Tag Archives: flamingos

A Flamingo Fly In

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Around our house you never know who’ll drop by, or should I say fly in?  

And a couple of weekends ago was certainly no exception. 

Imagine our surprise when we woke up one morning to find two new little flamingos in the pool. Being watched over by our large mama flamingo. We didn’t even know she was expecting little ones! And then, just imagine our surprise that night when we came outside to find the new flamingos all lit up, glowing in the dark, while Mama watched over them!  

Even more surprising, when we got up the next morning, there were more little flamingos in the pool, huddled around Mama and the other little ones! They all looked just as happy as can be, and we were delighted to have them join their friends and family in Flamingo Cove!  

And they quickly made themselves at home, perching on our pool fountain, resting in the lounge chairs, lining up on the diving board to practice their flamingo flips, you know, all the things flamingos love to do!  

But what they really enjoyed was perching themselves around our outdoor bar and taking turns playing bartender! They were really waiting for Ben to come out and make drinks for them, but he was a little too slow! So what’s a flamingo to do but take control of things!?   He was also too slow bringing out the shrimp, and a couple of them had to explain to him that shrimp were extremely important, especially with their margaritas!  

And what they really, really liked was when I made them each a necklace with their name on it! Since flamingos all look alike, at least to us, we knew we had to find a way to tell them apart, so last weekend we presented them with their own special necklaces for Felicia, Frankie, Foxy, Freckles, Freddy, and Fabian. They loved them!  

It’s much easier to talk to them now when they come up to us while we’re floating in the pool, because we can call them by name. They really like that. And we’ve had some really good conversations with them, too. Seriously. You wouldn’t believe the things flamingos are able to discuss!  

Yes, you just never know who’ll be dropping by, and sometimes when you least expect it!    If you have a pool, and live in our neighborhood, watch out, because they’re telling all their friends this is a great area to move to! You never know who you’ll find swimming around one of these mornings.   

So be sure to keep a big bag of frozen shrimp in your freezer!  

(And if you want your very own lighted flamingos, be sure to check them out on Amazon.)

National Pink Flamingo Day

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Of all people, you’d think I’d know it was today. National Pink Flamingo Day! How could I forget!?

Now I know why the flamingos were all looking at me today like I’d forgotten something. They even asked me what we were having special for dinner tonight! Really?? They usually fend for themselves, so why would they ask me such a question?

And then I saw it on Facebook, of all places! National Pink Flamingo Day.

Oh my gosh, did I ever screw up! I should’ve bought several pounds of shrimp, along with several bottles of wine or margarita mix, so they would be able to properly celebrate!

I should’ve had a special flamingo cake made for them, or at least some special flamingo cookies.

Maybe some specialty drinks….or lots of specialty drinks.

And decorations, of course! After all it’s a special day.

But since it’s been raining here all week, it would’ve been a really soggy celebration, and it wouldn’t be near as much fun without being able to go in the pool and swim, enjoy cocktails at the outside bar, and of course steam all the shrimp on the grill so they could have a royal feast!

Yes, I admit I am a bad flamingo keeper. And Ben is a bad Leader of the Flock, because he forgot as well.

So, to make it up to them, I promised that the first sunny and warm weekend we have, we will have a real celebration. With shrimp, and drinks, and decorations, and even some pink flamingo leis for them to wear around their necks!

So now we really need to get ready for this event. Even though we don’t know when it’ll be. With the way the weather’s been going, it’s hard to say. But one thing we’re sure of, it will be an event to remember!

So to our flamingos, and to all the flamingo fans around the world, Happy Pink Flamingo Day!

The Feathered Nest and Breakfast

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Ever since the flamingos opened their Flamingo Cafe along the boardwalk, they’ve been thinking about what else they could do in the spirit of flamingo entrepreneurship. 

The Flamingo Cafe was so popular and successful they were able to hire a full time manager while still retaining their ownership rights and having final say in matters of decor, food and drink, etc. It worked well for everyone. 

And it provided them with enough capital to start a new business. But what?

It didn’t take long to find out. 

