If you’ve been reading my blog forever you probably know that I grow orchids.  I love them so much.  It has been quite a journey for me because I had a lot of learning to do before I finally got one to re-bloom after bringing it home.  Books were read, websites were visited, and there was a lot of trial and error (mostly error).  I killed a lot of orchids, sadly, but now I have been able to get three of my phalaenopsis orchids to bloom and one of my dendrobiums.

I honestly don’t know what got into me the day I considered propagating my plants.  It was merely a thought so I looked it up in one of my books and immediately dove into hand-pollination.  Like a bee, I ran wildly about the living room with toothpicks taking pollen from one orchid and putting it into another.  Like a dummy, though, I didn’t really keep track of whose pollen was going where.  I am pretty sure that the ones that appear to have taken are crosses of each other.  I have three different colored orchids but one of them did not take any of the pollen successfully.

The purple and white ones did.  Yay!  It’s almost like pregnancy, this wait.  I’ll know better if I’m going to have seed pods in a few months.  From what I’ve read, it takes around 180 days for phalaenopsis seed pods to ripen.  I’ve already contacted a flasking service to send my seed.  It will basically only cost me shipping and once they flask my seeds I have to wait some more for babies to grow.  Orchid seeds can only grow off of a certain fungus found where they originated (rainforests, etc.).  Instead of setting up my own laboratory, I’d much rather send my pods to professionals.  When the seedlings are mature, they’ll send me one flask for free which will have about 25 baby orchids!

Of course, all of this is going to take a long time.  By the time I get the seedlings, it’ll probably be next year.  What I hope is that we’ll have a little greenhouse by then.  I can keep the seedlings in a “community pot” for a while but there isn’t much room on my living room desk for 25 orchids.  Not that I plan on keeping all of them, but still.  If I grow them in a greenhouse I’ll be able to get more uniformity in their growing and perhaps be able to sell them to a nursery or two once they’re blooming (in five years!).

Ah, surrogacy.  I feel like a new mom all over again.

While I’m on the topic of gardening, I really need to repot all of my African violets, the poinsettia I nearly killed, and figure out when we should go to get all the tulips for the front garden.  I want to recreate a flower bed we saw at the Riverbanks Zoo three years ago.  It had petunias and contrasting tuliips.  So pretty.  Guess I’ll be googling some gardening info today.

Check it out: my orchid is so close to blooming, I can hardly stand it!  I’m still amazed that I’ve managed not to kill this thing.  You know how many phals I killed before this one?  No, you don’t really want to know.

My orchid is spiking again!  I wasn’t sure if that little green growth was going to be a root, but since it didn’t turn white, I’m positive it’s another spike.  This is certainly the happiest phalaenopsis orchid I’ve ever owned, considering this is the second time it has spiked for me.  I’m so glad I figured out how to stop killing them.  Now I just need to find out what I’m doing wrong with my dendrobium orchids.  I have four in the house that have not spiked in years…

We didn’t do much Friday night because, for once, I didn’t have to go anywhere! So we made dinner & hung out around the house. Jamie and I started watching “Capote” but turned it off half-way through and went to bed.

Saturday afternoon, Jamie’s parents took Corey & Aiden over to their house. They planned on going to the movies, but “Barnyard” was sold out. They picked up a couple videos instead.

Meanwhile, Jamie and I went grocery shopping with Simon. How romantic, I know! But…as I was strapping Simon in his carseat in the parking lot, a woman approached me & asked about my wrap. I wish I’d been wearing the Moby instead of the SPoC, but she still wanted to know where she could get one & I gave her my card, told her I’d help her learn all about them, etc, etc.

Business is still painfully slow, I’m afraid. There just doesn’t seem to be much of a market for AP parenting stuff around here. I’m trying to “educate” a newly pregnant couple at church right now. They’ve never heard of the Bradly Method, so I’m letting them borrow my book & giving them my coach’s number. The mama already expressed interest in a pouch sling & I offered to help her learn how to use it. I get so giddy when I talk about sling & diapers. It’s so ridiculous!

I am so close to finishing my tier skirt! It’s taken me so long because every time I sit down to work on it, Simon fusses or the kids need me. I haven’t been able to spend more than a few minutes at a time on it. Last night, though, Jamie held Simon while I finished the bottom tier, hemmed it and started on the elastic casing on the waist. I’m calling this, “The Skirt that Doesn’t Want to be Made,” because while I was sewing the waist, I ran out of bobbin thread. This wouldn’t be so bad except I’m almost out of white thread as it is! Who knows when it’ll finally be done.

In garden news, the African violet I saved from Certain Death is flowering! Isn’t it pretty? I still can’t believe I managed to clone the dying one & have it survive. Sadly, though, the motherless orchid keiki I’ve been nursing finally kicked it & I had to toss it. One of Jamie’s bonsai’s died, too.

We also still need to get some new fish. Our tank is so barren!

The boys are watching “Muppet Treasure Island” for the first time. I may make trips to the library a weekly event so we can all get out of the house and they can watch something different on tv. PBS sure does get monotonous.

Our adventure into town for Father’s Day shopping was…interesting. I had to pull over once on the way there and once on the way back in order to calm down the baby. He happily rested in the sling once we were actually shopping. I’m doing something a little different than what I originally planned, but I think he’ll like it. It’s hard not having enough of my own money to get him nice stuff like he gets for me. I’ll have to finish the project tomorrow, though. I’m not motivated enough right now.

Two moonflowers are opening tonight! There are so many flower buds on the plants and I can’t wait until like three or four are open at a time. It’ll be so pretty. In other gardening news, the orchid I rescued from Lowe’s all that time ago is growing what looks to be either a new root or a spike! I reeeeeally hope it’s a spike. I want to be surrounded by flowers! The dendrobium is growing a huge network of new roots, too, so I hope it flowers soon.

My NFB kit is on its way today! UPS usually delivers our packages to my in-law’s house and they are the last delivery of the day. So…around five, I may mosey on over there to get it. I don’t think I can wait until dh gets home.

Tonight’s menu: Pasta bake!