February 19, 2005  
Clifton Mill

It was a cold but beautiful February day with plenty of blue sky and sunshine as we journeyed to the Historic Clifton Mill to enjoy great company and a great breakfast.

Built in 1802, Clifton Mill is one of the largest water powered grist mills still in existence.  It was built in this location to take advantage of the natural power of the concentrated water funneled into the gorge from the Little Miami river.  While we waited for our table, the owner Mr. Satariano, gave us a short tour of the mill.

The room we toured located over a 15 foot drop to the water turbine below.  Needless to say we were glad we still had our coats on since the temperature was colder than the outdoors.  Alice, Madame Butterfly, tried her hand at starting the generator.

Everywhere we looked we saw colorful flour bags hanging from the walls and rafters.  Their collection of flour bags come from many mills, with some bags dating over 100 years old!  Many of the mills no longer exist but their bags live on in this collection of Americana.

Once our table was ready we had the task of selecting our meal from an extensive menu.  A favorite choice was the Millrace Country Breakfast, a hearty breakfast of three pancakes mixed next door at the mill.  When they say hardy, they mean hardy!!!!  The pancakes are huge and they are wonderful.  Some of the ladies opted for the Ostrich burger that was on the lunch menu and said it was very good.  Barbara, who talked "garbage mouth" had the Garbage Omelet which had everything in it but the kitchen sink.

Following breakfast Mr. Satariano presented each of us postcard of the mill.  We serenaded him with a rousing rendition of "For He's a Jolly Good Fellow" and our theme song "Roll our the Barrel".

Thank you to Mr. Satariano for being a wonder host and thank you Renee, Prime Ministress of Rulelessness for the goodies bags you gave each of us (chocolate is always welcome).  

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February 15, 2005  
Special Event

February 15, Queen Ruth, Mary Kay, and members of "The Ramblin' Roses" Red Hat Society chapter of Worthington, welcomed eight Flowers of "The Victorian Bouquets" to a special Valentine luncheon at the Griswold Senior Center.

Tables were laden with scrumptious salads, sandwiches, and lots and lots of wonderful desserts.  These goodies were donated by The Sunrise Assisted Living Center and The Outlook Manor in Westerville

A "Getting to Know You" paper was handed out with questions asked that had you go around the room and find the person that could answer that question.  It was fun getting to know the ladies.  Another game called "Did You Ever?" was played that asked 18 questions like, "Did you ever lock your keys in the car?"  Questions that really told how sharp your mind could be or could not be.  Guess who won that one!?!?!  (and not on sharpness!)

Mary Kay and our own Lola, Lady Gardenia, who is also a member of The Rambling's Roses, demonstrated beautiful ways to "Use your Dickie", fold and wear scarves.

A lovely afternoon was had by all and we look forward to sharing another event with these wonderful "Roses"!  

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Columbus Area Queens Tea  
February 5, 2005

Queen Marilyn and Contessa of Creative Spirit Carole attended the Columbus Area Queens Tea on February 5 at the Der Dutchman in Plain City with 36 area Queens in attendance.  What fun to meet and mingle with our fellow Red Hatters!  Queen Beth from the Gahanna Gadabouts and Queen Sue from the Greatful Red planned this great event.  They had everything planned from our "Red Hat Survival Goodie Bags" to the door prizes awarded prior to the delicious "family style" meal.

Guest speakers were Queen Faye Ann from the Crimson Crested Buckeyes and Queen Bee Sharon from We Are Sisters at Heart. Queen Faye Ann, who's chapter was the first in Columbus, shared with us some ideas for events and games while Queen Bee Sharon from We Are Sister's At Heart in Urbana shared with us tips on having a successful chapter.

Each Queen was asked to wrap some form of memorabilia from one of our chapter's evenst that had special meaning.  As a gift was chosen, the Queen who brought the package would open the package and explain the item.  It was interesting to see the item and to hear about the event that it came from.

One chapter had a "Hat decorating contest" with hats made from non-hat type articles.  Her item was a pillbox hat, which was made out of a cardboard box (red of course) decorated with pillboxes and band-aids.  Another Co-Queen displayed a bobble head flamingo complete with purple outfit and red hat, which had been used as a table decoration at a luncheon.  She explained that everyone in their chapter tries to outdo each other with table decorations for their event.  The flamingo was brought back from chapter's Queen when she returned from a winter in Florida.  One by one each package was opened and an event was shared.