So when they wandered in one morning carrying a tray of delicious looking breakfast treats, I figured they’d decided on their new project. I just hoped it didn’t involve baking! 

“So what do we have here?” We asked. “These look delicious,” Ben and I both tried some of the goodies, And they were as good as they looked! 

“We have some exciting news,” they said, talking all at once. As usual. Then Francine took over and explained it all to us.

It seemed the success of the Flamingo Cafe had motivated them to see what else they could do, and it really didn’t take that long to figure it out.  Some of their cousins lived in a quaint little town about an hour away, and when they went to visit them one weekend they found a really cute pink Victorian style home they just fell in love with.

“But don’t worry,” Francine quickly said. “We’re not moving away. But…we’ve decided to buy it and make it into a bed and breakfast place. There’s only one other in the town, and we figured it needs another. One with the special touches only we can bring to it!”

“We already have a name for it,” Felicia added. “The Feathered Nest and Breakfast House. And we already have the sign being designed. What do you think?”

“I like the name. Very appropriate.” So we all sat down at the table with the goodies while the flamingos filled us in on all the details. 

They’d come across the house while driving through town and saw the “for sale” sign in the yard. They immediately had their limo driver call the number on the sign and made an appointment to see it in a few hours.

They were so excited, and they were already making their plans before they even went inside.

“When the realtor got there,” said Francine, “she didn’t say one word about our being flamingos. She was even wearing a flamingo necklace, so we knew this was going to be just perfect!”

They’d toured the house, which had been modernized nicely, with a big kitchen that would do nicely for a bed and breakfast. “And it’s already pink,” Francine added. “We just need to add our own special touches, you know?”

The house had five bedrooms and four bathrooms. They’d already decided on the names for the rooms. “The Feathery Nest”, “Pink Dreams”, “Dancing Flamingo Suite”, “Flamazing Slumber Room”, and “A Flamingo Daze”.  And they’d started ordering the bedding and planning how they’d decorate each room, down to the pink towels and pink flamingo shaped soaps in the bathrooms.

Plus fresh flower arrangements in the bedrooms as well as other rooms. 

And they’d already started selecting furniture for the other rooms, including lots of flamingo throw pillows for the sofas and chairs. Flamingos sometimes like to throw the pillows around at each other for fun, especially during happy hour. And I did remind them they have to be careful about that when they have guests, so nothing will get messed up. And more importantly, no drinks will be spilled!

“The house is perfect,” Francine continued excitedly. She described the huge wraparound front porch and side porch with white wicker furniture. All they had to do was recover the cushions pink. And of course, hang a flamingo wreath on the front door. 

They showed us pictures of the swimming pool in the backyard, and the garden with pink and yellow rose bushes. “We’ll set up an outdoor dining area out there for breakfast in the summer,” she explained. “With white tables and pink umbrellas, of course.”

They had more pictures of a glassed-in breakfast room which would be perfect for days they couldn’t eat outside. And fortunately they’d discovered a couple of their flamingo cousins loved to cook, and actually could bake muffins and scones, so they’d already started planning the menus.

There’d also be a wine and cheese happy hour, of course, with charcuterie boards and wine served in the Flocking Room. “And a wine and paint night once a month which will be open to the town.” They’d even planned a small art gallery room with flamingo paintings for sale and planned to ask some of their guests to display their paint night creations as well.

“We’ll host parties there, too, with flamingo corn hole boards and other games. Plus we’ll have pink bicycles to rent to ride into town. Maybe even a pink golf cart eventually.”

Well, it certainly sounds like a lot of fun, and a great place to go visit for a weekend.

And as the flamingos explained, this little town has a community of flamingos living there already (did I mention they’re our flamingos’ cousins?) so the residents don’t think it’s unusual for flamingos owning businesses there. 

I guess we’ll find out more about that later. Personally we’re looking forward to the grand opening of their new adventure. It’s bound to be loads of fun!

