Pink Saturday and Pink Christmas Cactus

Last week I had a happy surprise…Mother’s Christmas cactus is blooming…

 

It’s tucked away on the screened porch that we use as a makeshift greenhouse during winter. I was watering before leaving for a pre-Christmas vacation when it caught me by surprise…like a little gift from my mother who had passed away in April. It still had lots of unopened buds ., but by the time we returned…

Many more were open and looking festive for Christmas. They bloom at Christmas and have a lovely legend attached to their history.

 http://www.santalives.com/LegendChristmasCactus.html

The blooms will continue to open for the rest of the week and will finish around January 6. It’s a perfect and fitting tribute to Mother’s green thumb. I’ll admit to being a bit emotional when I first realized they were starting to flower.  I’ve been thinking of this first Christmas without my mother and how many ornaments she made over the years. So I got to work…

I am just finishing a set of ornaments that I made for my nieces using some of Mother’s  costume jewelry. Like this orchid pin…

I added it to a large gold ornament that has been tied up with gold ribbon…

And now a pin that would lie in the bottom of a jewelry box will now be enjoyed every Christmas for many years to come…

This Pink and red bee looks perfect sitting amid the ribbon on this oversized ornament…

I made three of these large ornaments…

One has the bee for Kate, another has an owl with bright aqua eyes for Kendra and for Kara,  the orchid.  Next year I’ll use some of Mother’s earrings to create smaller versions using some of our old family ornaments.  In 2009 Mother and I picked several of her Christmas pins and pendants to do the same thing with similar ornaments.

I’m glad she got to give those to her granddaughters while she was still with us. Now, the girls will have some nice treasures for their own someday trees.

We’ll be celebrating at my sister’s home with traditional Texas fare…tamales, chili, beans, queso, guacamole, and pecan pie.

We look forward to visiting each other as we stop by to get the list of Pink Saturday posts from Beverly at How Sweet the Sound. Thanks for stopping by Riverside Studios. May your Christmas be filled with Joy as you enjoy the Blessings of the Season. Pray for Peace.