Our Third Year

There is nothing like a home cooked meal.

The Victorian Bouquets found a wonderful home cooked meal waiting for them at the Der Dutchman in Plain City.  Der Dutchman is know for their family style meals as well as their freshly baked bread and their home style desserts. Seventeen flowers gathered round the table as we feasted on everything from soup to coconut cream pie!

Miladay Fifi was our  hostess and she presented each of us a set of flashing teeth and a wonderful Red Hat coaster.  It was fun watching all of the ladies try their teeth on for size.  Some were successful and some were not.  

We talked, laughed, and heard some great stories.  After lunch we found some time to wander through the bakery and to visit Carlisle Gifts where we found Red Hat items on sale!!!!  It may have been cold outside but it's always warm when we get together.

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Fourteen Flowers of the Victorian Bouquet attended a lovely Valentine Tea on February 11, hosted by the Reynoldsburg Tomahtoe Town Tootsies.

It was amazing to see so many beautiful Red and Pink Hatters.  We came together with old friends and certainly made some new friends too.  There were actually 156 ladies in attendance from 27 chapters.

The tea was the first large event hosted by the Tootsies and they welcomed us all beautifully!  Each table had a centerpiece of red carnations, two teapots in many different forms with baskets of assorted flavors of tea, and favors of candy buckeyes.

The luncheon was very tasty with chicken salad croissants, Jell-O salads, potato chips and Oh soooo  yummy, sweet goodies!

After lunch, there was a style show of hats originally designed and created by Red Hatters.  What fun!  Shopping, a must for every Red Hatter, was available with lots of great outfits, bling, and glitz!

Door prizes were awarded and two of our Flowers were fortunate to receive one.

The afternoon was a great success and we surely hope this won't be the last large get together in which to mingle with our Red and Pink Hat Sisters!

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The Amazing Chocolate Tree
January 21, 2006

The Franklin Park Conservatory was a sea of Red and Purple as we gathered in the Grand Atrium for our tour of the exhibit "The Amazing Chocolate Tree".

In Victorian Bouquet style our docent decided that we should start the tour at the end instead of the beginning.  Off we headed to the Chocolate Factory where we learned about the chocolate making process and even had a chance to mix chocolate.

We wandered through the Chocolate Garden where all the flowers and foliage had cocoa in it's name.  Even the mulch was made from cocoa hulls

We traveled "underground" to discover the roots of the cacao tree and learned about the chocolate substitute carob on our journey through the desert, rainforest, and mountains.  Along the way we spotted orchids, wandered through a rainforest, watched koi swimming in a pond, and enjoyed the Chihuly glass displayed throughout the conservatory.

Linda, Duchess of Carousels followed the pink stone path, ran her stick against the fence, picked flowers, ate her bread and pickles, and learned how to spit.  You may wonder why she looked and acted so strange... she REDUATED!!!!  Linda officially turned in her pink hat for a beautiful new red hat complete with tiara.

We let all our members know of the upcoming ceremony prior to our event.  Liz, Marquesa of the Nimble Thimble, not knowing what reduation meant, took out her pocket dictionary and looked it up.  Not finding the definition in there she looked in her big dictionary.  She now knows that reduation means " a ceremony performed when a pink hat member turns the BIG 50 & reduates to now wear the official red hat."

Lunch was held at the Old Bag of Nails.  The favorite choice of the day were the fish and chips.  The food was delicious and the waiter hustled around the tables trying to keep all of us happy.  We even serenaded him "For He's a Jolly Good Fellow".

While we were dining we met Queen Emily and a few members of her chapter the Red Hatters with a Heart from Columbus.

We also had time to chat with Queen Karen and the members of her chapter Tomahtoe Towne Tootsies from Reynoldsburg.

It was nice seeing so many of our Red Hat sisters.

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December 10, 2005
Holiday Party 
Buckeye Boat Club

 "Here were are as in olden days,
happy golden days of yore.
Faithful friends who are dear to us
gather near to us once more."

