Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Celebration ~ Rose & Outdoor Wednesday In One!

Rose Wednesday: Thanks Jan & Tom for hosting Rose Wednesday! This "Raindrop Rose" was snapped at the Biltmore Estate in Ashville, NC. Even though the focus was more on the leaf to the left than on the rose, it's still one of my favorite... A yellow rose symbolizes Friendship! When I think about the wonderful friendships over my life, I feel like I'm watching Romper Room (telling my age). It's like I'm Miss (what was her name again?) saying, I see Vonnie, Kathleen, Janet, and there's Ginny, Val, Mary and Pat...and there's Susan, Lee, Dru, Karla and Kim! =) The list can go on and on, just like Romper Room. (Was it Miss Sally?) You get the point...a yellow rose reminds me of how blessed I am to have such lovely friends. Now, I'm getting to know some of you as friends, and I'm so blessed! Thanks Jan for hosting such a lovely theme day! I want to dedicate this Rose to my friend and sister-in-law Rose, she just went through surgery yesterday.
To see other Rose Wednesday Posts - visit Jan by clicking on the Rose Wednesday @ Rose Haven logo above when you're done reading my Outdoor Wednesday below, you're gonna love having tea in the garden with me!
Outdoor Wednesday: Thanks to Susan of "A Southern Day Dreamer for hosting Outdoor Wednesday! In May of 2006 my mother, Myra, (73 at the time) decided to have an Iris Bulb sale to raise funds for an orphanage to be built in Peru. My sister & I visited that week and helped her during the uprooting, digging, and dragging the lil ole Iris Bulbs from her garden into the car trunks of all that drove many miles to purchase. The pic below is outside amongst the Iris Garden...(she raised over $1,000 selling the roots for $1 & $2 ea.) I had determined prior to our 10 hr. drive to PA that I'd load up tea cups, linens, and my silver teapot & wooden tray so we could have a tea party while there. I never imagined on the second day of the sale that I'd spontaneously decide to have the tea party in the Iris Garden, dirty and all. We called a few of her friends and sitting under the apple trees and there by her Iris Garden, we "par-tea'd with scones and all"! Afterwards, I had to snap a few staged shots for the teapot...I couldn't pass the scenery up for that type of backdrop! To see other Outdoor Wednesday Posts - please click on the Outdoor Wednesday logo above. Thanks Susan for a lovely idea in sharing Outdoor Wednesday!
Now I'm excited to come visit everyone elses post for today...hope you do too!

Don't forget to leave a 'lil' comment before you take off! ~Au Revoir! ~CC

29 comments:

Kat said...

The rose is just beautiful, but being from Texas I'm partial to yellow roses haha. You tea party sounds like so much fun, and congrats to your mother for raising so much money for such a wonderful cause. Thanks for stopping by, I'll be back often. Kathy

Margaret said...

I love..love Iris bulbs, I am so jealous. I will literally stop by a strangers home if they are working in the yard and ask if they would like to share or trade bulbs. Beautiful pic's.

Jewel Sauls said...

What a gorgeous rose! I love Biltmore! And you Iris tea party must have been wonderful! What a success you had! Thanks for sharing!!!! :D Jewel

Wendy said...

What pretty flowers.

And what a good friend you are. I bet everyone had a great time at your tea party. I'm sure it is a memory they will never forget!

Wendy

Cindy (Applestone Cottage) said...

Hi Catherine,
This is a lovely post and I really enjoyed the story about the tea party. What a great idea!
Cindy

Unknown said...

The yellow rose is lovely & is perfect to symbolize friendship. The Biltmore Estate is one of my favorite places to visit. The gardens are amazing.

Your iris photo is very artistic. What a grand time you all must have had at that tea party. That was a superb idea that your mother had & your tea party was just the perfect addition!

Gone said...

Thanks for posting on ROSE Wednesday!! The yellow rose is beautiful.

I love Irises, too! They're so pretty.

Susan @ A Southern Daydreamer said...

Welcome to Outdoor Wednesday!

I love the photos of the rose and teapot... but I enjoyed the story of your Mom and the tea party more (I think)

Thanks for sharing them with us!

Kathleen Ellis said...

You just steered me down "Memory Lane"! My Romper Room host was Miss Jean...and probably another one at one point...I got to wondering and just had to look into it! Romper Room went on air in1953 and aired until 1987 (so our age isn't revealed ;-D)...it was a "franchised" show, so local stations could select their own hosts. I found the names of 16 of them...all prefaced with the title "Miss"...Nancy, Louise, Sally, Molly, Mary Anne, Barbara, Gwen, Donna, Sarah, Mary Lynn, Jean, Beverly, Rosemary, Bonnie, Annette, Soco.
In all the years I've known you (all 24 of them!)I never knew you watched Romper Room...it was one of my favorite shows!
I know this is probably more info than any of us needed...but, sometimes it's fun to meander down "Memory Lane",isn't it?!
xo
P.S. your roses are lovely!

