Vreny here:

Our Icky’s Ego show last week at the Aqualounge in Beverly Hills was an incredibly fun experience.

A BIG THANK YOU to all who came to see our show. It meant the world to us to see all your lovely faces there.
I learned a very important thing on that show, and made an important decision after playing this show.
I learned how much fun it really is to see your friends at your shows. As a result: I have decided to go see at least 1 show a week of someone I know. I already started this when I went to check out the show of my friend Cory Phillips yesterday at the Good Hurt.

The Aqualounge is an amazing lounge/club with a fabulous interior design. This is THE place to go to if you want to enjoy classic rock and hard rock siting in comfortable seats in a cozy, relaxed environment.

But while the atmosphere and vibe in the Aqualounge was very attractive and fun to be immersed into… it was THE PEOPLE there who made the vibe and who made our night.

We feel very fortunate to have such amazing friends in our lives, coming to our shows.

We, at the Icky’s Ego Castle, after numerous bottles of tequila and wine, were driven by a divine inspiration when suddenly it hit us: “We need to introduce our Ego Maniacs to each other so they all get to know each other and enjoy each other’s fun presence as much as we Icky’s do”.
So here it comes: “World… meet our Ego Maniacs (and come join their growing numbers)”.
(click on the names of each person to go visit their facebook/myspace/websites and find out more about them)

Al Marotta: I am glad I could return the favor coming to see you rock out again with Cory Phillips on Keyboards. You’re a hell of a keyboard player and I am proud to have shared the stage so often with you. Thank you for coming to our show at Taix a couple of weeks ago. I am excited about forming the instrumental jazz-rock band we talked about.

Jose Gonzalez: haha… my hiking buddy. Mount Baldy is nothing to us. Also a kick ass drummer, who I will be sharing the stage with this coming Saturday with The Swagger Sticks. Come hang out with me, Aron and Jose this Saturday. Thanks a mill Jose for coming to one of our shows at Taix.

Aron Gibson: bro… what would we do without you? Thank you for coming to ALL our shows haha. You’re our “Headmaster Ego Maniac”. I am super anxious to be on that stage with you this coming Saturday with The Swagger Sticks. Aron is one of my guitar Alumni. He’s also the rocking front man of The Swagger Sticks.

“Ego Maniacs“… Meet Leah Hanna King. Leah is my ALL TIME TOP favorite female vocalist. We’ve been knowing each other for centuries, yet this show at the Aqualounge was THE FIRST TIME she saw me perform live. All the other times she saw me, she was on stage as well cause I was her guitar player. Keep an eye of for this girl… she’s on the brink of becoming world famous.

Another dude who will walk the path to fame, is Joel Van Dijk. He’s a fellow colleague guitar teacher, and he lives a 3 minute walk from my place. Competitor? Not at all: great friend. The world is a big place: there’s work and wealth in abundance. Joel is one of THE most spiritually rich and aware people on the planet. I was glad to see him at our show, and I can’t wait to go check out HIS shows… he’s a fantastic guitar player and multi instrumentalist.

Brian Paperny... my dear good old friend. I will never forget how you gave me the MOST amazing concert experience ever, when you gave me Brian Setzer Orchestra tickets as a present 2 years ago. I was so darn happy to see you at our show at the Aqualounge. Hope your beautiful rocking orange Gretsch guitar isn’t collecting dust. Give your beautiful, lovely Brazilian girlfriend a big hug from me. Thank you guys for all the love and support.

Ben “Rasputin” Sidnikov: a kick ass drummer. Thanks a mill bro for coming to the show. I can’t wait to hang out with you in the new recording studio you work at. I am very excited about jamming together in the studio and working on projects. Your presence at our show made my day. Life is so weird and funny: if you had not had the courage to defect Russia in the Cold War days, we never would have met. So glad to have you at our show. I already know you and me will be the main back up band at the New Year’s Eve party haha.

“Ego Maniacs”, meet Brad Raderman. Brad takes guitar lessons with me, and loves EVERYTHING music. There isn’t one style we have not covered yet. Besides being a guitarist, he’s a kick ass lawyer who loves his trips to Bakersfield to figure out legal intricacies nobody dares to meddle with. He’s a sharp mind combined with a laid back fun personality. I was just really happy too see his face at the show.

