Loose Ends
It looks so easy
Susan Nienow

I still remember putting together a few greens for an advent wreath for the dining room table. Someone looked at it (no, I am not going to say who except that my other half was at work) and said, "Sarah is a professional. Have you talked to her about this?"

There was nowhere to go but up after that. Did you know there are little plastic candle holders that reliably hold the candles upright? An oasis doesn't work when the arrangement is being moved around a lot. Red candles against a white tablecloth have great impact, and I also learned how to get candle wax out of a tablecloth. But, the red stain that never came out had so much impact, I downgraded the tablecloth to a painting drop cloth.

I started arranging flowers and weeds a few years ago and discovered it's not nearly as easy as it looks. Some weeds wilt just as soon as they are cut and never recover. Others wait until right before we sit down for dinner with our company. I'm an optimist though. I can learn by trial and error. But my trials produced errors so I signed up for a flower arranging class taught by an expert.

The day before the Tuesday class, I went on a hunt for the right mix of flowers. Apparently flower deliveries are made in the middle or late in the week. So the flowers were already a week old. "Never on a Monday" took on new meaning.

I learned that some have a gift for making daisies bend to their will and others break the flowers off the stems. So when I signed up for the flower arranging class held a few weeks ago, I had a talk with the woman who runs the floral department. "I want strong flowers."

"Here are some red roses. Look at the bold color."

"No. I mean strong flowers. The kind that don't break easily."

She gave me a funny look and handed me a pot of orchids - silk.

Three weeks ago I took a flower arranging class taught by an expert. She said she started out just like we were - in a class, but I know she must have been turning her sippy cups into vases by age three. I followed the directions as she was putting her arrangement together and stood back.

It was clear to me that her directions left something to be desired until I looked at the arrangements around me. Did they hear the same directions I did? My greens clearly listed to the left and seemed a bit bushy for the small container. I pulled them out, cut out all of the side branches and stuck them back in the oasis. Better, I thought.

When the instructor came by, she said, "Let me show you a trick," and she snipped a little here and moved a few stems. So what's the trick? I missed that part entirely. Maybe it's talent.