Ochna Serrulata

. . . aka (also known as) the Mickey Mouse plant!
It belongs to our neighbor
but I owned it ever since we met ;-)
and I greet her every single day!
And, in return, this sunny plant
would greet me with sunny flowers
every sunny morning!
And not just sunny yellow
but even some red flowers . .
As if its yellow ones are not enough!
This plant remind me of our eldest sister Luchie
whose 66th birthday we are celebrating today!

An Update: Francisca jokingly inquired why this flower reminds me of Luchie. First, although she is my sister and she considers me more than a younger sis and the baby in the family ('bunso") I really do not "own" her and vice versa. We tend to be possessive of those we love (people, pets, plants, etc.) but we are all independent, yet there for each other. Luchie has sunny yellow disposition, fiery red determination and energy, and like the MickeyMouse plant thrives well and is always a delight! Luchie loves the 'Mickey' song too! Ha!

Thank you to the TodaysFlowers team
Luiz Santilli, Sandy Carlson, Laerte Pupo
and my friend Denise Gullickson
for making me a Guest at TF this weekend!

And for Maia of:

And for Beverly of:
My sister Luchie is like my second Mom
not just to me but for all my other siblings.
(Yes she looks like the late Cory Aquino)
When my parents died in the 90s
she just assumed the role as head of our family
where she heads, not an empire,
but a family of moody younger siblings,
equally moody pets and plants,
and a household that comes and goes!
Luchie learned to toss out petty hurts
humor herself when things get rough
and, like my parents, have assured herself
that all will be well with her world.
And it is!

So my Luchie dearest,
To all our ups and downs and round and whatever
I truly appreciate who you are in my life
and I pray to God that your life
will be blessed with more laughter
good health and patience
for all your moody subjects ;-)
Needless to say,
we all love you
and not just today . . .

Have a happy, hippy bday!