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Welcome to February - the month of love and flowers! There are many legends about how St. Valentine's Day was born. It was not until the late 14th century that the Christian feast day became associated with love. According to many historians, it was Geoffrey Chaucer (of Canterbury Tales fame) who first linked St. Valentine's Day with romance. In 1381, Chaucer composed a 700 line poem in honor of the engagement of England's Richard II and Anne of Bohemia. In his "The Parliament of Fowls", the royal engagement, the mating season of birds and St. Valentines day are linked.
Here's an except translated:
Geoffrey Chaucer (ca. 1343-1400)
from The Parliament of Fowls
"A garden saw I, full of blossomy boughs
Upon a river, in a green mead,
There as sweetness evermore enough is,
With flowers white, blue, yellow, and red,
And cold well-streams, nothing dead,
That swimming full of small fishes light,
With fins red and scales silver bright.
On every bough the birds heard I sing,
With voice of angels in their harmony;
Some busied themselves birds forth to bring;
The little coneys to here play did hie.
And further all about I could see
The dread filled roe, the buck, the hart and hind,
Squirrels, and beasts small of gentle kind.
Of instruments of strings in accord
Heard I so play a ravishing sweetness,
That God, that maker is of all and lord,
Had heard never better, as I guess.
Therewith a wind, scarcely it might be less,
Made in the leaves green a noise soft
Accordant to the fowls' song aloft.
Th'air of that place so a-temperate was
That never was grievance of hot nor cold.
There wax also every wholesome spice and grass;
No man may there wax sick nor old;
Yet was there joy more a thousandfold
Than man can tell; never would it be night,
But always clear day to any man's sight."
The poem ends with a song praising Saint Valentine, "providing promise that, even in the depths of winter, summer is not all that far off." This could be the reason why Valentine's day is celebrated in February.
Every day is Valentine's Day at Flower Angels as we deliver random acts of love and flowers to 27 Nursing Homes and Hospice Facilities all across Cape Cod!
14,550
bouquets delivered to date!
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Home Sweet New Home!
Welcome to Flower Angels new home!!!!! After months of searching, we have found a wonderful location to fulfill our growing needs. Our sincere gratitude to all those who sent us information on potential properties. This month, our angels will be very busy getting the space ready and moving. We say goodbye to The West Dennis Community Church, our home for nearly 2 years. Now, Flower Angels looks forward to expanding our mission and reaching out to more wonderful people of Cape Cod who deserve random acts of love. Stay tuned for exciting announcements next month....................
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851 Rt. 28, S. Yarmouth, MA 02664
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JANUARY MOMENTS!
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Deb Brown's adorable granddaughter Adeline is a workshop helper. She helped Mimi make beautiful bouquets and printed her name on the cards.
Thank you Adeline!
"All you need is love. But a little chocolate now and then doesn't hurt."
Charles M. Schulz
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Debbie Hagen and our founder, Suzanne Carter, both grew up in Provincetown so have known each other since childhood. Debbie has been married for 46 years to her high school sweetheart, Roger, has a son Eric and have their home in S. Chatham. For many years Debbie had a career as a RN and worked at many educational facilities on Cape Cod including Head Start, Outer Cape Health, VNA, local schools and as the Health Director at Riverview School. Later, she went on to change careers and pursued her dream of being an entrepreneur. For ten years, she operated Deborah Ann's Rainbow, a popular and much loved inspirational gift shop she had created. After closing it, she went into semi-retirement and discovered Suzanne had started Flower Angels so jumped on board. In the spring of 2015 she began volunteering and has been a tremendous blessing to our organization. She is an amazing organizer and always dives in and does the many daily tasks required to help keep our very busy workshop running smoothly. Debbie is one of our special "Angels" sent to us!
<<<<Facility Spotlight>>>>
Liberty Commons in Chatham
Our Flower Angels deliver to this fine facility monthly. The patients always seem content
and cared for. When walking into the lobby, we are greeted with a welcoming fireplace where several of the residents cozily gather to read. Our founder Suzanne, has a long history with Liberty Commons rehab and skilled nursing facilities. Many years ago, her grandmother and favorite aunt were residents for several years and recently, she often visited her uncle in the Rehabilitation unit. Uncle Sammy has been in many rehab facilities and can be rather fussy.He raves about the excellent care he received while being a patient at Liberty Commons. He was especially impressed with the staff and felt his dedicated CNA was "top notch."
This is an email from the daughter of a resident at Liberty Commons in Chatham that Flower Angels recently received:
How nice it was to find a beautiful cup full of fresh flowers in my mother's room! She always loved fresh blooms and would keep them till they were brown and brittle. In fact, she has been in a good mood everyday since they appeared. Much thanks for bringing cheer where it is so needed.
Mariann
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Get well wishes to Strell and Kathleen - 2 of our volunteer extraordinaires. We can't wait for your return. Miss you!
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Below are two examples of correspondence I receive here at Flower Angels thanking us for the important work we do:
February 5, 2016
Dear Flower Angels:
On behalf of Beacon Hospice staff, our patients and their families, I wish to express our heartfelt gratitude to the wonderful and supportive presence of the Flower Angels who have so consistently brought their beautiful offerings of flowers and cheer to our care center. Carefully arranged and lovingly presented, the variety of bouquets have brought countless hours of enjoyment to our patients through the efforts of Flower Angels. The many Flower Angel volunteers who have contributed their time, expertise and willingness to serve others most certainly is a testament of a spirit of giving, and one that truly touches the Heart of Hospice.
Thank you Flower Angels and God bless your creative efforts!
Warmest regards,
Cynthia Robotham
Volunteer Coordinator
Beacon Hospice, an Amedisys Company
An email I received from the director of Neighborhood Nutrition in Hyannis:
Dear Suzanne:
The flower arrangements for the tables at Faith Neighborhood Kitchen are so wonderful. They provide such a bright spot on each table and look so pretty with our tablecloths or with the bare tables. Either way, the flowers add so much and the guests totally appreciate them. Please thank all your good volunteers for this gift to our folks who are food insecure. It is so wonderful to have the flowers as well as a nutritious meal!
Blessings and thanks, Judy
Our mission continues due to the tireless work of our many, many workshop volunteers as well as our Cape Abilities and Community Connections partners. Our sincere gratitude goes out to Shaw's Supermarkets, Trader Joe's and local brides whose beautiful flower donations make it possible for Flower Angels to create beautiful bouquets to be delivered across Cape Cod. Our new home in South Yarmouth will now enable our mission to blossom and grow. So many blessings!
Suzanne Carter
Flower Angels USA
P.O. Box 14
West Dennis, MA 02670
508-280-9869
Volume 1, Issue 7
Editors: Debra Brown, Deborah O'Connor
Contributor: Kathleen Tosiello
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