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Valentine's to Mardi Gras

The best time to hang your roses for drying is when they look their best. When they have opened to their fullest and are still standing upright, that is the best time to pull them out of the vase, clip off the bottom couple of inches of wet stems, and tie them tight-ideally with the ribbon that came with them. I usually remove the ferns from the bouquet but keep the baby's breath intact and wrap a rubberband tightly around the stems before I pull the ribbon around. While the roses dry, they shrink. The rubber band can be tightened as needed. I hang my bunch over the woodstove so they dry quickly and retain their beautiful color - this year I got purple roses!!

At this time, I also finally get the very last of Christmas packed away. I've been able to get away with all the red velvet adorning everything in sight because of snow coverage and red's significance with Valentine's. But I am finally sick of it and ready to decorate for Mardi Gras!!

 I was in New Orleans very recently so of course this helps to set the pace. Purple (symbolizing justice), green (symbolizing faith), and gold (symbolizing power)are the Mardi Gras colors. For me, these colors also signify the coming of spring. I would include pink but I am tired of it from Valentine's. (It is very much a Mother's Day color tho...) Anyways, I decorate my windows and wreaths with many beads, lights in the Mardi Gras colors, plastic hot peppers that fit over the holiday lights, shiny ribbon, and masks. Each year I seem to acquire more and more fun stuff to decorate with. I even found a dancing babies screen saver. We throw a big party encouraging guests to bring either a spicey appetizer or a decadent dessert. My husband loves to cook Cajun food - jambalaya, gumbo, shrimp....it's wonderful! And of course we have the king cake with the baby hidden inside. The children decorate their own masks and parade through the house! What brings this all together is the wonderful beat of Cajun and Zydeco music.

 When the party is over, I do pack away just about everything leaving some non-glitzy purple items out in reverence of lent. I will only bring about some fun green stuff when St. Patrick's Day rolls around. Finally, when Easter and spring come I will enjoy decorating with live plants again!!

2/20/01