The Kum Join Us homemakers met at St. Paul Lutheran Church Borchers on April 2 with 10 members present and was hosted by Mandy Otte.
What a beautiful drive to the country. I love that the evenings are getting longer and the fields are greening up.
Olga Otte opened our meeting with the club creed and Pledge of Allegiance. I read the minutes from our March meeting and Michelle Wood gave the treasurer’s report.
Olga asked everyone what their favorite Easter traditions were and very few answered the same thing. Some of the favorites were the song “Jesus Christ is Risen today” and the trumpets sounding during Easter Sunday services. Some responded by hiding their kids’ Easter baskets or coloring eggs. Some mentioned having different colored baskets for each of their children and the family get-togethers topped everyone’s list.
I think mine has to be the Tre Ore and Tenebrae services on Good Friday at Redeemer Lutheran. If you’ve never attended these services, I highly recommend one or both services next year.
Everyone laughed when Olga read the monthly joke. “What do cows call an earthquake?” Do you give up? A milkshake. Kind of a dad joke, but we all laughed.
The thought for this month was about tea and a discussion began about Boba tea. Linda Guinn, while vacationing with her family, took her granddaughters to grab some afternoon tea. One of the girls walked right to the counter as if she’d been ordering Boba tea her entire life and ordered a strawberry milk tea with pearls. Apparently, the pearls were the fruit flavors. Linda thought nothing remotely looked or sounded good and refrained from ordering.
Her other granddaughter decided on a watermelon milk tea with pearls. After paying $9 each for these, the youngest that ordered the watermelon decided this wasn’t for her after just one sip. I would have to agree that watermelon tea does not sound the least bit tasty.
Plans for the upcoming County Indiana Extension Homemakers Association Achievement night were finalized. This year it is being held April 18 at Redeemer Lutheran Church in Seymour. Doors will open at 4:30 p.m. for registration and the meeting will begin at 5 p.m. A pitch-in meal will be served. Those attending are asked to bring paper products or food items for our local pantries along with a covered dish.
Mandy Otte gave a wonderful presentation about the National Volunteer Outreach Network from Natasha Harris, a West Virginia University Extension Agent for Upshur County and Jessica Streets, West Virginia Extension agent Tucker County on “Floriography: The language of flowers.”
Every flower holds a different meaning based on its species, color or both. Once you learn the meaning behind different flowers, words can be replaced by a bouquet. The men in your life should pay attention here. Every sentiment can be expressed in flowers.
Flowers derive their meaning and symbolism from ancient myths, legends and medicinal qualities or the scents they carry. Narcissus, otherwise known as a daffodil, gets its name from a beautiful man that fell in love with himself after seeing his reflection in a lake. He adored his beauty so much that he never left the lake and daffodils grew in his place. Narcissus now symbolizes requited love, sympathy and the return of spring.
Lavender signifies purity, silence and serenity because its fragrance is known to soothe and relax.
During Queen Victoria’s reign, dozens of flower dictionaries were published and the tussie-mussie was popularized. This is a small bouquet in a decorative holder that is wrapped with ribbon or doilies and either carried or pinned to clothing. The central flower was the main message of the bouquet but every flower had to add focus to the main flower and each flower carried a message.
During the 1800’s , learning the meaning of flowers was a popular hobby. Each home had a guidebook to explain the meaning of each flower and how to give flowers to express additional thoughts or feelings without using actual words. For example, if the flowers were sent upside down, the idea conveyed was the opposite of the actual meaning of the flower so if you received a red rose which means passion and endless love, it would mean the exact opposite.
Each month has a flower that symbolizes the characteristics “inherited” by those that were born in that month. Do you know what your birth flower is?
Flower colors have a hidden meaning, but are not perfectly defined. The ones we know so well are red, meaning love.
White is for purity, heaven or a new beginning. Is this why we adorn our altars with white lilies during the Lenten season? Is it to signify our hope for a new beginning?
I was always told yellow meant friendship, but that’s not quite the case. It actually depicts infidelity, jealousy or a decrease in love.
Of course, these are all for roses. Carnations and lilies’ color meanings are a little different. I’ll save those for another time, but before you send flowers to your special someone, you may want to do some reading. You can read about the meanings of your favorite flowers at almanac.com/flower-meanings-language-flowers or at summitmastergardeners.org.
Carol Mansfield told a cute story about her wedding bouquet. She was married in January and wanted gardenias, but of course, in January, there are no gardenias, so she settled for something else. A while later, her husband knew how much she loved gardenias and searched high and low for a planter of her favorite flowers.
He brought them into her office one day and was so proud he had found them. I don’t think she had the heart to tell him they were plastic right away. It’s the thought that counts; at least he remembered they were her favorite.
Mandy read our devotions from a book called “Beautiful Wisdom” by Barbour Staff on spring rebirth from Ecclesiastics 3:1. Springtime is filled with images of new life. Just look around at everything coming to life. Flowers budding, trees blossoming, our brown grass slowly greening up.
We go through seasons in our spiritual life as well. Our hearts get “frozen over” (winter). Thawing begins when God breathes new life into us (spring). We then move into full blossom or our season of productivity (summer). Then, as our year ends, we slow down, preparing for change (autumn). God ordained the seasons, but springtime is one with a remarkable sense of expectation. Get out and enjoy it!
Anyone looking for a fun night out feel free to call the IEHA office at 812-522-6101 to find a club near you. Until next time, remember to stay connected.