3:10 To Yuma--Well, NOT Exactly!!

Rose and Scott are the picture of happiness indeed!

Picture this. The setting is in a tranquil park alongside the Colorado River in Yuma, Arizona where a dashing soldier-groom, our nephew Scott, married his beautiful bride, Rose, with friends and family present to bestow their best wishes and congratulations on the happy couple.  Not exactly the movie, 3:10 To Yuma, you may know of, about the Old West and bank robbers.  Instead, it was a happy country garden-style wedding that took place in this historic Arizona town last Saturday, a warm January day with not one cloud in the azure-blue sky, promising a bright future for Scott and Rose and the wedding happened at exactly 3pm.

Busy, busy, BUSY!!!

Nancy, Amy and Laurie.

M.O.G. Amy with another brother, Mitch. 

It all began with a brisk wind in the morning, that mirrored the bustle and commotion of setting up for the big day.  At 10am, there were tables and chairs to set up, a dance floor to be put into place, strings upon strings of lights and glass lanterns to be hung while bunches of flowers in all shapes and shades were thoughtfully arranged into lovely tabletop bouquets that set off the yards of  freshly pressed burlap tablecloths.

Later in the afternoon, the coral-colored roses paired with soft white baby's breath wrapped into the bride's perfect bouquet would eventually become just the right touch to her beaded dress and veil.

Soon to be bride and groom from the Rinek clan, Christopher and fiance Lisa.

The bride, Rose and P.Lorenz, planning out their vision of the wedding flowers.

Peter with niece Cristy, Peter's twin sister Amy and Amy's friend Laurie.

Cousins Kevin, Cristy and Brian getting down to business.  If they ever quit their day jobs, the floral industry will be only too happy to have them.

Peter headed up the floral design crew and created the bride's bouquet.

It was a crazy, wonderful morning filled with friends and family coming together to help the bride and groom turn a public park into an intimate wedding setting.   By 3pm, the brisk wind settled down to a gentle breeze calming the day and ushering in only good thoughts for the couple as the wedding guests gathered. The breeze quieted even more just in time to accompany the bride and her father down the grassy aisle and the wedding went off without a hitch as the bride and groom pledged their lives to each other.

Father and daughter as they walk down the aisle.

Rose and Scott listening closely to the advice of the pastor during the ceremony.

Twilight in the park.

The dance floor.

The tables are set and ready.

Evening in the park, along the Colorado River.

Finally, a lovely reception under a starry sky complete with twinkling lights, champagne toasts, tinkling glasses, delicious regional cuisine and music to dance the night away by, were all in place for the bridal couple and their guests to enjoy. Every detail was meticulously planned by Scott and Rose to start their life together, in a most loving way.  This creative and innivative couple has a wonderful future ahead of them with endless possibilities. Congratulations and best wishes to them!

More pictures...

Mitch and Nancy Rinek

Where are all of the single ladies?!?

(L-R)  Brian, Nick, Kelly, Cristy & Amy.

Cousins (L-R) Christopher, Scott and Kevin.

F.O.G Marty, Scott and M.O.G Amy, all smiles.

Cousins and siblings, fiances and friends--oh my!

So handsome!  They clean up good, don't they!?!

The groom's parents toasting the happy couple.

Cutest little Flower Girl!

The best man and the mother of the bride.

Time to catch the 3:10 back to Virginia!

The Artistry of Ice

The greenhouse in the early morning hours with the sun shining through its ice-etched door.

A closer look at the artistry of ice on the greenhouse door.

Beatrix Potter, the 19th century English author and artist who penned the wonderful Peter the Rabbit children's books once said of winter, "There has been some lovely weather -- to look at."  The weather is indeed wild, at this time of the year, with strong, cold bands of north winds, careening through brown and snow dusted fields or "sloshy" with a cold fog hanging on in the dark woods and shady valleys. Most often, by the end of January, winter can resemble a welcomed house guest who has stayed long past his welcome.

A frozen road obviously less traveled.  No, this is not where I fell I knew better than to even attempt to venture down this.

A patch of ice hidden under a tangle of vines, leaves and grass. 

Yesterday, while walking the dog, I slipped and fell on a patch of ice hidden under old leaves.  I sat at the side of the road gathering my composure and taking inventory of my sore knees and back while the dog sat down next to me with a sympathetic look and waited patiently until I gathered my shattered nerves as I looked for sturdier ground with sufficient traction.  We then walked, a bit more gingerly, home to the warmth and sanctuary of the indoors.  Ice--who needs the stuff?!? It only creates havoc in the form of aches and pains, school closings and traffic jams!

