement. BYU students love doing things that seem somewhat "contraband" and we would just be leaving newspapers under the bathroom stalls and then passing it on. Now for a witty name...

Biting in the middle of the night

My room mate, Cami, recently pulled me into our room in order to show me some creepy crawlies on her bed. I have never had bed bugs before and I'm not sure if they have infested my half of the room yet, but I know that once upon a time Juan had them. Poor Juan. He had little red buggies crawling all over the place and they didn't even pay their half the of the rent. His landlords changed the mattresses, but since they didn't actually spray everything then there were still creepies crawling inconspicuously all over the place.

This reoccurring event makes me think on the topic of cohabitation in general. The art of living with others. I am in a microbiology class right now and we talk endless of microorganisms which are everywhere, but we can't see them. I once had a friend like that, his name was Carlos and he would sleep on everyone's couch, except he was quit visible and audible.

Generally speaking, I enjoy living with others. I come from a family of nine children (there have since been additions, but I haven't ever lived with them, so for the purposes of emphasizing my point, we won't discuss them). I remember growing up and never being alone. Even if there weren't any siblings around (a rare occurrence) there were neighborhood children or friends roaming about. I never ran out of playmates and I never avoided being constantly teased. I had a friend who was an only child and I never understood what that would be like. If you didn't have siblings you would actually have to make an effort to make friends.

We were also a very touchy lot, which is good, because I think that is how I feel love. According to the "Languages of Love" I receive love through touch and time. So my family was perfect for me, we gave massages, we slept together, even just sitting around on the couch we were usually touching. This is why I one day want to have children and lots of them. I miss having my family around and having people to hold all the time.

Cohabitation, count me in.

Edible Flowers

While I was in my floral design class, I watched my teacher put together an arrangement with flowers, floral foam, and food. I was really excited to try this on my own, however, I don't have many occasions that would really call for it. So as soon as I saw veggie tray sign ups for my work party, I jumped on the idea and began planning. And the result was:

This piece of art required very little work and only:

• one head of red cabbage
• serving platter (I borrowed a nice porcelain one from my sister, chances are you wont be seeing it, so you don't have to worry too much about appearance)
  
• dip dish (I used a neat brown glass bowl I found in my house)
  
• various chopped vegetables/fruit of your choosing
• flowers (I cut some from the BYU gardens and after washing them in warm water I refrigerated them up until I arranged them. This helps for freshness and to kill any small bugs)

Once you have everything, tear off cabbage leaves and try to keep them intact as much as possible as these will be the basis of your veggie holders and to help separate flowers from the food itself. Next place your dip bowl, leaves, and vegetables onto the tray in whatever arrangement you like. Finally, cut the stems on your flowers and arrange them between cabbage and plate. Voila, you have a masterpiece.

Garden Fresh

In my floral design class we talked a little bit about preparing flowers fresh from your garden. Using these principles, I went out early yesterday morning and picked some fresh roses for a simple cube design. To kill the aphids, I filled a sink with warm soapy water and immersed the flower heads. I then cut the stems and placed them in flower food:

Flower food is important because it contains sugar, citric acid, and a biocide which all help to feed the plant and keep the water clean from harmful bacteria. In case you don't have any pre-made flower food, you can always use a little bit of listerine or lemon lime soda as a substitute.

Once you have all your roses, you can arrange and enjoy. One great thing about home grown roses is that they are much more fragrant than the roses you purchase from a store. I was absolutely intoxicated by this arrangement, even though it didn't last near as long.