Billie Anderson, lead and rhythm guitarist in Mandala, and guitar alumni of mine. Billie went from beginner, to REALLY friggin awesome guitar player in NO TIME at all. It felt good to my ego as a guitar teacher, but it really wasn’t me: he’s just THAT talented. Billie and I have been knowing each other FOR EVER. He’s not just one of my closest friends in town: Billie and his brother Joey are like brothers to me. It feels like we grew up together. Good to see you at our show bro.

Greg; house mate of Billie and Joey. Greg and I spent numerous night till early morning hours sitting on the porch of their house with a beer, discussing philosophy, existentialism, art, the mind, psychology and other enlightening subjects. And now I get to see him every week cause he decided to push his guitar playing to the next level. Thanks a mill Greg for coming to the show. Thank your friend Lee also for coming and give her a big hug from the Icky’sEgo band.

Lisa Steele. Lisa is definitely the loveliest person I have ever met. She’s learning guitar, and through learning guitar, learning about HERSELF. Like the Zen masters say: “Through one thing, know everything”. This definitely applies to Lisa, who is discovering more than she had imagined about life and herself, through the journey of guitar. Thank you for letting me be part of this journey Lisa: I will love you for ever for that. You’re one of our most devoted fans, and the Icky people love you. Thank you for your love and support.

Peter Petro: man… what would I do without you? Peter and I work on each other’s projects and are trying to make each other miljonairs. (it’s a long term project lol). Peter was my supervisor when I worked radio promotion, shortly after my move to LA. He’s my marketing and business go to guy if I need advice. He teaches radio promotion at renowned Musician’s Institute. He’s also a very special friend. When are we gonna go hiking again?

Justin Schaid: I was excited to hear about your new band project “Hear & Now”. Can’t wait to see you live. You can be darn sure the whole Icky’s Ego crew is going to be at your show when you perform. Justin is a super talented graphic artist and designer, who worked numerous amazing artistic projects. He’s one of the people I am gonna have to talk to when I need help with the book that I am writing.

Pascal Demeester and Keiko: I’ve only gotten to know you recently in past 2-3 weeks, but we’ve grown to love you guys instantly. Pascal is a BELGIAN (woohooo), unbelievably talented photographer. His partner, Keiko, is an equally talented hair design and make up artist. Icky’s Ego is super excited that you will be helping us with visual stuff and photography for the band. This is one of the best things that could happen to us.

Matt Crocco… yes the brother of Icky member David. Matt is a multi instrumentalist in a league of his own, playing drums and keyboards. He’s also super funny, and one of the co-inventors and developers of the sock puppets shows on MTV with his buddy Liam Lynch. We love Sifl&Olly

A big thank you to Charles Davis and Mariam George, longtime friends of David and Cela, and big supporters of the band. Thanks for everything, we love you guys!

Last but not least, a special shout out to Brian Hardin Brian is our driving force at the castle in the hills where Icky’s Ego resides. He’s a world class, world renowned top producer whose album credits are STAGGERING. He’s also the easiest person one can imagine to work with and super funny. Here’s his site: Brian David Hardin (on his site: click on the link “credits” and be amazed).

Icky’s Ego THANKS YOU for supporting us at our shows and in our musical journey.
It means the world to us.

As you can see: our “Ego Maniacs” are a very talented, diverse group of people… you all deserve to be called amazing “Maniacs” in your fields and endeavors.
We are very proud and honored to have you all in our lives and we are always thrilled to feel your presence and energy in the room when we are rocking out on stage.

Much love from Vreny and Icky’s Ego.
Vreny, David, Cela and Philo

I attended Art in Bloom at the Cincinnati Art Museum this weekend – it was amazing.  It also inspired me to post these floral pics:

My sister has been posting adorable holiday gift ideas, and that’s gotten me in the spirit early. That, and the trip to the Poinsettia nursery last week.

Last year, I gave out hand-painted pots with a flowering bulb in each, they came with instructions on how to water it and watch it grow, then what to do with the bulb when it was finished flowering. I used an assortment of Hyacinth bulbs, because I love their fragrance.

Hyacinth bulbs

They were cute and well-received, but a couple people told me theirs didn’t flower. Bummer.

