altar piece

I know, that was a long break.  And this isn't exactly me ending my break.  BUT I did get commissioned to donate my services and create a floral piece for my Stake Conference.  I say donate my services, because no way was I going to show up with what I could really afford to do on their budget.  (They usually have the equivalent of a very small easel spray)  If I'm going to take time away from my family to do a floral project, I'm going to enjoy it and make something I actually like.



Granted, there were still lots of budget limitations when I hit the wholesaler's cooler. I went on a Friday and their inventory was low; pickings were slim.  I may have spent the entire budget on flowers, (and could have easily spent more, it could have been so pretty!) and then raided my neighborhood for more material.  Yes, that was me sneaking in your bushes with my clippers.  I'm told it's a florist's madness.



Opportunities like this remind me how anxious I am to have my own home and subsequently my own garden.  I  have a long list of plants I want in my yard just so I can clip from them.  You know, and not get caught cutting from other people's yards.   As often.



I wish you could have seen my husband and I struggling to invent an invisible way to hang this piece.  There was lots of wire and prayer involved.  We installed it Saturday afternoon for the Saturday evening session, and I didn't breathe easy again until the Sunday meeting ended and as soon as the closing prayer was said I bolted to the front of the room with wire-cutters in hand to take it down.  I was so tired of being so nervous.  It was a heavy design, and I'm not yet overly confident in my mechanics and their ability to defy gravity for that long.  But I'm pleased and relieved to have seen it succeed.  I doubt my next mechanical challenge will seem such an ordeal.