Friday, February 16, 2007

The Bush Club

I love flowers. I told my hubby that I know heaven has flowers, and if I wake up after I'm dead and there are no flowers, I'll know I ended up in the wrong place.

The first few years in our house, I went wild with the flowers. Planted dozens of bulbs and tons of annuals. But we had this forsythia bush that simply would NOT bloom. It's been there forever, and it's huge -- over six feet tall, I'd bet, and spreads way out, but it just wouldn't flower. But that didn't matter to the kids, cause they turned it into The Bush Club.

The inside of the plant was curved into a C shape, so there was enough room for them to climb in and sit down, and no one could really see them. They loved it, cause it was their private little place. They'd get in there and have "meetings". Drag toys in there, eat lunch, and just have fun. At one point, ds and his friends p*ssed off dd when they put a "Boys Only" sign outside it, a la Little Rascals "He Man Woman Haters Club." They played in that crazy bush forever - or at least till they wouldn't fit anymore. Looking at it now, I can't believe they ever fit, cause it is not a very big place in there, but they practically lived there in the warmer months.

One day, we were at the doctor's, and when we were checking out, the kids were talking about playing in The Bush Club when they got home. The girl across the counter asked if we lived on a certain street -- and I told her yes. Turns out she was a good friend of our next door neighbor, who had told her all about The Bush Club. It had gained a certain fame, I guess.

I did eventually figure out how to get that forsythia to bloom, although Indiana weather sometimes kills it midbloom. Nonetheless, that bush will be there forever, and some day those kids will show it to their kids, and maybe there will be meetings again.

And so, in honor of The Bush Club, here's a cute vintage style dress with an African violet print, offered to you from Macqueen*Bee Boutique on ebay. Yeah, I don't usually feature non-vintage, but this is such a cute vintage style AND it's Betsy Johnson, that I couldn't resist. Plus, I have an African violet on my kitchen counter that hasn't bloomed in at least five years, so it's a motivational issue. Enjoy!

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