Mardi Gras – Flamingo Style 2023

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As you certainly know by now, flamingos are extremely social birds. They can’t resist a good party, and the more flamboyant the better! So when they heard about Mardi Gras, well….you can only imagine their reaction. Talk about a party designed with them in mind….!

So they set out to plan their Mardi Gras celebration. Which of course had to be bigger and better than the ones they’d heard about in New Orleans! After all, they have a reputation to maintain for party planning….whether they’d ever been to a Mardi Gras celebration or not.
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They did their research on line with their pink iPads (well actually they borrowed mine since it has a pink cover), and came up with some absolutely perfect Mardi Gras party plans…flamingo style, of course!

And since Mardi Gras parties are filled with glitter and feathers and all manner of gaudy, flashy and flamboyant decor, it was their idea of a perfect party! And they set to work to plan the ultimate Mardi Gras festivity!

The guest list was easy, and the invitations were simple to create! And as with their many other parties, everyone quickly accepted, because they knew the flamingos threw the best parties in town! Then they set to work selecting decorations, planning their menu and their special drinks, hiring a band, and of course, planning the most elaborate costumes and Mardi Gras masks they could design! (With prizes for the best ones, of course!)

Their masks were amazing! Lots of feathers and sequins and glitter. Lots of pink, although there were a few of the traditional colors thrown in as well. They figured a little purple, gold, and green did blend rather nicely with their favorite shades of pink. What do you think of their choices? And which one would you select as the winner?

And then there were the ropes of beads! Lots and lots of them! In a rainbow of colors….not just the traditional colors, but of course lots of pink sparkly beads, many with fun flamingo figurines on them, of course! They even hung some of those necklaces around the house in strategic places as decorations, and on the front door.

The flaminguys had to have top hats to go with their formal attire, of course. Formal attire for a guy flamingo, being a pink bow tie, vest, and cummerbund. With a pink rose pinned to their lapel…in this case, with the roses sprinkled with glitter!

Decorating was easy. It always is for the flamingos, you know; they’re known for their flashy but stylish decorating skills! And since just about anything goes for Mardi Gras, well, they certainly outdid themselves!

With fancy feathered and beaded chair covers, shiny beaded chandeliers, and tables set with flowers and beads, and beaded wine bottles, well, let’s just say the attendees said they’d never seen a Mardi Gras party as spectacular this one!

And the menu…let’s start with the bar, because after all, Marci Gras is known for the amazing libations, along with the amazing creole cuisine and amazing King cakes.

The flamingos were certain to have the most unique, most original libations to be found! Their version of the popular Marci Gras Hurricane was a work of art, with their own special blend of several flavors of rum, passion fruit syrup, lime juice, and of course their own touch of pink fruit juice that they just will not share! Topped off with slices of lime and orange slices, and a couple of maraschino cherries for the final garnish, well let’s say each drink was a work of art, and served in hand-painted (or rather, wing-painted) glasses that were given to each guest as a party souvenir.

And of course, their menu included their favorite shrimp dishes, along with some Cajun crawfish, red beans and rice, and a few surprises they begged us not to reveal. After all, flamingos have to have a few secrets, only to be shared with other flamingos.

commdiginnews-comTheir grand dessert finale was the traditional King Cake….flamingo style. Traditionally the King Cake is a round cake confection decorated with sugared icing in the Mardi Gras colors of green, gold, and purple. The cake itself may be colored as well, or it may contain apple, cream cheese, or other fillings. It usually contains a small figurine of the Baby Jesus, although today the figurines can be any number of different items. But only one, because tradition says that whoever gets the figurine in their slice provides the cake for next year’s party.

Naturally the flamingos just weren’t satisfied with the traditional one layer cake, so they contacted their favorite flamingo cake artist, and he was able to provide several beautifully decorated cakes (as well as some special Mardi Gras cookies) for the event. And what was baked inside each one? Why a plastic flamingo statuette! What else?!

It wouldn’t be a Mardi Gras party without some New Orleans jazz, though, and let’s just say this…if you’ve never heard the amazing King Creole Funky Flamingo Five, you haven’t heard jazz! Flamingo style, of course!

