Santa Blogs XXXVI

Dear Santa Blogs,      I’ve been checking all over these sno-=covered Interwebs, and I am still confused about the True Meaning of Christmas.  I figured you had nothing better to do, so can you explain, please?                                                                                                   PHILOSOPHER Dear Phil:      On the whole, I would rather deal with a battalion of kids askingContinue reading “Santa Blogs XXXVI”

Ranunculus to You, Mimosa to Nuts

MIMOSA   “Sensitiveness”             Also known as the Sensitive Plant, because it closes its leaves when touched.  According to the Greeks, it was originally a woman named Cephisa who, fleeing from Pan, was turned into a plant.  She still shrinks from the touch of men.  (And women, by the way.)             Some books list “Sensibility” forContinue reading “Ranunculus to You, Mimosa to Nuts”

Obscure AND Famous

     People have had their portraits on postcards for sundry reasons.  Some are so famous that postcard companies print pictures of them, knowing the public will buy famous faces.  Others pay to have postcards printed of them in HOPES of  celebrity.  Sometimes that worked and the people became famous enough that the postcard companies paidContinue reading “Obscure AND Famous”

Ranunculus to You: Lobelia to Millet

LOBELIA   “Malevolence”             I am told this can be poisonous if taken in large quantities.  I do not wish to know who ate enough Lobelia to find that out.  Our ancestors also called this Gagroot and Vomitroot, so apparently a lot of people tried it. LOCUST   “Affection Beyond the Grave” LOCUST, HONEY   “Sweetness” LONDON-PRIDE   “Frivolity”Continue reading “Ranunculus to You: Lobelia to Millet”

Recipes for Turkeys (um….)

     I was thinking of doing one more column discussing synonyms for the human seat which have turned up on postcards over the years, but as people have suggested they find this subject tiresome, we will move on to those turkey recipes I mentioned a couple of weeks ago instead.  (Keeping in mind that thisContinue reading “Recipes for Turkeys (um….)”

Ranunculus to You: Larkspur to Liverwort

                                                            L LARKSPUR   “Pensive Beauty” Lad’s Love:   see SOUTHERNWOOD LADY’S MANTLE   “Fashion”             Plantlorists tend to make any reference to a lady in a flower name symbolic of the Virgin Mary.  Floriographers seem not to have seen it that way. LADY’S SLIPPER   “Capricious beauty” *LADY’S TRESSES   “Bewitching Grace” LAGERSTRAEMIA   “Eloquence”             This is sometimes calledContinue reading “Ranunculus to You: Larkspur to Liverwort”