It was truly a Holiday Party filled with faithful friends as the flowers of the Victorian Bouquets gathered to celebrate the Holidays on December 10 at the Buckeye Boat Club.  

The weather outside may have been frightful, but we were nice and toasty as the fireplace was lit and the ovens warmed our delicious casseroles.

A reindeer with a very shiny nose stopped by as the food was placed on the buffet table.  We ladies sure know how to put on a delicious meal.

We dined, laughed, and enjoyed each other's company as we exchanged presents that had  gathered under the tree.

Some holiday secrets were exchanged and Secret Sisters were revealed.

Our chapter is truly blessed to have such wonderful ladies as our Red Hat sisters.  Queen Marilyn and Contessa of Creative Spirit Carole wish everyone a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukah, and a Happy New Year.

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November 12, 2005
50's/60's Rock n' Roll Lunch

The joint was jumpin' and the Red Hats rockin' at the Spring Hollow Lodge in Sharon Woods!

The deer, raccoons, squirrels, and possum were tappin' their hooves and paws at the edge of the woods to the 50/60's music as the "beat went on"!

Michael Rose shared his amazing talents with the Flowers of the Victorian Bouquets.  A few danced with him as he sang, while others were spellbound gazing into his eyes as he crooned especially to them.

Memories of days gone by filled us as we strolled, twisted, rocked and rolled.

After movin' and groovin' (exercising more than some of us have in 20 years), a wonderful sack lunch of either ham or turkey sandwiches was served.  Of course, most of us gained what we had lost dancing just gazing at the beautiful table with assorted cookies, brownies, and other sweets offered for desserts.

Time was also spent pouring over the creative scrapbooks of Queen Marilyn and Flashing Diva, Judy as well as photos of ourselves as we were in the 50's and 60's.

Thank you Linda, Lady of Laughter, Diana, Lady Di, Vicki, Princess Happy Heart, Anita, Amazing Marquesa of Mayhem, and Paula, Princess of Sunshine for an amazing, funfilled afternoon!

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Sixteen Flowers of the Victorian Bouquet were lucky enough to receive free tickets to the movie screening of "In Her Shoes", starring Cameron Diaz, Tonie Collette, and Shirley MacLain. 

It was a great movie with lots of laughs and a few tears.

The truth is, no matter where we go, or what we do, there is always lots of love and laughter!!!

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Giddy Up!  Come along with the Victorian Bouquets for a carousel horse roundup!

We started our roundup at The Carousel Magic Museum, where plain ole wood is turned into amazing and colorful works of art in the shapes of horses, dragons, tigers, pigs, and dogs, just to name a few.

Duchess of Carousels, Linda, was in her glory as the artist invited her to give a hand in the chiseling of a future work of art.

After a very informative tour, the Flowers moseyed on up to the Coney Island Diner, where we bellied up for delicious Pea Salad and King Dog conies.

Rumbling stomach satisfied, we continued on with the roundup to the Richland Carousel Park where each flower chose her stead.

Our birthday Flowers were all gussied up in their “reverse colors”.

Though some of the Flowers began to wilt a little, and some were walking slower in a bowed leg position, the roundup was a great success!!!  Given the choice, however, everyone chose to ride home in a more soft, comfortable means of transportation!

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A beautiful sunny day awaited us for our journey to Urbana for a visit to Rothschild Raspberry Farm.  The drive was pleasant even if I did zoom past the entrance and had to turn around.  I heard that another car zoomed past and kept going!

We saw another Red Hat Chapter visiting that day as we made our way into the Market & Café.  We were greeted at the door by our very own Marvelous Madame of Mystery Judy with a "you have to try these meatballs!"  Our day of feasting had begun.

We had plenty of time to sample most all of Rothschild's products as we made our way to the Garden Room.  My favorite was the chocolate "pretzels" with a variety of their chocolate dipping sauces.

Marchesa of the Nimble Thimble Liz and Contessa of Crowd Control Cathy did a wonderful job in planning this event.  Each place setting had a sample jar of one of Rothchild's preserves topped off with a Red Hat antennae topper.  They had even preordered our lunch for us so all we had to think about ordering was what we were going to have to drink.

