31 Dec 2011 - Rose Palace, Days 2 & 3

My friend Sharon arrived in town today, and came with me to the float barn, where we both worked on the City of Glendale float. I've worked on all three floats that my Escapees friend Gretchen is working on - City of Glendale, Lions International, and Loyola Marymount University - but spent more time on the City of Glendale float than any other. One of the things I'm happy about, is that I've gotten to do several different kinds of jobs over the past few days: gluing pieces of corn husks, gluing lentils, wiring roses, assisting Gretchen (who is the head florist on those three floats), tooth-picking carnations, and prepping mums. When you are watching the Rose Parade on Monday, know that the parade just couldn't have happened without my help!! :-) The carriage that the elephant is pulling on the Glendale float and the white flowers underneath the lion on the LMU float, would be especially bare!

I love seeing the rows and rows of beautiful colors.



I've thoroughly enjoyed learning about the process and the various techniques. I loved watching the floats take shape over the course of the past few days. What fun this has been!


I found out this week that where I am staying in the San Fernando Valley, is only four miles from the epicenter of the 1994 Northridge earthquake. Yikes! That kind of excitement I can do without while I'm here.

27 Dec 2011 - Rose Palace, Pasadena, CA

I am parked in front of my friend's house, in the San Fernando Valley. As I'm driving the Ventura Freeway, which I'm doing each day to get to Pasadena, and driving through Burbank, I can't help but think of "Laugh-In", which made these place names (and others) household words all over the nation, back in the 60s and 70s. "Laugh-In" was recorded in "beautiful downtown Burbank" and made stars of Goldie Hawn, Lily Tomlin, Henry Gibson, and others. (I'm also driving not far from Hollywood, Beverly Hills, and Universal City.)

I arrived here last evening. I'd forgotten how thick the smog is here; and I'd forgotten how the smog enhances the colors of the sunsets.

Although driving the LA freeways is not my idea of fun, especially in an RV, I have to admit that the view of the city lights in the valley down below was impressive, as the freeway went through the foothills, on my way home tonight.

Today I volunteered at the Rose Palace, one of the float barns where the floats are being decorated. Loved it! I met up with a small group of Escapees here, who are also volunteering. I was amazed at the sight of the thousands and thousands of roses, other flowers, and other plants, waiting to be prepared and used [photos of a very small section of them, at the top and above]. The float barn where I am volunteering (Phoenix Decorating) is filled with twelve of the floats, with hundreds of staff and volunteers climbing around on them, glueing, pasting, and working on the floats. It's an impressive hive of activity. My first job was to help a group glue some pieces of corn shucks onto the City of Glendale float. Then I worked on gluing salmon-colored lentils to the center of a daisy that will be part of the Lions International float. Such meticulous work. I am looking forward to watching them take shape over the next few days.

10 Dec 2011 - Holidays in Mesa

This is how they do Christmas in Arizona.

I went to see the Luminarias at the Desert Botanical Gardens with my niece Heather and her kids Tatum and Brady last night. I'd been to the Desert Botanical Gardens before, but not during Christmas, not during the luminarias display. Besides the hundreds of beautiful luminarias lining all the walks (with real candles in them!), and so many lights on the trees, we had fun searching out the big bugs scattered around the grounds, in amongst the cacti [→ damselfly]. The monster-sized bugs are a temporary display. My mind had trouble fathoming just how many hours it must have taken to get all the luminarias built and lit, and all the trees decorated. They had musicians scattered around the grounds as well. We enjoyed all of them, but especially the handbell choir, and the Native America flute. Tatum and Brady got to play bells for a few songs. The Arikara/Hidatsa/Mandan flute family was from a small town in North Dakota close to where Heather was raised - small world! It's country I've come to know well in my many recent trips to North Dakota, thanks to FEMA.

And tonight I went to the Fantasy of Lights Boat Parade in Tempe. I'd been to Lake Tempe during the day, but never before at Christmastime. There were over 60 boats in the parade. The reflections of all the lights on the shore, and the lights on the bridges, were pretty before the parade ever started. Then all these boats came drifting by, all lit up, most of them playing Christmas carols full-blast on their stero systems. It was all beautiful.


Oh, yeah. They had a short fireworks display at the end of the parade. I'm afraid after seeing the fireworks display-of-all-fireworks-displays at the IPG show in West Fargo, ND, last summer, any regular fireworks display is pretty ho, hum.