Ammie Palooza

My Mother is Eighty.

Quite a feat, Dr. Annmarie Gerardo, I am proud of you.

Today is my mother’s 80^th Birthday and we are having what was originally referred to as the Royal Wedding, but now has evolved into Ammie Palooza. My mother uses the nick name that my eldest child named her some nineteen years ago (she prefers Ammie a derivative of her name Annmarie to Grandmother). I’m not saying my mother is vain, she is different after her major stroke this past December. I am posting the process this morning getting the flowers ready for the tables as a fun break from serious writing.

My younger sister and I used flowers from my yard and we went to the Orange County Wholesale Flower Mart to purchase the spider mums, blue iris and some raffia. The total cost for eight arrangements $ 52.00

1.       Clean vases with vinegar and shine them ( this was my son Carson’s job).

2.       Turn on music

3.       Place marbles, or fish tank pebbles in the bottoms of the vases

4.       Trim Hydrangea and Canna leaves which frame the inside of the vases

5.       Tie a knot in raffia tight at ¾ height of vase, push down and create a simple bow and trim uneven, push the raffia bow back up

6.       Add cold water ¾ full to all vases

7.       Measure the flowers to have 80% of the trimmed same size to reach a few inches above the vases, discarding all leaves that will be in the water, trim any ugly leaves or pedals

8.       Cut 10% one inch longer and the other 10% two inches longer

9.       Arrange one type of flower in each vase at a time

10.   Add minimal greenery at end

11.   Buckets for transportation lined with old towels and the plastic wrap

12.   Deliver finished arrangements to the site

I will load some pictures of the flowers on the tables after tonight’s party

They aren't finished here on the garage floor, but almost there.