This year, I have a new idea. I’m going to start the bulbs today, so they’ll already be flowering when I hand them out as gifts. So it was off to the nursery, Osuna Nursery.

Osuna Nursery, Albuquerque

Man, look at that November sky! It’s that color almost all the time here, I love it!

Osuna offers lots of beautiful bulbs. I was tempted by the Tulips.

Tulip bulbs

But I’m a big fan of smelly flowers, so I zeroed in on more Hyacinths, and also some Daffodils, since they were fairly cheap. I say fairly because I think all of their bulbs were expensive – two bucks each for the Hyacinths. Two bucks? Sheesh! I know Osuna is not the cheapest nursery in town, I do like their selection however. In future posts, I’ll scope out other nurseries around Albuquerque.

Daffodil bulbs

The main reason I think flowering bulbs make such good holiday gifts is because it’s nice to have a bit of spring in your living room during winter. Hopefully it’ll be all snowy by the time these bulbs are blooming.

Hyacinth bulbs

There were a few Hyacinths that already had shoots. I chose them. They seemed like overachievers, and I respect that.

Overachieving Hyacinth bulbs

I’ve actually been thinking about the holidays before my sister started posting holiday gift ideas. A few weeks ago, I went to Goodwill and found some interesting looking glass vases. Then I went to the dollar store and got glass stones (the craft store sells them for $2.99 per bag!). I was ready to make gifts!

All the makings of an inexpensive holiday gift

Stupid easy. Poured the stones in the glasses, filled the glasses up with water, plopped a bulb on top. Took about 30 seconds. I can’t wait to seem them bloom!

Soon-to-be flowering Hyacinth gifts

Over the next few weeks, I’ll just make sure to keep the water level up so the bulb can grow roots and send those shoots upward. Oh, and lots of sunshine. I love not messing with soil! Neither houseplants nor bulbs depend on soil – if you don’t believe me, check out Martha’s blog and her website Water Roots.

I’ll be on a search the next few days for containers for the Daffodil bulbs.

So let’s do the math:

$1 for the stones

$2 for the Hyacinth bulbs

59 cents for the glass vase

That makes a whopping grand total of $3.59 for what is a nice, thoughtful handmade holiday gift. Who wouldn’t love a little bit of spring in the middle of winter?

Do you have plans to use plants or bulbs as money-saving gifts this year?

Want your garden to look awesome in spring? Plant spring bulbs now.

In fact you could plant them right through to December, but the longer you wait the colder it is to go out there and start digging in cold soil.  Also, the earlier you buy your bulbs the better selection you will find in the garden centres.

When you look at bulbs you’ll find some loose, to be bought in bulk and some ready packaged. Which should you buy? Personally I buy from the bulk bin so I can check each bulb individually for quality. In packages you can’t see what you’re getting and it might not be top quality.

Choosing bulbs look for one that is at least as large as the others and preferably a little larger. If the bulb seems to be double, that’s great – you get two plants for the price of one. You want the bulb to be firm, with no sign of mould, cuts or bits nicked out of it.

What kinds of bulbs to buy? The most common types are crocus, snowdrop, daffodil and tulip. Crocus and snowdrop bloom earlier and are smaller than daffodils and tulips.

Snowdrops are always white, sometimes with a touch of green. They have delicate white bell-like flowers and grow three or four inches tall. Because they are pale and delicate it’s a good idea to plant them to the front of your beds, somewhere you can easily see them and enjoy them.

Crocuses grow to about three inches in height with thin, spear-like leaves. They have goblet-shaped flowers in white, purple or orange. Plant them in clumps for a dramatic effect.

Miniature daffodils flower before their larger cousins, but they have the same distinctive trumpet shaped blooms. Most daffodils are yellow, but you’ll also find shades of cream or white, pink or orange. Colour variations tend to be more expensive than the yellow.

Tulips come in almost every colour imaginable, some with striped petals or shading from one colour to another. The flowers, while all basically cup-shaped, can vary widely in shape and form. These are flowers that can demonstrate your imagination and your feeling for your garden. All pale delicate whites? Blends of reds and purples? Your choice.

You’ll also find scilla and muscari, smaller flowers whose bulbs can be planted between the larger daffodils and tulips for colour contrast. You’ll find a very small early iris too that looks particularly effective in a window box or planter. There is also a later, taller iris that blooms when all the other bulbs have died down.