It was wonderful afternoon spent with other Red Hat Queens as we shared ideas and joined in laughter.  Let's hope this becomes a regular event!  

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January 22, 2005  
Buca Di Beppo

Snow, sleet, rain, or ice could not discourage twenty determined Flowers of the Victorian Bouquet from gathering for love and laughter at Buca di Beppo.  

Queens Marilyn and Carole, along with chapter members, welcomed three visiting ladies, who came to "test the waters" to see if they would feel comfortable with the "gang".

Lola, Lady Gardenia, also brought a visitor, Mary Kay, a Pink Hatter from the Ramblin' Roses chapter from Worthington.  Mary Kay came with an invitation to all the Flowers, to join in a Valentine celebration including a luncheon and games with the Roses.

Kazoos were played and clackers clacked as we awaited our meals. 

Buca is a family style restaurant and very large portions are served.  Mary Kay and Lady Leprechaun, Rosemary, with  rumbling tummies, thought they could take on a pound and a half meat ball!

As always, the time went by far too quickly.  As we bundled up to face the cold and snowy weather, we left for home to look forward to our next gathering.  

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December 11, 2004  
Christmas Party

A more beautiful Christmas bouquet has never been gathered as on December 11 at The Duchess of Windsor, Lois' home to celebrate the holiday season!

Twenty-two flowers brought covered dishes and gifts to share.  We even had a visitor, Vera Skeeney, Lady Lanky Legs, who had an honorary seat.

It was a chilly day, so the first line formed around the punch bowls which held ingredients that were sure to warm you to the toes!

The Duchess had beautifully laden tables set throughout her lovely victorian home.

Dinner was buffet style with many varied dishes.

Jennica, Ragamuffin Mom, thought if she cozied up to Mrs. Claus,( fondly known as Princess Happy heart) she would certainly receive everything and maybe more on her Santa list!

After completely stuffing ourselves, Duchess Lois surprised the Queens, Marilyn and Contessa Carole, with stockings filled with royal goodies!....Even scepters that every queen should carry.  The Royal March began!

Lovely gifts were exchanged and lots of oohs and ahhs were heard throughout! Games were played and senior minds were tested....which, I might add, still proved to be quite sharp!

There were no losers, as Duchess Lois passed around bags of prizes from which everyone could choose!

What a delightful time was had by all!  As each flower made their way out the door, hugs were shared and heartfelt "Thank yous!" and wishes to everyone to have a ....

MERRY CHRISTMAS & HAPPY HANUKKAH!

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December 3, 2004
Westerville Tree Lighting

The weather was clear and cold as we gathered to do some caroling and to join the candlelit festivities at the Westerville tree lighting ceremony.  We joined in singing Christmas carols along with the community band in front of city hall where we where joined by Queen Kim from the Fiesty Flamingo Hatters of Westerville and her family.

To warm up Carole, Contessa of Creative Spirit invited us all back to her house for some cookies and hot cocoa.  We were welcomed by the colonial torch light in her front yard as we entered her beautifully decorated house where we found a beautiful table spread out with wonderful tea breads, cookies, and sweets.  We even had a roaring fire in the fireplace to help us warm up.

Our evening was filled with great food, great company, and great conversation.

Everyone got in the spirit of Christmas and the spirit of the Red Hat Society, even the reindeer!  

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November 13, 2004  
Statehouse Tour & Lunch

Cyndy, Mistress of the Frugal Warderobe Extraodinare greeted each of us at the Statehouse in period costume from 1861 as we gathered for our tour and luncheon.  Ever the perfect hostess, Cyndy had decorated the tables with colorful table settings, plumes, soap, nuts, and candies.  She even had a table with small gifts laid out.

We gathered in front of the stage coach located in the Crypt for a group photo and then to the elevator for a short ride up.  The question we asked was "how many Red Hatters can you get on an elevator?"  The answer, "not many, most of us are claustrophobic", but it does beat taking the stairs.

We took a moment to view one of the light courts that were designed as a practical solution for lighting interior rooms and then to the George Washington Williams Memorial, which honors Ohio's first African-American state legislator.  We found our spot to sit and relax in the parlor as Cyndy fascinated each of us with information about early period homes and of the history of George Washington Williams.

