Relaxation is a must!

I love four day weekends. The possibility to relax is magnified exponentially! Or, I could say that I do not feel so guilty if I take an extra couple of hours to read the new Patricia Cornwell book, "Scarpetta", instead of doing homework. I can easily rationalize extra pleasure reading time, especially if the book is a really good murder mystery.
This was an interesting weekend because it was Valentine's Day. I went grocery shopping at Fred Meyer on Saturday. It was a madhouse, with all the men looking for roses for their sweethearts at the last minute-I had forgotten all about what day it was. In a former life, as in years ago, I was the florist at Fred Meyer on College Road. I really loved the job. I have some floral design experience, as well as an A.A. in Horticulture and Ornamental Plant production, and that education made it an easy job to do. The best part of the job was when people came in and asked you to make them a bouquet, or design an arrangement, or give advice on/and make bouquets for a wedding, without any pictures or visuals, and they really love the finished product! That made it a rewarding experience. No one realizes that, in order to have all those roses, carnations, and lilies in stock for their gift giving convenience on Valentine's Day, means that you have to order the flowers up to 6 months in advance, so that the flowers can be grown, and for 3 weeks beforehand the florist needs to slave to make room for the extra inventory, as well as increase the number of bouquets and bud vases that are made to sell, cash and carry, by about 500%. This does not include the bouquets that are made to order, or the single roses that are meant to be wrapped in paper. This 'holiday' is a real sap on manpower, you have to work like a dog.
My teen aged daughter and her friends tried to go out to dinner, as the "Singles group". They did not make reservations anywhere ahead of time, and gave up trying to get a table anywhere by 9 pm. They came back to our house because they decided to try to cook something at home, rather than continue to make the rounds with no success. By 9:30 they had eaten chicken sandwiches, and by 10 pm they were finished pouring through cook books and had decided to try their hand at bread baking. Since they had never made bread before I agreed to stay up and act as a consultant. By 1:15 am we were eating fresh baked bread! They learned some valuable lessons: proof your yeast beforehand, if your liquid is too hot it will kill it. Then you have to start all over again. They also learned that the amount of flour actually needed for the recipe varies with the weather. If it is cold and dry you will need less flour and a bit more liquid, if warm and humid you will need more.
A fun time was had by all-the girls who learned to make bread, and the parents who stayed up into the wee hours to get to eat it.