Hyacinths bloom at the same time as the early daffodils and have a heavenly aroma. Plant them close to the house or the path where you can enjoy them.

For something truly spectacular plant a crown imperial (Fritillaria imperialis). It will grow to two or three feet tall , with a cluster of orange bell-like flowers hanging from the top of the stem. A show stopper.

You can plant different types of bulbs together for contrast and a display that lasts all spring, or just enjoy your favourites. But the choices you make now and the time you spend planting will give you your bright display of spring flowers.

Etheral, trained by Shiela Luxton, won the Melbourne Cup in 2001.

No New Zealand horse has won since then which is as good excuse as any to pick one for today.

The field for the race is:

If I knew what colours the jockeys would be wearing I’d base my bet on that.

Since I don’t, I’m using a foolproof system based on the birth dates of my family multiplied by the sum of the numerical values ascribed to each letter of the horse’s name, divided by 11 (the number of NZ horses running) measured against the attractiveness of the name.

The result – I’m backing Daffodil to win with Harris Tweed and C’est La Guerre for a place.

Big money has arrived for AJC Oaks winner Daffodil to win the Melbourne Cup with one massive bet struck at Sportingbet Australia.

Sportingbet Australia CEO Michael Sullivan said Daffodil shortened from $18 to $14 since the barrier draw on Saturday night as punters warmed to the mare.

“We took a bet of $300,000 to $20,000 on Daffodil along with a number of other good bets on the way in,” Sullivan said.

“Her win in the Oaks showed she is up to this class and her run in the Caulfield Cup suggests the 3200m will suit.

“She is certainly one of the top chances just below favourites Viewed and Alcopop.”

Viewed remains favourite at Sportingbet at $5.00 ahead of Alcopop at $5.50 and Roman Emperor at $9.00.

2009 MELBOURNE CUP
Sportingbet Australia Market

Viewed 5.00
Alcopop 5.50
Roman Emperor 9.00
Shocking 11.00
Master O’Reilly 13.00
Daffodil 14.00
Leica Ding 17.00
Changingoftheguard 18.00
Basaltico 21.00
Mourilyan 21.00
Allez Wonder 26.00
Warringah 26.00
C’est La Guerre 26.00
Newport 35.00
Munsef 51.00
Crime Scene 51.00
Fiumicino 61.00
Kibbutz 71.00
Ista Kareem 71.00
Zavite 71.00
Capecover 81.00
Harris Tweed 101.00
Gallion’s Reach 201.00
Spin Around 201.00

Day 2.

Dad just woke me up, about 5 hours before I would have prefferred to have been woken up. Have a busy day ahead of me, so just took a picture of a flower we are growing on our apartment balcony. Unlike yesterday, lack of saturation.

Amity Affliction tonight, and was considering maybe taking my camera, but not 100% sure yet. I might call later, to ensure I will definately be able to take it in.

I had to solve some administrative issues in Research 2 couple of hours ago and there was a 10 minutes gap between my active states. Within these 10 minutes I spotted in a corner outside this wild rose that was still in bloom. Imagine that. It’s almost November and not any kind of November, but a very cold one. The temperatures dropped suddenly this Fall, against all these global warming predictions. In all this gray atmosphere, where information adds up day by day in an exponential manner, knowing how to handle exceptions, people, tasks is a must. Actually, it’s more than a must, it’s all there is. Having that at hand, one can sleep fairly well.

But if we are talking about flowers, I guess I should write a post describing what a daffodil is. People keep asking what does it mean, why my blog is called as it is and it’s quite surprising to me. We are a fluent English-speaking community, aren’t we? Well, we are, if we are talking about movies, music, circuits, management, finance, literature, but things like flowers or fruits are always left behind, no one has time to learn those words. Today during lunch, a bunch of Romanians were trying to explain what a quince (gutuie) is, as none of us knew the English word for it. Quite sad, isn’t it?

