Tag: holidays

Unofficial End of Summer

AI generated image. Labor Day is an unofficial end of summer.
The fashion police have some rules. IMO, flowers in your hat can be worn year round.

Labor Day is around the corner. It is a celebration of American workers. In 1894 Congress passed an act making the first Monday in September of each year a legal holiday.

American workers, and most likely workers around the world, have to struggle for fair treatment and decent wages and benefits. Leaders at the top give generously to themselves, and often it is the worker that gets the short end of the stick.

An official holiday does not fundamentally change this. It is basically a PR move. However, we all can enjoy a parade or a picnic. Though, not all workers enjoy a day off. I feel fortunate to be getting a four day weekend from school work. I still have to work for my family 24/7, so technically it is not really time-off the clock.

Labor Day has also acted as an unofficial end of summer. This is changing since by the time Labor Day rolls around, I will have been back to work for about three weeks. There are those who want school to follow a year round calendar. Most children want and need a summer break to rest and play. However, child care can be a problem for working families.

On a lighter note, the end of summer leads us into cooler weather and darker colors. Summer white darkens to a winter white and continues along the spectrum to tans and beiges, and then brown. Flowers in hats are acceptable year round. Though perhaps, the straw should be changed to felt, and this makes me think of Octoberfest. Something to look forward to.

Tablescaping

As I prepare my menu and table ideas for our upcoming holiday dinner, I have been thinking about my mother and all the table arrangements she made over the years. Above is just one example where a picture was taken of the table before a dinner party. For our holiday dinners my mother would go out into our yard and clip evergreen branches and holly branches. She would add to this a few ornaments or store bought roses. As I remembered these details, I decided to make a table arrangement this year.

Long ago I had seen a succulent wreath made by a local botanical garden. I remember being impressed and thinking I would like to try and make one like it. This time of year is not ideal for such an idea, however, when I saw a sphagnum moss wreath for sale, I became interested in the idea again. I was able to get succulent clipping sent to me from an online source. They were not like I expected them to be, so I am unsure of how successful the growing process will be.  The looks of the wreath are not bad, and I will try again next year. I see it as a learning process and I am a beginner.

I decided that in order to be a holiday dinner arrangement I would need to add more seasonal items, so I went out into my yard to see what I could find. I was surprised and delighted to see that the holly bush in our front yard (that I had never been able to successfully eradicate) had grown tall because of my neglect, and was full of red berries!

After completing this I began to think about how I would set the table. I had inherited wooden plates which will work well as a base for  more decorative holiday plates. I am still working on the table at this point.  Here is a table setting idea. I will continue to work on more ideas. Hopefully when the table is all set for our dinner, I will update with a better picture. I just learned this week that “tablescaping” is the word used these days for making centerpieces and coordinating dinnerware. There are a lot of great ideas out on the internet.

P.S. I have a clear vinyl tablecloth protector over the cloth. This should be removed before a formal dinner, however with my family, I might keep it on.

Update 12/21/23 — The succulents are growing, and it receives bright early morning sun which makes the wreath have a lovely glow!