Celebrating Birth with Slow Flowers

My husband has a new title: Grandpa.

His duties include Photoshoping images and dropping in funny captions.

I haven't quite decided on my title. 

Like with shoes, there are more choices for women than men. 

What goes best with Lydia? I work with words and all their connotations. I'm neither a Grannie nor a Glamamma- 

Perhaps Grandma?Grammy? Nanna? 

What do you think? 

Seeing our first grandchild so at peace , her  diminutive fragility apparent compared to my husband's hand, the expression "It's the Little Things..." has a whole new meaning. 

The crystal ball predict's Kenny and company will be adding  a new children's line to the

Bass Knuckles TM  line of clothing. He will protect and provide for this child with every inch of his life. No parent can ask more of a son than he grow to be a man such as he. 

The crystal ball also predicts that in motherhood, Shannon will still continue to light up every room she walks into. Maybe it is the athletic lineage of both parents, but Shannon deserves credit for taking great care of her health throughout her  pregnancy. It shows in how well the baby has done this first week of life. 

Of all the wonderful days we've spent with Shannon's parents- this one tops them all. Their whole family - its an honor to be linked to them through our youngest children's love for each other.

The first view little Charley had of  this world was of the Newport Harbor.  No wonder she is smiling in so many pictures. 

Only one thing missing. Flowers. 

My copy of Debra Prinzing's Slow Flowers still smells of the Portland bookshop where it was purchased.  Written by a journalist's journalist, the message on its compact glossy pages is encouraging. There is  living beauty to pluck into any variety  of containers on a moment's notice. OK. It doesn't matter that I know nothing of  florists near Hoag Hospital. 

Gerry and I excused ourselves to get a bite to eat. We were on a mission.  Our granddaughter would have flowers to share with her mom.  We needed a card, beautiful fresh flowers with some pizzazz - and someone or somewhere to put them together.    

Close by is The Golden Triangle of shopping. 

Roger's Gardens, Bristol Farms and Sur La Table    

If you are the type who swoons at the nearly lost art of  beautiful gift cards- special tip- check out the selection inside Roger's gift shop. Not large, but extraordinarily thoughtful.  

Bristol Farms excels at keeping flowers to tempt generosity from its grocery customers. This bouquet- a supporting cast of purple and green filler assisted  the sunshine yellow roses and sunflowers in  flagging down my husband's attention. He would have no other. 

We needed a vase. The fanciful shape of the  Center hole pitcher at Sur la Table caught his imagination.  To weight the arrangement visually, a madras hand-towel was made into an apron for the glass container, tied on with ribbon. 

Ask and you shall receive- the floral staff had gone home for the day. The store manager was really nice about letting me go behind the counter to cut strip leaves from stems, cutting  to length as the flowers were inserted one-by-one into a swirl.  

It was fun chatting with the ladies who watched me work. What I know of arranging flowers comes from Debra's book and a very special day long, long ago, when I assisted in assembling arrangements for The Academy Awards. Being a journalist who asked if they needed a volunteer, I asked lots of questions of the lead florist.  As Debra says in her book" writers are sponges and driven by an insatiable need-to-know curiosity."

Voila! 

The next day, our little one enchanted her great- grandmother. 

 When Kenny and Shannon married, two became as one. And now they are three.

Linking up to My Romantic Home's Show and Tell Friday