Coming back to my flower, a daffodil is just a cute, tiny colorful spring flower, also known as narcissus. Even though “narcisă”  is the word used most for the flower in Romania, in the far east I come from there is a different word of supposedly Turkish origin: “zarnacadea”. Lady Daffodil is the 1-1 equivalent of the Romanian “Domnișoara Zarnacadea”, which sounds so gentle, so nice, so very home-like to me. And the English option is equally elegant, dreamy, magical. Starting with Dali’s Metamorphosis of Narcissus and ending with the white-orange Poet’s Daffodil, this tiny flower is a symbol of femininity, of past times, of recurrent Springs, of an interesting contrast between selfishness and openness, between pride and modesty, between fear and courage. No matter how terrible, how cold, how dark, how long a winter is, daffodils will always  pop up, in yellow, in orange, in bunches, bringing along sun, hope, smiles.

You know, at the end of the day maybe not all exceptions should be caught. Having a finally clause in our daily routine would not allow a wild rose in bloom in November. Daffodils would not be able to crash winter’s class, I would be doing some mathematical task instead of writing about this. Maybe sometimes we just need to gamble.

This past Friday was a Hallmark-imposed holiday–  Boss’s day.  Luckily, I benefited from the day and was gratefully surprised to get a special delivery of a beautiful bouquet of flowers.  The pink and violet colored arrangement smelled as sweet as it looked.  I placed the vase on my dining room table and couldn’t help but wonder why I don’t make a point of bringing in flowers more often.  They immediately lift up the entire spirit of the room.  Perhaps this is why they make such a fabulous gift that has never gone out of style.  It’s a luxury to purchase fresh flowers on a regular basis — a luxury we are very likely to reason against for budgetary purposes.  I probably will continue to go without fresh flowers on a daily basis.  But, I sure am enjoying this lovely floral gift for as long as it is fresh.

Flowers each have a symbolism that they are known for.  It’s fun to consider the meanings as you are making a decision on what flowers to give.  Here are some of the most common varieties and the best occasions and emotions to provide them for:

Baby’s Breath is a traditional filler flower for bouquets.   These delicate clusters of white flowers are associated with everlasting love, pureness and innocence.

Bird of Paradise is a striking, colorful flower that is spectacularly shaped like a bird’s beak and plumage.  The bright colored flower represents freedom, joy and paradise itself.  It is also the 9th wedding anniversary flower.

Calla Lily is a beautiful and majestic flower that is trumpet-shaped with large leaves, making it really stand out in a bouquet.  A single calla lily in a long stem vase makes a wonderful decoration.  The flower is associated with magnificent beauty.

Carnations have a long history that dates back more than 2,000 years and are rich with symbolism.  Today, they can be found in a wide range of colors and each color has its own meaning.  White is for pure love and good luck; light red stands for admiration; dark red represents deep love and affection;  pink stands for a mother’s undying love.  Carnations are the 1st wedding anniversary flower.

Daffodil is most commonly golden yellow in color.  A symbol of new beginnings and spring, they are thought to bring good luck to your home.  A gift of daffodils is said to ensure happiness.  Always give daffodils in a bunch, as a single daffodil bloom is considered to be unlucky.

Rose is a flower that has long been a symbol of love and passion.  As with carnations, there are many varieties and the color offers a specific meaning:  Red is the lover’s rose, symbolic of enduring passion and most symbolically impactful when given as a dozen; white is for humility and innocence; yellow expresses friendship and joy; pink means gratitude and appreciation; orange conveys enthusiasm and desire, purple roses tell of enchantment and love at first sight. 

Sunflower is among my very favorite flowers!  They have such a brilliant and distinctive appearance that I simply cannot resist.  Sunflowers turn their heads to the sun, which is the origin of their name.  This flower is associated with adoration and no other flower can lift spirits quite like a sunflower can.  Bright and cheery, this is the ideal choice for sending happiness and sunny thoughts.

As I enjoy my beautiful gift of flowers over the next several days, I’m going to let it be my reminder of how important it is to “stop and smell the roses” as I move along my path.  I also will be sure to pay it forward in the near future and send a heartwarming bouquet to someone special in my life.

Live each day colorfully…

Today I told a friend at school about this blog, and my what I wore today shit.

A while ago, when we started a new brief at school, I did a rant about how I didn’t want it to be a reflection upon myself, I didn’t want this “transition” that we had to do an artists book on, about myself – that I was over that, that was the sort of stuff I did enough of in year 12. My teacher proceeded to tell me that the first year of uni would have a lot of self reflection sort of work, I then told her, well I’d get to that when it gets here, but whilst having the choice I would rather not do anything that is a personal transition.

