Flowers insolita Blog

This week has been one that everyone will remember for one reason or another. The country was hit with devistating storms which left thousands homeless. Some were more fortunate and only had their possessions ruined, others were not as lucky and lost their lives.

The true tragedy happened on a college campus  Virginia Tech. 33 people died as a result of a man on a shooting spree. These were sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, friends and family to many. My heartfelt sympathy goes out to the families and friends of these students.

I am a mother of two. I can not imagine what these parents must be going through. My first reaction was ” My God, what if this was my child”. The tears began to flow. My heart breaks for them. My second reaction was that when I get home I will hug and kiss my kids and tell them how much I love them. Life is so short and sweet, make everyday count.

My thoughts and prayers go out to these families who have lost their children.

I hope everyone is enjoying Passover and being with their families.

I know I am looking forward to Easter and spending a day off with my family.

So, to everyone Happy Easter and Happy Passover.

It seems to me , that these days the Mom and Pop shops are disappearing all to fast. It is really a shame. The “American Dream” is fading. What ever happened to taking pride in the work that we do, in the products that we make and sell, and customer service. What happened to service with a smile, or built to last or we stand behind our products. Even better, Made in America. How often do you call a store and get a live person on the phone without having to press a lot of numbers, say what language you want or you waiting time will be approximately 35 minutes? When’s the last time you went to a register to check out and the cashier smiles, thanks you and calls you by name? Everyone complains about things like this, but does anyone stop to wonder why it happens? It’s because we let it. We have created a society that has no time. Everything needs to be now, we want what we want and we want it now and we want it for less. We don’t take time, everything is rushed. It’s a one stop shopping world or let’s look on line. People don’t write letters anymore, they email. We don’t make phone calls we text message. We don’t take time to look for a special gift, for that someone special, in the cute little specialty shop, we click on line or buy a gift card. We’ve become so impersonal. We also don’t take time to sit and have good breakfast, we grab a powerbar or some canned breakfast shake and go. Lunch a quick sub or something else from someother fast food place and eat it as we’re speeding down the road to make it back to the office after picking up our dry cleaning, going grocery shopping and running 12 other errands all with 45 minutes. Dinner, well let’s see what’s in the freezer, oh, t.v. dinners!!! This whole blog started this morning when I heard that a nice little family owned business that I shopped at frequently was going to close after 35 years of business. Not because they were retiring or that their children didn’t want to take the business over, but because there isn’t any business. The big retail chains finally took their toll. Why bother going to a family owned store? Which actually had prices that were as good as the big chain store sometimes better. They new exactly what they were talking about because that was their business to know the products they sold.They always greated you with a smile, said hello, were very polite, never ignored you. It was always a pleasure to shop there. That’s why I “bothered” to go that small family owned store! It sad. These are wonderful people, who chose to own there own business and work hard, but unfortunatey had to close. I hate the thought of other small businesses that are being put in the same situation.

I work in the very charming Village of Huntington. The side walks are paved with bricks, some of the buildings and houses date back to the early 1700′s and there is a beautiful church that was built in the late 1600′s. There are little shops filled with wonderful gifts and things you won’t find in the mall. Restaurants and local pubs line the streets, during the summer tables fill the walkways for outside dinning. There is a quaint tea shop named Tea-Tiques that is filled with collectables and serves delicious scones and wonderful teas. Pat the owner greets you personally and makes you feel right at home. There are antique shops, a great music shop that specializes in oldies and hard to find movies and records. Great clothing shops for all tastes. Coffee shops and book stores where people hang out and relax and enjoy conversation. There is also our flower shop where people come in to fill their senses with the wonderful smell of flowers and visually enjoy our unusual flower selections. There are parks and beaches to enjoy.The warm summer breezes make morning walks near the harbor very enjoyable. Fishing boats take off from the pier filled with fishermen ready for a great day on the water in the Long Island Sound. The streets are decorated for each season and in May there is a Farmer’s Market, where local farmer’s sell produce. Local small business families sell homemade pie’s and jams, breads and so much more. There is the Historical Society where you look through the archives, see old photos and atrtifacts from days gone by. There are art galleries with some extrodinary works. The local art museum is in a park with a lovely pond filled with birds and kids go fishing at the waters edge and play on a beautiful playgroungd while moms sit around chatting.