With Fancy Catfish Fred on trumpet (he’s the one wearing the sequined catfish on his derby hat!). Long Tall Louie on trombone, with his hanging flamingo charms clipped on his trombone slide. Saucy Shrimpy Sal on saxophone, a legend for the amount of shrimp he can consume at one meal (and we hear he’s been known to stash a few shrimp in the bell of his sax, just in case he needs a snack while performing!).

Then there’s Fletch “The Stretch” on sousaphone, who’s known for his ability to stretch some of the most amazing melodies out of that instrument! Watching Fletch perform is always a treat!

Last but certainly not least, we have Lester “Skinny Legs” Lawrence the Liberace of the snare drum, famous for his flowing multi-colored feathered robes!

And they used the occasion to introduce their newest members, Marvelous Matilda and her twin sister Amazing Miss Mavis. Matilda is a delightfully talented flamingo keyboard artist extraordinaire whose feathertips can tickle those keys like no other! And Miss Mavis’ vocal talents are truly amazing! Guess they’ll have to change the name of the band, since they now have seven members!

2017-02-25-09-51-56Unfortunately they wouldn’t allow photos of their performance, as they’re in the process of negotiating a major recording contract, and they want their publicity photos to be released at the time of their first album! What can we say….?

But we did get sneak a picture of Marvelous Matilda…or was it Mavis….? You just can’t tell them apart, especially in costume!

Yes, the flamingos’ Mardi Gras party was a huge success! Did you expect anything less? And imagine our surprise when we came home the next morning (they did ask us to attend, since they were using our house – again – but we decided it would be much more fun for them to just have their flamingo friends at this particular bash!) and found several flamingos we’d never met sound asleep on our floor! It must’ve been a heck of a party!

And I’m sure they’re hard at work planning their next event….! Stay tuned!

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A Dream of Flamingo Land

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The other day my husband told me about his dream about our adventure at a lush tropical paradise we were fortunate enough to visit. 

Did I mention this was a dream? Maybe something to do with Valentine’s Day? Or not…..

Ben said we drove for a few hours and arrived at the gates of a huge fortress, sort of like a castle.  He stopped and blew the horn several times until the gates swung open, and we entered into a large area where we were stopped by guards and had to show our ID’s to go any further. They saw our names on some sort of list and told us to drive on.

At that point we drove further up to the gates of a large castle-like structure where we were greeted by a tuxedo-clad flamingo with a pink clipboard who checked off our names on his list, then parked our car for us, and directed us to enter the building.

As we entered, the entire setting turned into a tropical paradise, with a sign saying “Welcome to Flamingo Paradise”! 

And we didn’t even wonder about how it could be possible. It was a dream, after all!

Everyone who worked there was a flamingo who could actually talk! And we understood them perfectly. Why not? This was a magical place, after all!

We headed to the reception desk and checked in to our suite. Another flamingo sent our luggage to our room, and when we got there a blonde haired flamingo was unpacking our bags for us. (Remember, it IS a dream, after all.) She told us if we needed anything to just call the front desk and they’d take care of it. 

And she left an itinerary of activities for the weekend. Which began with cocktails and lunch on the terrace, which was a meet and greet for other couples who’d signed up for the weekend. 

“When did you sign up for this?” I asked my husband. Who replied he didn’t remember anything about it, so we should just enjoy it! I didn’t dare ask the cost! He probably didn’t know, anyway!

It was HIS dream, after all, so that’s what we decided to do.

Lunch was a luxurious seafood buffet on a beautiful terrace filled with huge pots of colorful flowers, and more tuxedo-clad flamingo waiters serving wine and tropical drinks. 

We were seated at tables of four, and introduced to other couples who’d supposedly signed up for the weekend as well. Funny thing…they didn’t remember signing up for it either. But we were determined to make the most of an amazing situation!

After all, how lucky could we be to be in a tropical resort with talking flamingos waiting on us hand and foot? 

Could this be an updated dream version of my favorite song “Hotel California?” 

Maybe this was “Hotel Flamingo”? 

