The Humble Alstroemeria

Hi! I've been woefully neglectful of Kassiblog, too! Kassiblog was extremely active in April and May given the session in action (or inaction, depending upon how you look at it) and once that settled down, I had family, work, graduation, and more work to do, but also needed a bit of a break from blogging. 

However, there were a number of things that I wanted to post about. I have a tendency to want to do these big posts - almost like a research paper - with links, pictures, etc., and that makes even a fun post seem a daunting task. My perfectionist tendencies get in the way of my fun all too often. I need to keep working on that. 

Toby, on the other hand, has mastered the art of the "micropost" or a post just of pics he's taken. He also has a very active and beautiful Flickr feed. That allows for more frequent posting and just getting the moment up and shared. 

Recently, as in last night, given this article (and so much more, but this was really the last straw), we decided that we're pretty much off of social media: Facebook is evil; Instagram is owned by them (although I do love my Instagram feed which is all Orthodox quotes, food/recipe posts, and posts of pictures of our National Parks and places I want to travel; it's a very, very peaceful place for me); Twitter is just a negative place mostly where I venture to do pro-life/political battle when the Texas legislature is in session, with a few minor exceptions; Pinterest (which I always hated and closed my account years ago after just a few days) banned a major pro-life organization. Geez! If it's conservative or Christian, it's de facto hate. The tolerant left has no tolerance for Christians; even the nice ones. I can't believe I've not been banned, frankly. Anyway, Toby and I think that it's time to go back to the basics: email, blogs, text, even...dare I say it?...phone calls! And, maybe personal visits when we can? We're getting out of the beast in that sense and not allowing them more information of ours to sell and try to control. 

Anyway, enough of that; we're both going to be blogging more for fun! So here goes my first post in a while! 

One thing I think I mentioned in my first post here was that I do love arranging flowers. I almost always have some fresh flowers around. They don't have to be fancy or expensive. I just like nature and having it near me. My absolute favorite flowers are Campanulas. I discovered them years ago at Central Market in Plano. I love them especially when the buds are still tight. They change throughout the day and for days as they open up and it's like they're still growing in front of you. If they are young enough, I can get them to last for nearly two weeks. They come in lavender, purple, pink, and white. I've found the white ones last the longest for some reason, so I tend to buy them most often. I do love green and white and find it particularly soothing. 

Campanulas from back on February 3, 2019.

But I can usually only get them locally at Central Market; sometimes at Whole Foods, but not as often. That's not nearly as convenient as our local supermarket. So what else do I get? 

The humble Alstroemeria, that's what. They are the ubiquitous, out-performing-for-the-price supermarket flower. They are the botanical equivalent of the exquisite but unusually economical bottle of wine (like our beloved Saldo or Spy Valley). Like the Campanula, I love it when they are still as tight buds and I can get these to last a good three weeks. They have so many colors that they  span every season. I love to get the pinks, yellows, and purples for spring; the nice whites and even green flowers (green is just my favorite color!) for summer; lovely oranges, reds, golden yellows for fall; and deep red and white for Christmas! They are multipurpose flowers and get the job done. 

Recently, we had a friend over and his birthday had just passed and so I made - at his request - a birthday pie! It was pecan, his favorite. (It was a modified version of my paternal grandmother's recipe in a gluten free crust I created out of a GF Rugelach recipe. Flowers and food are about my only creative outlets.) I displayed it along with my most recent arrangements of the workhorse Alstroemerias. 

Alstroemerias and homemade gluten free pecan pie. 

The coffee canister (which is very much in use) was a recent gift from my beloved Toby, who found that at the monthly Plano Trade Days. I had to work that day and had to stay home, but he surprised me with that and a lovely, unique glass vase with a dragon fly on it. Perhaps that'll appear in one my posts.

Not exactly a "micropost," but Kassiblog, too! is back on track. 

Thanks for reading!