We visited the beautiful Senate Chambers and were fooled by the gray pedestal on the wall behind the marble dais The pedestal appeared three-dimensional but it was really a two-dimensional painting.  This painting is an example of "trompe l'oeil" which is french for "fool the eye".  

The Rotunda with it's 29-foot wide skylight to the hand-cut marble floor was the next stop on our tour.  The floor symbolized U.S. history as of 1860 with stones representing the 13 original colonies and the 32 points in the starburst representing the number of states in the Union when the floor was laid.  Artwork by William Powell, "Perry's Victory", hangs in the Rotunda and just outside the Rotunda hangs the painting "The Signing of the Treaty of Greene Ville", which was painted by Howard Chandler Christy.

The Atrium, which connects the Statehouse with the Senate Building, was just a short distance from the Rotunda.  Upon entering found a Victorian decorated Christmas tree.

Before the Atrium was built, the area was know as "Pigeon Run" after the pigeons who gathered on the rooftops and made traveling between the two buildings challenging.  A former resident (freeze dried) can be found perched on the entrance to the Senate Building.

After visiting the Grand Stair Hall in the Senate Building we made our way back to the café through the map room.  A wonderful box lunch awaited us and Cyndy had some tricks up her sleeves, she had put numbers under several placemats.  If you had a lucky placemat you won a door prize!  Ever the teacher she also gave us a pop quiz to see if we really had been listening during the tour.  

 All too soon we bid each other a farewell and looked forward to our next gathering.  Thank you Cyndy for such a wonderful event!

We caught Cyndy trying to get into the car, a perfect example of how a lady gets into her carriage. 

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October 23, 2004  
BB Riverboat Cruise

"Cruising down the river on a Sunday afternoon  
With one you love, the sun above  
Waiting for the moon.  
An old accordion playing a sentimental tune  
Cruising down the river on a Sunday afternoon."

Well ok, it was a Saturday afternoon, we do love our Red Hat sisters, it was an overcast day, we wanted to see the sun not the moon, and we had a banjo player playing the old standards but we did go "cruising down the river"!

We gathered at the dock, boarded the River Queen,  and were joined by two lovely Red Hatters from Ohio River Beach RHS in Cincinnati, Donna and Queen Pea/Pat, from the "Ya Ya Royal Sisterhood of Chocolate Lovers Of the Crimson Feather Tribe", made a slight detour and then settled down for lunch.

Even though the day was overcast we made the best of it. We had a great buffet lunch followed by a little site seeing from deck, and bingo playing in the parlor.  Prime Ministress of Rulelessness Renee even won a game.

We had a rousing time in Red Hat spirit playing our 88 kazoos and clackers accompanied the banjo player.

All too soon we docked back at the pier and one by one we came down the gangway.  

Back to Westerville we drove after another wonderful day with our Red Hat sisters. As a side note, I heard a few of us wandered off to Circleville for the Pumpkin Festival, but that's another story.  

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September 18, 2004  
Waynesville Antiques & Lunch  
Cobblestone Village Cafe Waynesville OH

Autumn was in the air as we grabbed our sweaters and gathered for our shopping excursion to "The Antiques Capital of the Midwest", Waynesville.  We arrived to do a few minutes of browsing before we sat down for lunch at the Cobblestone Village Cafe.

After we browsed the menu and decided what to order drinks and bread were served as some of us donned our bibs getting ready for the main event!

After a great lunch we thanked the chef, grabbed our maps, and headed off the shop.

Waynesville has something for everyone; antique shops, specialty shops, collectables, art galleries, furniture stores, and a selection of places to dine and lodge.

What a beautiful day for antiquing and what a beautiful group of ladies!  

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August 21, 2004  
Picnic in the Park  
Coffman Park Amphitheater  

Hot, hot, hot...that's the best description of our picnic in the park. We could not have picked a hotter or more humid day if we tried. We gathered under the green and white canopy of the Coffman Park Amphitheater in Dublin for an afternoon of dining, games, and socializing.

Mistress of the Frugal Wardrobe Extraordinare Cyndy made sure we had dessert first as she dished out a slice of raspberry pie with a dollop of vanilla ice cream for each of us as we formed a line to go through the buffet table.