Sounds like a town in a Norman Rockwell painting. Well it kind of is. The reason being is that most of the wonderful shops in the town are owned by individuals. They take pride in their stores, they know their old customers and welcome the new faces that come into their shops.

Visit a small town with all those charming little stores, support the small business thats been there for years. See what a difference there is between going to a mall or a big chain store and going to your local small businesses. You’ll be suprised and probably find wonderful treasures, great people and not come relaxed after a nice shopping experience.

Thanks for reading.

Just when we get a taste of spring (70 degrees over the weekend ) and excited about gardening, Mother Nature  decides to change her mind! It gets cold again and rainy and snowy and we have sleet too. Hopefully this will be the end of it. I’m looking forward to short sleeve shirts and flip flops. It’s time. A little warm weather and blue skies would be nice. I don’t know about you, but I am ready.

 I listen to the news as I work. There was a news story about a 8 year old boy who weighs a little over 200 pounds. The mother is being accused of child abuse and the social services has recommended taking the child away from her. We can never know what goes through a person’s mind, but personally I don’t feel that her intent was to harm her child, she just doesn’t know any better. Our society seems to take the easy way out. Saying “NO” to children is not easy. Some people feel the more they give their children, it shows how much they love them. I don’t think any mom wants to hear her child say I’m  hungry and not give them something. Giving a child everthing is just easier. But not in the long run. Instead of taking the child away ( unless there are other circumstances that have not been disclosed) why not teach her to modify his diet. We are a society of fast food and instant gratification. We want, what we want, when we want it. I think it is far more damaging to take a child away from his or her parent ( if it is a loving environment) than to revise their eating habits and modify their behavior. I could be way off, but isn’t worth a try. Maybe the help of the “Super Nanny” is in order.

I would like to thank all of our customers who take the time out of their busy schedules to give a quick call to tell us how they like our arrangements. It really feels good to know when someone enjoys the flowers that they have received. It definately makes us feel really great to know that we have made you happy and have done our job well. Pleasing you the customer and you the recipient is our primary goal. Your feed back is always appreciated.

I also feel that it is equally important to know if something is not up to par. Whether the flowers didn’t hold or if the design was not what you envisioned. It is always to important to know where we can make improvements and to get to know our client base better in order to provide you with the best service possible.

So once again thank you for taking the time to give us your feed back.

The owner of this shop is a very interesting man. He takes great pride in his store and is very concerned about the ethics of our industry. I have been in the business for almost 30 years now as a designer. I can not begin to tell you how much I have learned by reading the”blog” postings that he writes. I hope you take the time to read them also, you will be amazed at what goes on!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Today is a very difficult day for me. I have to say good bye to my co-worker Danielle. I will miss her tremendously. She has been a true joy to work with. She ALWAYS could make me smile and laugh no matter how bad things got. She is a one in a million person no matter who she is in contact with she always makes that person feel special. I know I will still see her and talk to her, but work won’t be quite the same. It will be TOOOOOOOOOOO quiet.

GOOD LUCK AND MUCH SUCCESS IN YOUR NEW POSITION.

I KNOW YOU’LL DO GREAT! ( yes Danielle I am yelling)

love ya,

Lori

I thought about what I wrote the other day and just wanted to add one more little thing. My son and daughter are beginning high school. It will be quite sometime before they  get married. I am 50. All I can hope for is that,

1) I live to see them get married.

And

2) That whom ever they choose to marry will accept me for who I am and like me enough to want me to share in their special day and have me in their lives.

But most of all they find someone wonderful to spend their lives with. Someone who will make them happy. Someone to share all the joys and sorrows with and to be their bestfriend through out their lives.

Just a thought.

I AM NOT A YELLER OR A SCREAMER NOR DO I USUALLY RANT AT THE TOP OF MY LUNGS. HOWEVER, I JUST FOUND OUT THAT IF YOU WRITE IN ALL CAPITALS YOU ARE YELLING. SOOOOOOOOOOOOO,  I must stop being lazy and type using the shift key. Which to me is a pain, but at least I won’t be yelling!