So I told lovely friend about these, and she brought up the conversation I had with my teacher, that I didn’t like “that sort of thing” – to my response was – “it’s not like that”. And I just wanted to point out that these “what i wore today” isn’t about self reflection – it’s mostly about practice. Drawing every day, drawing something that isn’t required for school. It gives me a theme to work on – and everything else is up to me. There is a certain level of discipline I feel more comfortable working under, and otherwise – I don’t even personally have to draw myself in it. I did today like that, because I thought I would include a reflective self portrait as well.

Also I feel like I should include that with the conversation I had with my teacher, stemmed from, my choice of what to make my Artist’s Book on – which was the story of Narcissus, who breaks a girls heart, and is cursed to fall in love with his own reflection – then turns into a flower (a daffodil). This is something I do not want to address with a personal spin. At all. Not in the slightest, as really – the ending is not as tragic as it could have been – Narcissus, instead of punished for being so self centred, and left to rot and be forgotten, has this myth of him, and flowers – flowers still around today, bright sunny bulbs, a constant reminder of Narcissus for those who know the story.

This three-part tutorial was fun and easy! You begin with a picture of a spring flower and using the spot healing brush, clean up any dust spots that were captured from the camera’s sensor when you took the photograph. Make the image more artistic looking using two methods: a hue/saturation layer and a levels layer. Sharpening the image also contributes to the artistic look. Crop the background out so that the flower is the predominant subject. Then add an artistic border, and you’re done. I also added an artistic filter to the daffodil to complement the border.

Uncropped Daffodil or "Before" image

Photo Art Results

In honour of  Daffodil Day last Friday I made this card. Ive been wanting to try this cardstock daffodil ever since I saw it and I got the perfect punches recently so the time was right!

Stamp Sets: Curvy Verses 116352 Set of 8 $46.95; Embrace Life 114269 Set of 5 $53.95

Cardstock: Whisper White; Certainly Celery; Apricot Appeal; Yoyo Yellow

Ink: Certainly Celery 105217 $13.95

Punches:Eyelet Border 113692 $35.95; Large Oval 107305 $35.95; Scallop Oval 114889 $35.95 (from Spring Mini)

Dauber  and ink used around the edge of the white card.

Dont forget to book for the Techniques Class on Thursday Night This month we are doing Reverse Masking and Repetition Stamping.

Ka Kite

Another quiet lazy weekend in the garden. We’ve had a couple of cabbage already, with Big M remarking that you can tell an organic one by all the live caterpillars tucked in the leaves.

Brisbane had it’s yearly Ekka without the usual strong westerly winds. Instead we had a flash of rain on our day off.

One of my red tulips has poked it’s head up. I was expecting the petals to come up closed and then open into their characteristic bowl shape when they have matured. One of the King Edward yellow daffodils is also flowering in the front yard.

We were chatting with our neighbour who unfortunately had their white picket fence spray painted with green graffiti tags. He commented that the days had started to warm up and remarked that we went straight from winter to summer in a week. The clover coming back was a sign of spring for him. Big M uses the leaves returning on the frangipani tree as his guide.

We have picked the unknown citrus that was green and is now going yellow. We’ve decided the only way to finally decide what it is, is to taste it. Will it be a lemon, lime or orange?

July: Orchid
July’s flower, the orchid, is associated with light heartedness and levity. Orchids can evoke the care-free days of summer we remember from our youth.

August: Gladiolus
The lovely gladiolus is the birthday flower for August. These flowers are named after the sword of the gladiator, and they carry a meaning of strength and sincerity.

September: Aster
The September birthday flower is the aster, which is often used to accent different types of mixed flower arrangements. In addition to representing daintiness, asters are also known as a symbol of love.

October: Marigold
The golden colors of autumn are displayed by the marigold, which makes them the ideal flower for October birthdays. Marigolds have come to be associated with affection.

November: Chrysanthemum
For the month of November, the chrysanthemum is the traditional birthday flower. Chrysanthemums represent cheerfulness due to the array of bright and vivid colors in which they are available.

December: Poinsettia
The poinsettia is the December birthday flower. Poinsettias traditionally symbolize success and good cheer and are very popular flowering plants around the holidays.