The ice cream would have melted if she hadn't. We moved through the buffet line and settled down to eat. It was such a hot afternoon, we relaxed our "rules" and didn't scold anyone for taking off their hat.

We played several games of Red Hat Bingo and awarded prizes to the lucky winners. Unfortunately I never seemed to have "hat box" on my card and it was called every game. Despite the heat, the somewhat wilted flowers had another successful event laughing with our Red Hat sisters. We came up with a new rule, future picnics will be held in the fall.  

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August 15, 2004  
Kauffmans Special Event

The Flowers of the Victorian Bouquet want to thank Louise Pillifant, Personal Shopper for Kaufmann's Polaris, for working so hard in organizing a wonderful Red Hat brunch, Sunday morning, August 15, 2004. Louise created and put together ALL the food, door prizes, decorations, and the lovely Maxine.

Between 300 and 400 Red and Pink Hatters partook in the tasty brunch laden with bagels, fruit, cakes, cookies, and coffee.

Door prizes were awarded and two of our lucky flowers won!! Marilyn, Lady Butterfly & Linda, Duchess of Carousels. We all took advantage of the special discounts while shopping.

Thank you again, Louise, for a lovely morning and a chance to meet and greet some of our Red and Pink Hat sisters.  

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July 31 , 2004  
Scioto Downs

The Victorian Bouquets celebrated a night at the races beginning with liquid refreshments, modeling our new purses, dinner, and racing. The second race of the evening was named "Victorian Bouquets".

It was fun seeing our name printed in the program and appearing on the score board in the center of the track.  Just before race time we were escorted to the winner's circle to watch "our" race. We received cheers and applause from the audience. As we waited for the start of the race a gentleman inquired if we were the group that was "kicked out of Polaris". We assured him that yes, we were indeed the same group. Our reputation precedes us!  

It was exciting watching the race so close to the track. We watched as they crossed the finish line with #5 Reasonable Doubt finishing first! The winner trotted to the winner's circle where we presented him with a blanket (purple with red lettering) with our name on it.

After studying the program and trying our hand at betting, some of our lucky ladies where just that, Lucky Ladies!  

Those of us that had no luck just sat back and cheered the winners on.  We all had a great time and are looking forward to next year.  

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July 3, 2004  
Westerville 4th of July Parade

We had a slight change of plans for our entry in the Westerville 4th of July Parade. Here is what we rented ...  

  ... at the last minute, here is what COTA was planning on sending:

What a difference!

We were determined to celebrate the 4th of July with our Red Hat sisters so we put our Red Hat Thinking Caps on and decided to use our own vans. We had the banners, we had the balloons, and we had a Big Red Hattitude.

Friday night Contessa Carole and Queen Marilyn got together for a trial run of just how we where going to decorate the vans.

Early Saturday morning our group arrived to join in the fun.  In no time at all we were decorated and ready to go.

We welcomed our new members Anita, Diana, and Cecilia.

Fourteen Flowers of the Bouquet had a great time visiting, laughing, kazoo playing, and handing out candy and kazoos.

The Victorian Bouquets were finally able to show Westerville what Red Hatting is all about.....Red and purple colors and FUN!

We had so much fun, we're planning on doing it again next year! We even helped a "fallen judge" who was suffering from heat stroke. We put him into the back of a van and Princess Happy Heart Vicki (who is a nurse) tended to him until we could get him help at the end of the parade route.

A big "Thank You" goes to our sponsors, The Treasure Trove and Embroidery Deluxe located in Hanby Square. The Treasure Trove carries a great selection of Red Hat items and Embroidery Deluxe has a large selection of Red Hat designs to embroider on anything (they did the backs of our shirts).  

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May 22, 2004  
Spaghetti Warehouse & 'Arsenic and Old Lace'

The Victorian Bouquets enjoyed the company of two visiting Red Hat sisters at the Spaghetti Warehouse for dinner. Queen Ponderous Plucky Peggy from the Red River Rosies of Plano Texas and Passionate Princess of Playfulness Pat's friend, Donna, from the Loyal Royal Sisterhood of Chocolate Lovers of Cincinnati.

