Just cause

Performing my daily (joke!) good Samaritan act by informing you that New York residents are eligible to win a lovely floral arrangement by le fleuriste extraordinaire Saipua every Friday. Actually, it's just an excuse so I get to post images of her gorgeous bouquets. :-) But seriously, all you have to do is leave a comment here, can you believe the crazy??? Makes me wish I was in NY for sure. I mean, look at them!

Also, if you are anything like me in the kitchen (read: hopeless) and have to map out ingredients and instructions (down to the tiniest detail like which spoon and bowl to use) into illustrations way before the day of the deed, you'll appreciate this site -- They Draw & Cook.

Delphinium

There are all sorts of unsavoury things happening in my corner of the world right now. As citizen of a country that is helplessly witnessing corruption in a lot of facets of our lives, a recurring migraine is common. 

I watched Obama's 30-minute "infomercial" two nights ago on YouTube and let myself be envious of the Americans for a change. To even have a minutiae of hope that a country's potential leader will bring about positive change -- change that should have come if all governing heads were on the same page in the first place, the page being to work for the common good and not just to deepen each one's own pockets -- is not something I have nor can look forward to, and let me tell you that it does bad things to your psyche when you teeter on the verge of despair.

By no means a cure, but perhaps a small token of salvation to my disturbed psyche are beautiful floral gifts from Mother Nature and people like frank.re.fischer who capture the imagery for posterity.

This next part sounds new-agey, and could be the art major in me talking. There is something about how the flower, while seemingly fragile, is standing out against the noise in the background in a quiet, defiant manner that elicits the perseverance spirit. It seems to suggest that I should always fight to be who I am, and to pay no heed to what the outside forces conspire. I should not let a corrupt government make me feel despair, politicians shall NOT determine my day.

Deep breath. And onward we trudge…

The cult of flowers

Of late, I've noticed that flowers have a magical sway over me. When I'm feeling the blues, it's managed to hold the frown at bay. It's like the therapist I never had, the happy pill I never took and the religion I never found :-)

So, I'm going to start posting photos I find online of flowers that chase away bad thoughts. Yay to the power of flowers, woo hoo!

First up is this serene close-up of a pink multi-layered ranunculus. My eyes feel fresher already just looking at it. Thanks to Yumi, a most fortuitous find from flickr. (I have a feeling I'm going to be visiting her site A LOT!)