The Quintessential Magpie said...

Cathrine, that is a lovely shot of your silver and the irises! And what a sweet thing for you mother to do for charity!

XO,

Sheila :-)

ellen b. said...

Hello Catherine! What beautiful roses. I really love your "staged" shot of the teapot and iris' Just gorgeous! Have a great Wednesday and I hope you get a moment for a nice cup of tea :0)

a quiet life said...

fabulous post! how sweet to dig and sell her iris for charity~ i adore your tea party with the iris, VERY sweet pic!

i am an avid collector of iris, i had 1200 varieties, but the gophers knocked me to under 900 over the last few years... all the more reason to KEEP SHOPPING!

Maryrose said...

Catherine,
The rose is beautiful, and yes Romper Room. I always wondered why Miss (I can't remember her name either) never saw me. I guess with the name Maryrose it was never to be.
Enjoy your day.

Terrie's Lil' Piece of Serenity said...

I love both postings. I am a huge lover of roses. Yellow is so beautiful. I pray that your friend has a quick recovery. I love the Biltmore.

The teapot photo is wonderful. i love iris. What a wonderful benefit your mom did. I am glad it was so successful.
Hugs, Terrie

Miss Janice said...

What a beautiful place for a tea party...a for such a good cause!

Cami @ Creating Myself said...

What a wonderful, thoughtful way to give to charity..kudos to your mom! Enjoyed your tea party amongst the iris as well as the yellow rose...love the rain drops on it.

Anonymous said...

Don't you just love the Biltmore? I always said I wanted to live in Asheville.

Debbie in CA : ) said...

I love your yellow rose pic. The first rose my husband gave me (during dating days ~~ I was 17, he 18) was yellow. I smiled and said, "Friendship." It was so refreshingly sweet. He just stared at me blankly and smiled -- HE HAD NO CLUE!!!! That's another thing I love about him ~~ His natural gift for goodness.

I loved reading your iris tale too. This is a FUN place. I'll be back for more. : D

Nanette said...

Beautiful rose and wonderful tea party story!
Valerie

Blondie's Journal said...

Hi Catherine...Loved your post. The yellow rose is gorgeous! Your mother is a doll for giving of herself and you too for helping! What a wonderful idea to have tea at the sale! :-)
I also watched Romper Room and even looking at the names Kathleen listed, I can't remember the hostess in Chicago (back then...gulp!). Hope your sisiter-in-law feels well soon.

xoxo
Jane

The Teacup Cottage said...

love the yellow rose ... it reminds me of Texas. I am partical to outdoor floral shots and am always looking for inspiration. The teapot is beautiful too. My goal is to one day have a silver teaset! Happy Rose Wednesday!

2 Dogs said...

Hey Catherine! I am so glad you came by my blog. Thank you so much for your lovely comment. I've only been around for a few weeks and it's wonderful to meet you.

I have photos of those roses at Biltmore as well. John and I went there one time but I would love to go back again.

I love the photo of the silver teapot. I have purple iris in my garden.

I'm taking a little break from walking on my treadmill. I have 30 more minutes to walk and I will return later to visit your blog. Looking forward to getting to know you.

God bless and hugs
Patti C

Anonymous said...

Hey Cat...This is Kat...nice to meet you too! What a beautiful yellow rose....just gorgeous! I could image sitting under the apple tree ...having tea....Mmmm! I know it had to be a gorgeous day! Thankd for stopping by Katherinellen

2 Dogs said...

Oh I forgot to answer your question. I live about 100 miles from Knoxville. Will be going through there this week on our way to Nashville to visit my sister.

I am feeling much, much better from my fall. I only got to milk it about 2 days. :-)

Hugs!

Beth at Aunties said...

The yellow rose is beautiful and what a beautiful thing for you mom to do with her cherished irises.
We have so many prized irises. One I had to wait for five years to get a start from our neighbor because so many wanted one.
Now they are growing out of control!
If I thought I could sale them, I would for charity.. Thanks for planting that seed in my brain.

Kristens Creations said...

Thanks for stopping by my blog and your nice compliments! The yellow rose is beautiful, I can't wait for spring!! You have a great blog, I will be visiting you often. Kristen

Kristens Creations said...

Oh, I'll let you know the paint color in Sherry's bathroom soon. It really is a pretty color! Kristen

Tracy said...

Catherine, thank you so much for stopping by my place and leaving a nice comment.
I just read your blog and it is lovely. I especially love your tea cups. They are gorgeous. Growing up my great aunt had a beautiful collection and I always admired them.
Stop by again soon!
Tracy

JudyBug said...

Love the yellow rose! I just found out there is a new knock-out rose that is yellow. I just can't wait to see it in bloom!