After lunch we were directed to enjoy several saltwater pools around the flamingo estate. There were cabana-boy flamingos offering us towels and more drinks, books and magazines, sunscreen, and plates of food. A person could gain 50 pounds here during a weekend, but the flamingos assured us that wouldn’t happen! You don’t gain weight in a dream! Or get sunburned. Or intoxicated either, based on the amount of drinks we were consuming!

After a relaxing afternoon we returned to our room to find an engraved invitation to a special formal dinner that evening. Of course we didn’t think we’d brought formal clothes, but as we finished reading the invitation there was a knock on the door, and two flamingos walked in carrying a tuxedo for Ben and a beautiful cocktail gown for me, decorated with sparkling teal jewels, along with matching shoes! It was amazing! And both the tux and the dress and shoes fit perfectly! The dream flamingos thought of everything.

And what a night to remember! Champagne and hors d’oeuvres on the terrace followed by an amazing dinner served by the flamingos, followed by dancing to an all-flamingo band who played music by our favorite older groups from the Beatles to the Four Seasons to the Eagles and Chicago and more!

As I’ve said, it’s a dream, so anything can happen!

The next morning we were treated to a room service gourmet breakfast served on our balcony by another flamingo, who also gave us our itinerary for the day. I looked over it and immediately worried that I wouldn’t enjoy any of it.

“Trust us,” he said, “ you’ll enjoy it all. We’ve never had an unsatisfied guest!”

The activities planned for the morning included scuba diving and parasailing. I knew Ben couldn’t do the scuba diving because of his breathing issues, and I had no desire to try. However, it was his dream, so I had to go along with it. 

And since it was a dream, when we got to the boat we both put on the scuba gear as instructed by our flamingo guide, and went into the water. It was actually easy, and we enjoyed swimming into schools of brightly colored fish and seeing lots of coral reefs, as well as remains of sunken ships. The flamingo instructor was our underwater guide, and he did a great job. Plus Ben had no breathing issues, and I had no problems under water, even though I can’t swim. But obviously in dreams, anything is possible!

Then it was parasailing with another flamingo. I don’t like heights, but because it was a dream I enjoyed it, and so did Ben. Flamingos know how to have a good time!

We ended our day on a beach where the flamingos were sunbathing along with other guests at the resort. Of course there were flamingo cabana boys in t-shirts and shorts bringing drinks all around. We were all talking with the sunbathing flamingos, who obviously had the day off from their duties at the resort.

At the end of the afternoon we all headed back to the hotel to prepare to leave. What an incredible two days it had been! And like at the end of every vacation, we found ourselves not really wanting to leave, at least not right away.

Obviously other guests felt the same way, as we discovered while we were checking out. The flamingos assured us it would be ok, and that everyone feels that way at the end of such a magical stay at such a romantic resort.

And then….what do you think happened? Of course, like with all dreams, Ben woke up and shared his story with me so he wouldn’t forget it.

But how would you write the ending? Because I’m not sharing what his was, at least not right now.

Flamingo Day 2023…Move Over, Groundhog!

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While the flamingos were enjoying their coffee the other morning, they happened to be watching TV, and once again saw all the commotion about Punxsutawney Phil most likely seeing his shadow again, and how it meant six more weeks of winter. Which did not make them happy. For a number of reasons.

“Why should a groundhog get to predict the weather?” asked one of the flamingos. “What does he know about warm weather and sunshine? He lives in the ground and sleeps all winter. How can he have any idea what the weather is?”

“That’s right,” another Flamingo said. “Everyone knows groundhogs are notoriously unreliable. They say they’re going to do something, but they’re always forgetting because they’re too busy hibernating! They don’t even look at their calendar to see what appointments they have!”

“And did you see those groundhog shaped cookies someone was passing around? All brown….no color…not even a touch of pink! How boring!” (Naturally the main flamingo chef made that comment!)

“That groundhog couldn’t even carry on a good conversation ,” added Freddy Flamingo. “All those clicks and squeals…if he didn’t have an interpreter we’d have no idea what he was trying to say!”