Nurse Jackie intertitle, image via Wikipedia

Following the framework of previously established dramadies on Showtime, Nurse Jackie aims to show the life of a RN working at a busy hospital who pops pills and leads a double life.

Nurse Jackie has already created some controversy because of its content. The show is for mature audiences and tells a story about a hard working nurse, dedicated to her job, but with a habit.

This show is a lot better than Hawthorne. I wasn’t immediately hooked, but the situations that Jackie gets herself into are amusing. She’s cheating on her devoted husband with her pharmacist, who supplies her with pills. She deals out her own kind of justice in order to make things right in her own eyes.

Nurse Jackie is entertaining. Even though I don’t always watch it immediately, I’ve caught up on the shows and I like it. Sorry about this late update as well, it took me a bit of time to find the files. They were squirreled away on another HD.

Warning: spoilers ahead.

* * * * *

Jackie is worried about her daughter Grace. She never draws suns and her pictures are devoid of color. Jackie is working a night shift and still showing Zoey the ropes. Gloria is there because she doesn’t like the socializing between the staff.

A patient named Dubenko had a stroke. He’s got some brain damage. A woman comes in with Lupus. Her daughter is too young to take care of her but Gloria wants Social Services called. Coop and Eddie bond over Quizno’s. Eleanor wants to take out Jackie, but she’s busy. She takes Zoey, who’s a trainwreck. She tells Eleanor that her dad is in prison for manslaughter.

Gloria tasers herself. It’s a welcome relief. Jackie comes home. Her husband says that Grace had a breakdown when her pencil kept breaking.

* * * * *

Relevant posts

• Hawthorne S01E01
• Nurse Jackie S01E01
• Nurse Jackie S01E02
• Nurse Jackie S01E03
• Nurse Jackie S01E04

Well, here’s a photo of a daffodil which has just flowered in my front garden, isn’t it lovely? (Try not to notice the weeds at its feet!) This means, of course, that the spring issue of Alphabet Soup magazine is just around the corner – it will be out next week!

What will you find inside?

• Q&A with Mark Greenwood, author of Simpson and His Donkey, The Legend of Moondyne Joe, and Fortuyn’s Ghost (among others!)
• Curiosity corner: a family growing their own vegies
• Stories and poems
• Writing by kids!
• Crossword
• Book reviews
• Writing tips for kids from The Book Chook
• Spring writing competition
• Design-a-cover competition

(You can subscribe to Alphabet Soup via our website – parents can order with a credit card online, or print off a form to post to us with a cheque. Subscribers with an Australian delivery address are entered into a draw each issue – this issue’s winner will receive a $200 book pack from Fremantle Press!)

Yes, this issue has a spring-is-in-the-air feel to it! Daffodils are easy to grow in Perth, and they suit my garden perfectly, as they don’t mind a bit of neglect! I do love to see their yellow trumpets bobbing about in spring. So – what’s growing in your garden at the moment?

As you begin making decisions about flowers for your wedding or as gifts to the special people in your life, consider each flower’s traditional meaning.   In the early 1900’s romance was often communicated with flowers.  A young man would present a red rose, which symbolized love, to a young woman.  She would return a purple pansy, which silently relayed the message “You are in my thoughts.”  Traditionally no words were spoken that would commit either party during this courtship, so knowing the language of flowers was of paramount importance if an accord was to be reached.  Today it is a charming idea to select flowers, and even herbs, that convey sentimental feelings between the bride and the groom or even between friends and family members.

acacia – friendship

agrimony – gratitude

ambrosia – love returned

anemone – expectation

apple blossoms – hope

aster – elegance

azalea – temperance

bay laurel – glory

calla lily – beauty

camellia – loveliness

daffodil – regard

forget-me-not – remembrance

freesia – innocence

gardenia – purity

ivy – fidelity

larkspur – laughter

laurel – peace

lilac – humility

lily – majesty

lily of the valley – happiness

myrtle – remembrance

orange blossom – purity

orchid – rare beauty

peony – bashfulness

rose – love

rosemary – remembrance

stephanotis – marital happiness

tulip – passion

Here is my latest offering.  Looks even sunnier in person:

Daniella bouquet from my Etsy store

Daffodil is the common name of the Narcissus (genus) of flowering plant