Amaryllis by Christmas

This time of year I force amaryllis bulbs so they'll be in bloom by Christmas. Last year it bloomed on Valentine's Day. It grew as tall as a cornstalk and only had one flower. I check on their progress every day and you can literally see them grow. They're fun and beautiful, especially when they do right.

I remember one year I had forced one and it was absolutely gorgeous. My PaPa Howell was at my house for my dad's annual birthday supper. He commented that he had never seen a flower so pretty. It was a dark red one.

I checked a to-do off my Holiday To Do List. I bought these amaryllis bulbs Sunday and started them today.


The last two years they haven't done well for me. In the past I've planted them in a pot with the dirt supplied with the bulb. This time I'm doing something a little different. I read that you can force the bulbs without dirt just by using these.


I'm using tall vases hoping that they'll help support the tall stem. I put about three inches of the river pebbles in each vase.

The bulbs that you buy have lots of dead, dry roots on them. Pull those off.

Then set your bulb down in the vase, root first. Duh. Sprinkle a few more pebbles around the bulb for support.

Then add water. Very important for the water not to touch the actual bulb. It could cause it to rot.
Place them in a warm, sunny window. At night I'll probably move them away from the window because I don't want them to get chilly.

Hopefully, if all goes as planned, I'll have three beautiful amaryllis by Christmas. I like the vase on the left in the picture. The one without the ripples. I like the look of the bulb in the glass.

Oh, and don't worry. I'll keep you updated on their progress. I become a little obsessed with them. Okay, so a lot. Gah. So easy and so beautiful!

On another subject. Have any of you ever been to a dentist office three days out of five? After tomorrow I will have. As y'all know, I get migraines. They've been coming a lot more frequently and I couldn't really understand why. I also have this tooth that's been bothering me, but I put it way back on the back burner. I have a severe phobia of dentists. That's another topic for another day. Maybe one day I'll really elaborate on that phobia. It's pretty funny actually.

Anyway, the tooth that's been hurting is a tooth that has had a root canal and a crown on it already. If the root canal had been done correctly, I shouldn't be feeling anything in the tooth, especially PAIN.

The dentist told me Tuesday that the root canal wasn't done right and that there are still nerves in there, thus the pain. And upon his examination and x-rays, he discovered that the tooth two away from it is abscessed. Say what? It has a crown on it, but not a root canal. So today I get the pleasure of having not one, but TWO root canals. This isn't good news for a girl who breaks out in a cold sweat merely walking in the door of the dentist office. I've had two C-sections, a hysterectomy and kidney stones. I do believe going to the dentist is worse than any of those.

On the positive side, I'm hoping that maybe my headaches will let up and I'm excited I'll be able to drink cold drinks without feeling like someone's drilling through my skull.

Haven't gone out for any jobs this week. It's been uncharacteristically slow. I've learned to enjoy the slow days because they give me a chance to catch my breath.

I've got a fun day planned for Friday. Suz, Nan and I are going to Lenox to shop and have lunch. I can't wait. With those two I know it's gonna be a blast! We're going to do our part to stimulate the economy. Hoping to buy a few Christmas gifts.

Till tomorrow, when I'll have full details of my dentist visit, Live. Love. Laugh. I'd rather be going for a pap or mammogram. Ugh.