The servers did a wonderful job delivering our orders.  My lunch had a slight mishap, our server flipped the sandwich onto her hand and the chips onto the table.  She apologized over and over even as I assured her it was OK.  After just a few minutes another delicious looking sandwich appeared before me.  I was just ready to take the toothpick out of the sandwich when I heard a "stop"!!!!!  I looked up and the cook was coming in from the patio by the side door and frantically trying to get my attention.  He said the server picked up the wrong dish.  Before I could say OK the plate was whisked away from in front of me.  As Mistress of the Frugal Warderobe Extraordinaire Cyndy said, "the look on your face was priceless".  I could have sat and complained and scowled but it wouldn't have gotten my food to me any faster, I just had to laugh.  In no time at all my sandwich was eaten and I was awaiting my raspberry sundae for desert.  My lunch was definitely worth waiting for.

We made our way to the Market for our favorite past-time, shopping.

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“I scream, you scream.  We all scream for Ice Cream!” 

What better time to visit an ice cream plant than on a hot summer day.  The temperature was high but our minds were cool thinking about the scoops of our favorite ice waiting for us at Velvet Ice Cream.

First up was a quick shopping trip to the Ben Franklin store and then lunch next door at Watts Restaurant.  Watts Restaurant is a great place to enjoy good home cooking.  The wait staff were friendly and helpful and even wore Red Hat jewelry and accessories as a welcome to our group.

We serenaded our June and July birthday flowers as well entertained our fellow dinners with our kazoos.

Our guests for the day were our hostess Madame Butterfly Alice’s daughter and two granddaughters.  We hope you had as much fun meeting us as we did with you lovely ladies!

On to Velvet Ice Cream where we had to stop for a photo op by the welcome sign.

The front porch was a great place to watch everyone gather but the best place was inside with the ice cream!

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We're having a heat wave!  

That was the phrase of the day as the flowers of the Victorian Bouquets gathered in the gardens of our Contessa of Creative Spirit.  Who would have thought that we'd be having temperatures reaching almost 100 degrees?

Umbrella's and parasols were in abundance as we filled our plates with delicious sandwiches, salads, and an assortment of sweet treats.

The food was delicious and the flavored teas were divine!  Our honored guest for the day was Bonnie who hails from Fort Worth Texas.  She was dressed for the occasion and seemed to enjoy the Red Hat garden.  It was such a pleasure meeting such a sweet southern lady.

The game of choice on such a hot afternoon was Bingo.  Instead of numbers we called out the names of all of the places we've held events.  It was amazing how many events were called before some lucky flower called "Bingo".

As the day came to a close, everyone took the time to stroll through the beautiful gardens.  Thank you Carole for such a wonderful day, you are a wonderful hostess and a terrific gardener.

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Nineteen Flowers of the Bouquet and three guest boogied on down to the Bogey Inn, Saturday, May 21.  Judy, Beverly, and Sharon, members of the Bella Carnations from Baltimore, Ohio, were our welcomed guest.

Lovely favors consisting of a wonderful cosmetic bag containing special goodies were given by our hostesses, Lola, Lady Gardenia and Carol, Lady Dragonfly.

As usual, laughs and good conversation was enjoyed by all and cheers broke out as it was announced that we finally have transportation for the July 4th parade!!!   Let the creative juices flow!!!

As our luncheon was winding down, it was time for dessert.  "Hey Joyce, Contessa of Hosta Lovers, are you gonna share?????"

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You just have to giggle when the weather on April 23 is more like the weather that you'd have on January 23.  Nine flowers of the Victorian Bouquets giggled on their trek to Lima Ohio to attend "The Big Giggle" sponsored by the Red Hat Tootsies.  It was nice seeing so many Red Hatters gathered.

Queen Mum Starr and her Tootsies had a full day and evening planned just for us.

The fashion show was a big hit as was the gong show with the Nana's from Solon Ohio and our very own "Hunka Hunka" Vicki.

Because the weather did not cooperate, the sashay parade was canceled and replaced with some Red Hat bonding which consisted of red string and getting very close to our Red Hat sisters.