“We went through this several years ago, and I thought we’d gotten it all settled!” said Frankie Flamingo. “What the heck??”

flockYes, the flamingos were quite upset. And if you’ve ever seen a bunch of upset flamingos, you know it isn’t a pretty sight! When I left for work that morning, they were once again still squawking about Groundhog Day!

When I came back home that evening, they had all calmed down. Or so I thought. Little did I know….

You see, unbeknownst to me, they’d once again planned their own version of Groundhog Day, and were calling it, what else…Flamingo Day?!!

And since they didn’t want to share their day with any other animal, they once again chose February 6 for their big event! Why they didn’t make it an annual event that first time, I’ll never know…but I guess they will from now on. They still didn’t have a lot of time to plan, or send out press releases and invite the media, but I’m going to make sure next year they’ll make all their plans well in advance, and have just as much of a celebration as Punxsutawney Phil. In fact, probably more. After all, how often do flamingos get to be weather birds?

You may not have seen the event for yourself the first year they did it. But it was actually quite spectacular.

Since flamingos are quite flamboyant, as opposed to groundhogs, they wanted to create a splash on their day. There was no emerging from a hole in the ground, being half asleep, and certainly not looking your best. On the contrary, on Flamingo Day the chosen flamingo had to look her best when she emerged onto the stage, her pink feathers immaculately groomed, her makeup perfectly done, and her jewelry especially designed for the occasion. With the appropriate cocktail in hand, of course. After all, it’s always 5:00 somewhere, and no self respecting flamingo ever has an important event such as this without the appropriate cocktail!

As the flamingos explained to me, it doesn’t really matter where the sun is in relation to the star of the show, because on Flamingo Day the sun will find her, and she will definitely be able to make the determination whether or not she sees her shadow. And if we will be having an early spring or not.

keleas-comSo the time arrived. For some reason they picked 3:00 in the afternoon for the event to take place. By the pool, of course, even though it was definitely too cold to go swimming! And at exactly 3:00 Vincent von Flamingo, the host of the event, strutted out, appropriately dressed in top hat and tuxedo jacket, and proclaimed that Dazzling Dorothy, Flamingo Prognosticator Extraordinaire, and Weatherperson of Wonder, would in just a few minutes be presenting herself on stage to make her first major prediction about spring.

The crowd went wild! Actually it was a huge crowd of flamingos who had flown in for the event, some from as far away as Puerto Rico and Aruba. Dressed in an array of colorful hats, sparkling jewelry, and of course sipping from an array of pink cocktails garnished with hibiscus flowers and pineapple, they were more than ready to witness the inaugural event of Flamingo Day!

And Dazzling Dorothy did not let anyone down, as she strutted to her place on the makeshift stage to stand under a floral canopy designed to shield her from the elements until it was time to see if she saw her shadow. What a sight! She was perfectly attired in her very own floppy hat, adorned with jeweled pink feathers and tropical flowers. Her jewelry, sparkling with colorful gems, pearls, and beautifully crafted silk flowers, wrapped gracefully around her neck. Perfectly completing her outfit was a stylish pair of sparkling shoes, with 4 inch heels, making her appear even more impressive!

alice-tams-birdsinhatsThe crowd went wild, taking pictures, videos, and squawking in delight! They knew this was going to be a day to remember!

Dorothy looked around, smiled at the crowd, and said, “Are you ready for spring? Me, too!” She raised her glass, downed the rest of her drink in one gulp, tossed the empty glass to Vincent, and stepped out from under her floral canopy. Taking a quick look around, she took off her hat, looked up at the sky and then back down, and happily announced, “The Groundhog was wrong! There’s no shadow! I proclaim an early spring! Now let the party begin!”

Cheers erupted throughout the crowd. Glasses clinked together in celebration. Pink feathers flew, and from the stage, Vincent announced, “The party’s inside! It’s time to celebrate!”

And the flamingos certainly celebrated! Shrimp of all kinds. Special Flamingo Day cocktails! And of course, instead of those unexciting groundhog cookies, bright pink flamingo cookies, all beautifully decorated for the occasion!