The restaurant was filled with Prom goers and families celebrating birthdays and anniversaries. We serenaded several birthday parties on our kazoos and gave our waiter our best rendition of "For He's a Jolly Good Fellow".

After quickly paying our checks we dashed off in time to make CATCO's performance of 'Arsenic and Old Lace'. The play was very entertaining and the talent of the performers was excellent.

In keeping with the tradition of the Victorian Bouquets, we almost got thrown out for taking a picture during intermission.  

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May 1 , 2004  
Tea with the Grumpy Gourmet

The Victorian Bouquets spent a delightful afternoon at the Hilton at Easton Town Center in Columbus enjoying a delicious afternoon tea with Columbus' own Grumpy Gourmet.

Doral Chenoweth, the Grumpy Gourmet, writes for the Columbus Dispatch.  He writes two columns weekly," Re$taurant$ " and "Toque of the Town", for the Dispatch Business section.  He is the author of the chef biographies for the 2003 Gourmet Galaxy Cafe Cookbook.

The tables were adorned with luscious scones, petifours, several assortments of tea sandwiches, fruit, and chocolates.  Tea of your choice, was of course, served.

The Grumpy Gourmet entertained our ladies with amusing stories and recommendations on all the best restaurants near and far and in his own sweet way, advised us against others.

Mr. Chenoweth gave everyone an autographed copy of the "2003 Gourmet Galaxy Cafe Cookbook" featuring recipes from Columbus' top chefs.

Kazoos were raised in the Grump's honor and he was presented with his own goodie bag containing a kazoo, clacker, and special lips.

We want to thank our Marvelous Madame of Mystery, Judy for   arranging this lovely afternoon.  

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April 25, 2004  
National Red Hat Day - Easton Town Center

The weather didn't dampen our spirits as we began to gather in front of Chico's for a special Red Hat wardrobe party.   The doors were opened a few minutes before at 10:00 am by a gentleman dressed in a tux with purple bow tie and cummerbund.

They went out of their way to cater to us with coffee and bagels and a wonder selection of clothing and jewelry in purple and red.

Thank you Chico's!

In the true spirit of the Red Hats, a group had gathered at Barnes & Noble to purchase the new book by our EQM and to enjoy desert and coffee, before lunch.

The Victorian Bouquets gathered at Brio for lunch and to welcome our newest member Rosemary and to enjoy the company of Jeanette who was visiting from New Jersey.

Lazarus put on a wonderful fashion show for us and passed out goodie bags for those in attendance.

A special thank you to Cheryl & Co., Mom & Me, and Color Your World for having Red Hat items and displays to welcome us.  A big thank you the the management of Easton for welcoming us for a special day.  

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April 17, 2004
Color Your World and Brio

We had a great time painting our pottery at Color Your World.  I saw a hat 'penny bank', an elephant, a treasure box, a cross, a star, and a hat being painted.  I was busy painting a colorful fish and before I knew it, it was time to head to Brio for lunch.

The food at Brio was so good even though there was a mix-up on our Contessa's order and a few ladies were served long after the rest of us.  There was a problem with the computer in the kitchen.  Contessa ordered a pizza and was served a sandwich.  She asked the server 'is this the pizza' to which the server said yes!   In true Red Hat spirit we just laughed and joked about it.

The Victorian Bouquets would like to welcome our two newest flowers, Alice and Joyce.  Welcome!  

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March 20, 2004  
The Scented Geranium  
Our First Anniversary!

Twenty-one members of the Bouquet gathered together at The Scented Geranium March 20th to celebrate the first anniversary of their registration into the Red Hat Society.

Princess Daughter, Mary, and her son Benjamin from New Hampshire joined the celebration. We were so happy to have them especially since it was thanks to Mary that Queen Marilyn decided to join forces with Contessa Carole to gather beautiful flowers and create the Victorian Bouquets.

The Bouquet welcomed two new flowers, Cathy and Marilyn B. Princess Mary, also, officially took her vows.

What a wonderful sight to see so many lovely faces and their beautiful red and pink hats! How far we have come in one year.

Of course, there was much laughter, talented kazoo playing and lots of plans made for the coming year.

Roberta, too, had a good time. However, she was more excited about her upcoming trip to San Diego with Donna, Divine Diva of Disorder. Stay tuned for details and pictures of their trip.