Moebius Syndrome Awareness

Those of us who have participated over the past years in the "Diva Challenge" are well aware of Moebius Syndrome and the issues faced on a daily basis by Laura and her family, B-Rad, Chewie and little Artoo.  Our challenge this week was to use the ribbon as a part of our tile in recognition of Moebius Awareness Day, January 22.
Having planted geraniuims, alyssum and sweet william this week, I have flowers on my mind.  Not too happy with my ribbon but don't mind the spring-like background.

Auraknot and Bunzo

It is Diva Challenge time again!

Sometimes Laura (the Diva) takes her challenges a bit to seriously.

And so, we have to take them seriously.

These two tangles, Auraknot and Bunzo were difficult for me to

"meld" together.

I love Auraknow, love the process of drawing it and love the result.

Maybe I will give this another go later in the week.

Angcm. Crestwood

 Isn't she a beauty!

I went out to water my orchids this morning and this was what awaited me.

There is another bloom on the other side and two buds.

That is what I love about my orchids.  If I ignore them,

they reward me.

This particular one has a long 'tail' on it and can only be polinated by

one particular moth, with a 6 to 7 inch 'tongue'.

"Phicops"

It is Challenge time again!  And, it is the 101st Challenge!  And not only is it the 101st Challenge but the tangle was submitted by the Diva's husband, B Rad.  So here it is, Phicops.  Thanks, B Rad.  This is a flexible tangle.

I have had flowers on the brain (if you refer to my two previous posts) so last night when I sat down to
doodle (and ignore the Alabama/Notre Dame game) yet another flower emerged.  Welcome back Laura!  We missed you.

Success!

Sarasota Orchid Society's booth at "A Symphony of Orchids"

For those of you who enjoy orchids, isn't this a beautiful array of plants?

My two entries in the Orchid Show both won blue ribbons.  It doesn't get

much betther than that!   The white one on top, and the reddish, orange

plant on the right are my contribution

A Symphony of Orchids

Laela rubescens var. 'alba' Walter

Sarasota Orchid Society presents its annual Orchid show,

A Symphony of Orchids

this weekend at the Sarasota Municipal Auditorium.

I feel like a 'stage mom'.  But first, let me tell you how I got to this place in my life.  In early December, the Orchid Society had a dinner/auction.  I eyed this beauty before dinner and decided I would definitely make a run at it in the auction.  When the bidding got to $50 dollars, I opted out.  My husband, who usually complains about the care and feeding of my orchid family, slid $65 dollars over to me and said, "go for it."  And I did, and I got it!  When paying for it, the grower came up and asked if I would please enter it in the show in January as she was sure all 12 stems would be open by then.

I have never entered a plant in the show so decided this was a way to start, with her tutelage.

Cattleya Volcano Trick Fireball

In the meantime, one of my favorites was covered with blooms so I decided, why not it too?

Then the preparations began.  All of the paper thin 'silk' had to be removed from the stems.  The

blooms were secured to stakes with bits of green wire.  Both stake and wire are not be obvious when looking at the plant.  Then I washed the leaves in a mixture of whole milk and water.  This gives them a nice lustre and isn't harmful like leaf shine products.  Last, I had to find a basket to hide Volcano Trick Fireball's mossy pot.

Last night I watched one of those Tot Beauty Paegent Shows and thought," There I am, getting my girls ready for a beauty paegent."  Will they win???  Who knows, but this is a new adventure for me

(and my two girls).
Bring on 2013...I hope there are lots of new adventures in it for everyone!