It was an awesome day to remember. And trust me, this year’s Flamingo Day celebration, will most definitely top that one! They’re even inviting Punxsutawney Phil himself to join in the fun and see how NOT seeing your shadow is done!

And you know what? I think this time he’s going to join them! I wonder if he’ll be wearing any flamingo attire? Wouldn’t he look good in a pink top hat? And maybe he’ll even bring some of those groundhog cookies decorated with pink icing and sparkly sprinkles!

Happy Spring! It’s definitely coming soon!

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The Flamingo Cafe

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A few months after the flamingos tried their wings (unsuccessfully) at baking, they had another brainstorm. 

When they walked into the kitchen with magazines and pictures of restaurants in their wings, I knew we were in for another adventure. One that most likely called for advice from my husband. 

And I wasn’t wrong. 

The flamingos gathered around our breakfast table and spread out a bunch of pictures of tropical restaurants, menus, and flamingo- friendly foods and drinks. Then they started chattering all at the same time, flapping their wings in their excitement!

“Ok, guys, calm down,” we said. “One at a time. What’s going on here?” Ben asked. 

Frankie had obviously been designated to be the spokesbird for the group. So he proudly explained what they’d been secretly investigating for the last several months, which actually explained their unfortunately unsuccessful interest in baking.

They’d come across a beachside cafe location for rent at a good price, and had been putting plans together to open their own cafe featuring flamingo friendly food as well as items we’d enjoy as well.

And they really seemed to have their plans in order. We were both impressed.

They’d found several locations, but the place they really liked was right off the boardwalk with an ocean view. They’d planned some remodeling to include lots of palm trees, tropical flowers, and a sandy floor to go along with the beach just outside. With a colorful salt water fish tank at the entrance.

The bar would have tiny colored lights all around, with, of course, a tiki bar theme. And they knew it would be quite popular with their clientele.

They’d also planned a little gift shop for t-shirts and other flamingo gift items. “And eventually we’ll even have our own cookbook to sell,” added Frankie.

Their own cookbook? Now that was certainly something that would take time to put together! And it certainly wouldn’t include any cakes and cookies after their last kitchen experience!

“Plans look great,” Ben told them. “Reminds me of one of our favorite places in Ocean City, Maryland. Only smaller and easier to manage.”

Frankie continued his presentation, showing us their carefully planned table decor of casual mismatched dishes in flamingo designs and coordinating plain colors. And of course, a huge selection of acrylic as well as hand painted flamingo glassware. With tropical flowers and tea light candles as centerpieces. 

Flamingos obviously have a good sense for decorating. We approved their designs fortunately, since they’d already started buying pieces online and at discount stores. They were obviously very serious!

They did ask our opinion on the menu, since they wanted people like us dining there as well as other flamingos. They’d selected shrimp and other seafood dishes (oysters Rockefeller, calamari, escargot)…appetizers as well as salads, sandwiches and wraps. Charcuterie boards. Dinner selections with seafood and pasta. It all sounded quite good.

Then there would be tropical desserts starting with key lime pie and lemon meringue. Citrus soufflés. Fruit and sherbet. And chilled crème brûlée.

Of course they were going to offer a variety of tropical signature drinks, the “Pink Flamingo”, “Hibiscus Margarita”, and “Twisted Pink Lemonade”, to name a few, along with wine and champagne, of course.

What they hadn’t thought about were employees. Of course they wanted to hire mostly flamingos, but we suggested they needed to have a combination of both people as well as flamingos. After all, we reminded them, not all flamingos are that great at cooking. (Remember their baking experience?)

Plus they had to remember to train the flamingo servers not to grab any shrimp off the plates they were serving! And to not sample the drinks they were bringing out. Their customers would most likely not appreciate sharing!

But our biggest question…could they afford it? “After all,” Ben explained, “there aren’t a lot of banks out there who’ll loan money to flamingos!” He was just waiting for them to ask us for a loan!