We had a long break before dinner so we headed to our hotel to check in and to get ready for a full evening.  Quick ladies, which way do we turn to get to the hotel?

As ladies were arriving for dinner the Tammy Faye look-alike contest was being held.  Unfortunately our very own Tammy arrived just as they were voting for the best look alike and as you can see, Vicki "aka Tammy" should have won by a landslide!

During dinner we were treated to the "Good Vibrations" of WROK Rock Radio and the famous "Jackelman" as they performed music from the 50's, 60's, and the 70's.  Unfortunately their station manager was murdered and it was up to us to help in the investigation.  The criminal was soon apprehended and we headed back to the hotel were we gathered in the Queens room for some laughter and refreshments.

Morning comes very early for us hard working luggage cart dancers…oh I mean hard laughing Red Hatters.  During the evening Contessa of Creative Spirit acquired some rather large bed bugs and had to complain to housekeeping and the front desk.

Back at the Giggle, Sunday started with breakfast but much to the chagrin of one of our flowers Juan Valdez and his trusty donkey did not make an entrance serving Columbian coffee, only decaf was served, and unfortunately Starbucks and Caribou Coffee have not found their way to Lima Ohio.

Every table had an entry in the PJ parade and all of the Queens in attendance gathered on stage.

Music from the 60's played as some ladies "danced like nobody's watching" and even Regina and Roberta joined into the festivities.

Because of the weather we left early to start the trip home in the cold and blowing snow.  Thank you Queen Mum Starr and the Red Hat Tootsies for all of your hard work.  We had a great "Big Giggle"!

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The Painted Lady was filled to the brim with the flowers of the Victorian Bouquets on a beautiful blue skied Saturday.  What a wonderful gathering at such an unique tea house.  We took over every table and chair in their dining rooms and what beautiful rooms they are!.

We were joined by two lovely ladies from the Bella Carnations of Baltimore Ohio; Judy and Gladys.

We hope that you had as good a time as we did getting to know you both.

We were on our best behavior and rather sedate as we enjoyed lunch.  The special of the day, a hash brown casserole with ham and cheese, received high marks as did the triple chocolate fudge cake.  Ladies raved about both the chicken salads and many thought that the cheesecake was delicious.

It was very disorganized trying to get every flower to gather around our newest member, Princess of Sunshine Paula, as she took her vows, but we managed.  We cheered and used our clackers to welcome her to our Bouquet.  Our talents on the kazoo came in handy as we serenaded our April birthday girls; Lady Butterfly, Marilyn, Mistress of Contrary Gardens, Barbara, and Princess of Indecision, Nikki with "Happy Birthday".

Shopping, shopping, shopping was the theme after lunch as everyone poked around in each room of the Victorian house.  Every nook and granny of every room was filled with beautiful items.  Each room upstairs held a different theme as we were longing to climb up into the loft.

The line grew as each lady brought her special purchases to the register and one by one we went out the big front doors.  What did we find there?  All of our Red Hat sisters sitting under the umbrellas enjoying the sunshine and each others company!

As the last flower came out the door, everyone was in attendance so we could take our group photo.  It was such a glorious day, no one wanted to take the short trip home.  Hopefully no one got lost on the way home like we all did on the way there….but that's another story.  

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Happy 2nd Anniversary Victorian Bouquets!!!!!  It's hard to believe that we've been a chapter for two years and we're starting our third year together.  We started out small but my have we grown!  We greet each other with hugs and kisses and we're happy to be together as Red Hat sisters.

There were smiling faces at every table.

We welcomed Bertha, Robin, and Barbara as our newest "flowers" to our bouquet as they took their vows along with Ragamuffin Mom who somehow had never taken her vows "officially".

It was so nice welcoming new members on this special occasion.

After lunch each lady was given a list of one liners and asked "Guess Who?"  Everyone worked hard trying to figure out who worked in an orphanage in Tijuana, who took ballet classes at BalletMet,  or who owned her own shopping center.  There were a lot of giggles when all was revealed.