Layers of thin ice upon thin ice.

I spied this frozen fountain in front of a home as I was driving by--pretty cool!

Bubbly and smooth ice, all at once, on the road.

A peek through the trees of a silver-iced pond along my country road.

Yet, in winter there are also bright spots in the form of icy signatures written on windows, glassy lakes and frosty walkways shining back into the face of the yellow winter sun.  Brown ice bubbles up on the side of treacherous roads while crystal clear ice takes over the dog's water dish, transforms a fountain into a still-life portrait and is a water color painting spread over frost-tipped grass.

Some nighttime visitor who frequent my yard along with those devil deer.

Perhaps I would venture out over the ice on this wooden dock but, as pretty as it looks, I think  icy ponds, as a rule, are not safe to walk on here in Northern Virginia.

Ice gathers up the untidy garden with footprints and deer tracks and leads us into a wonderland of poke-a-dot patterns and paisley prints especially in the dawning hours of a new day as the sun breaks through the bare trees.  Take a moment and try to enjoy the ice, instead of cursing it, as it is a venue of outdoor artistry, right at your fingertips--knees and back, too, if you are not careful!

Pretty In Pink!

Pretty in pink baby girl shower favors for the guests.

My perfectly British friends, Kim and Melanie. 

"Sugar and spice and everything nice, that is what little girls are made of." That is how the sweet little nursery rhyme goes when describing a baby girl and a lovely sugar and spiced afternoon in honor of one particular little girl, soon to be born this coming spring.

The birth of a baby--girl(s) or/and boy(s)--is a wonderful thing and the expectant waiting is half of the fun of this most blessed event, especially when it is celebrated with cherished friends and family. I was lucky enough to be one of those celebrants invited, this past Sunday, to a perfectly pink baby girl shower at the home of my friend, Kim.  She threw a most delicious pretty pink shower for the daughter-in-law of another friend, Melanie.

Being the true and proper Brits (from Great Britain) that they are, both Kim and Melanie are fascinated with the American tradition of a baby shower and what made the afternoon even more special was that Melanie's daughter-in-law is Peruvian.  So, this American event turned into a perfectly lovely international event.

Some of the ladies with the mother-to-be at the head of the table.

Kim even went to the trouble of researching how countries, all over the world celebrate baby showers and then went even further and gave us all an explanation about bridal showers, too!  If you don't know already, baby showers tend to be traditionally women dominated events, no matter where you may live, although I'm sure that men would come, if asked, and if there is no football game scheduled on television during the same time.

What a special afternoon it was with a pretty  pink-tinged table, pink tulips and pink paper and ribbons swirled around poke-a-dots and baby's breath along with a delicious luncheon crowned by strawberry pink cupcakes.  The afternoon was perfectly pretty in pink and dedicated to the mother-to-be with pink pomegranate prosecco while the mother-to-be enjoyed sparkling water--how perfect!

Winter Scenes and Warm Winter Wishes!

"Snowwwww, snowwwww, snowwwwww!  I want to wash my hands, my hair and face in snowwwww!"  So goes the Bing Crosby song from the 1950's. He sang this song, not only in the movie White Christmas, but also made it famous on one of his many Christmas albums.  It's a light and happy melody that hearkens back to vintage Currier and Ives winter scenes of New England on a crystal clear evening, after a majestic snowfall, with stars shining bright as the horse and sleigh glide to a stop in front of a welcoming farmhouse nestled perfectly between carefully shoveled snowbanks and soft candlelight glowing gold in the windows with twinkling lights outlining the roof top. Standing and waving in front of this cozy home is none other than a large and fluffy snowman with coal-black eyes, an old top hat and, of course, a corn cob pipe.

Why the snow falls only like this in our hearts and minds and Hollywood movies,  I'm really not sure. However, I for one, am glad I can keep these thoughts safe and unscathed as I will inevitably shovel 12-18 inches of the cold, wet, heavy, slushy version of snow in my own driveway more times than I will be prepared for this coming winter.  It will also help make slogging through the unplowed roads of my neighborhood, with the dog romping twenty feet ahead of me oblivious to his own mud-caked fur coat while the cold wind drives icy snow crystals into my face and eyes, a little easier to bear.  

So as the rain drops fall, this year in Northern Virginia over Christmas Eve and straight through Christmas Day and the outdoor thermometer rises over the 60 degree mark, I will hold close, pictures of perfectly frozen ponds with skaters gliding effortlessly over the winter glass, scores of holiday music and warm family memories.   Winter may be slowly approaching us at Blooming Hill, yet I know as sure as I am typing this that it is coming! Sadly, it has settled in so harshly in other areas and my prayers go out to those who have had too much snow already!  Their dream of a white Christmas, I'm sure, is something else, entirely. 

But, if you are like me, I will look out into my own yard and see gently falling snow through the raindrops and tiny magical reindeer pulling an intricately adorned sleigh instead of those devil deer foraging around an old wheel barrel filled to the brim with leaves, twigs and such, ready for the compost pile.  Farther afield, there is a vision of angles perched on the blackboard fence, in sore need of repair, singing in the foggy mist along with the crows cawing at a fox prancing by with his early morning catch of the day.  Come to think of it, all of this makes a pretty nice winter scene to remember, as well.

This year's Christmas picture, taken in July---Christmas in July!

Here's hoping you have the best of Happy Holidays and warm winter wishes from all of us, here at Blooming Hill.  See you next year!

The Welcoming Pineapple

During this season of family homecomings and friendly gatherings, when the home fires burn bright and the dinner table is lovingly set with comfort food and toasty, warm drinks, you may find a place, if you haven't already, for that prickly-skinned fruit with the wild leafy headdress and sweet sugary scent, otherwise known as the ever-friendly pineapple.



This tropical fruit is a native to South America and the West Indies and even though we think that the pineapple has been a symbol of hospitality as far back as ancient Greece, it is actually the lowly pine cone who should get the credit for the origins of this legend as pine cones have always been plentiful almost everywhere in the world, being used by the Greeks to make wine and found in carvings and decorations throughout history as symbols of fertility and abundance of life.  Pineapples originally stood for luxury and wealth, which isn't such a bad thing either.

It was not until the early 20th Century when the pineapple truly took this coveted welcoming position in legend, over the common pine cone. In fact, sea captains can probably be credited most with the pineapple's meaning of welcome and hospitality.  They would often attach a pineapple to their front door or gate to let friends and neighbors know they had arrived home safely and there to receive visitors.

Early Spanish and Portuguese explorers, as far back as the 1300's, were the first Europeans to discover the pineapple known by the tropical natives as "na-na". Through twists and turns of the Spanish, Portuguese and French languages the "na-na" eventually became known in England as a "pineapple" because of it's similarity to the pine cone coupled with  its sweet and juicy flavor, something like an apple.  Well, at least the English people of those earlier centuries thought so and that is when the pineapple quickly became a symbol of luxury and wealth, due to its rarity and expense in northern climates.  Yet, it often crowned the top of opulent centerpieces on hostesses' tables in order to impress guests.


Pineapples were in demand, however, in all households of the time, and if someone could not afford to buy one, they could at least rent a pineapple, on a daily basis, from grocers and merchants who were lucky enough to have them. Being perishable commodities, pineapples could often spoil on the long journey, by ship, across the ocean.



The pineapple arrived here in North America during colonial times and just like the Europeans, the American Colonists became very fond of the pineapple as well, especially in the South where they could grow a little more easily. The pineapple became particularly prevalent in artwork beyond the the table centerpiece and throughout the home, although the pine cone was also used as it was very common and beautiful.  In fact, much of the early carvings and pottery that came from Europe and Colonial America were probably of the pine cone, especially carvings found on bedposts and doors.  (Remember--their meaning in the language of flowers is tied to fertility and abundance.)

Yet, in the end, the beautiful and nutritious pineapple is a lot easier to eat than a pine cone, for sure. Rich in vitamin C, the pineapple is good for colds and coughs and fighting off the flu.  Not only that, the pineapple is also good for digestion--most certainly all of these are welcoming attributes, indeed. It is not strictly one fruit either.  Rather, it is 100-200 small fruits all fused together--the more the merrier!

So as you gather together bags of apples and onions, bundles of celery and carrots and loads of cranberries, don't forget to add the welcoming pineapple to grace your cornucopia of thanks and celebration.  Consider it's meaning and enjoy it's fragrance but, most importantly, eat it and savor it's benefits by toasting to you and your family's good health and good fortune, whatever that may be, as the pineapple signifies open hearts and open hearths.

Note to readers:  many of the images I used for this blog posting came from web photo stock images of pineapples in general and Williamsburg, VA decorations. Pictures of the flag, the fountain, the pine cones and the painting of fruit are my own photo images.