“That’s not a problem,” Frankie replied. “We already have an investor. And he loves flamingos as much as you two do! In fact, we have to go meet with him next.” And they packed up their papers and headed out, still chattering among themselves about their plans.

Well…this should be interesting.

What they’ll end up doing, who knows!? It all sounds great, but actually running a restaurant? It’s a lot of work, and flamingos do like to party, as well as to be flexible and take off whenever they feel like it. I guess they could always find an experienced manager to run it for them. And since it’s going to be at the beach, they’ll have several months to work on the renovations and get everything in order before it’s time to open for the spring season.

Will they go through with it or not?

They’re flamingos; so who knows? It’s a great idea, and one that could certainly work with the right location, menu, and staffing. Time will tell.

The Flamingos Try Baking

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In our household, fall usually means along with football, the baking season is about ready to begin. I’ll start with blueberry muffins and definitely cornbread to go with chili on a fall Sunday afternoon. But then pie and cookie baking season starts.

The flamingos never really showed a lot of interest in baking, except to eat as many cookies as they could, sometimes taking entire batches away as fast as I’d make them. Which didn’t make me happy, but how can you stay mad at a flamingo?

However, one day recently they strolled in the kitchen and announced they wanted to learn how to bake and decorate cakes and cookies! Their reasoning…they enjoyed the beautiful and tasty desserts at their recent bridal and baby showers so much, they decided it was time to learn how to make their own! “Think of the money we can save for our parties,” they said! And it’ll be so much fun!

Fun for who? I wondered, knowing they’d use my kitchen as usual, turning it pink while they were in there, and making a mess. But they always cleaned up afterwards, so how could I really refuse? So I told them they could, as long as they shared some of their creations with us!

They readily agreed, and told me they’d already picked out several cookbooks from Amazon that they were planning to buy…with my credit card! Uh, that was a no! They looked at me with their big flamingo eyes and blinked their huge flamingo eyelashes, and I agreed to buy one, with them getting the rest. What’s a flamingo mom to do?

When the cookbooks arrived, the flamingos spent hours going through them, picking out favorite cake and cookie recipes to try. I suggested they try just one of each at first, but each bird wanted to try their wings on their own creation. I knew we were in trouble.

The following Saturday they strolled into the kitchen, wings full of shopping bags filled with baking ingredients, cookbooks, baking pans and cookie sheets, and of course a supply of wine and champagne. (Remember, they ARE flamingos!

Of course I left them to their fun as they started setting everything out, turning my kitchen pink, putting on their flamingo aprons, and spreading out their cookbooks! I must admit, I was a bit worried about what the house would look like when they were done!

When I came back I did find a bit of a mess, which I expected. The flamingos’ feathers were full of flour and cake frosting, not to mention my kitchen floor and countertops. And they were all a little tipsy. But surprisingly, there were a number of flamingo cakes and cookies set out on the counters. 

“So explain what happened here,” I asked. The flamingos looked at me, obviously a bit embarrassed that I’d caught them in that shape. They looked around to see who was going to speak up, and Flossie, who looked the least inebriated, put down her wine glass and tried to explain.

“Actually,” she began, “mixing the dough and baking everything wasn’t hard. But then we had to decorate them, and well, it was a lot harder than we thought. So we decided we’d just have a bit more wine to see if it helped…and it sort of did. I mean, look at these creations!”

They were quite good. I was impressed. But I still had to wonder…then the doorbell rang. With a delivery of another beautifully decorated flamingo cake and 2-3 boxes of decorated flamingo cookies!

I looked at the flamingos, and they looked incredibly embarrassed. “Well,” Flossie began, taking a big sip of wine,“  we’d promised the rest of the flock to bring home our goodies got a party, and none of them really turned out that well, so we had to order some from that bake shop you told us about, so the rest of the group wouldn’t know how bad we did! Please don’t tell on us.”

I promised them their secret was safe with me. They looked so relieved. 

So they cleaned up their mess, turned my kitchen back to normal, and promised from now on they wouldn’t try their wings at baking. And they’d be sure to continue to buy their cakes and cookies, rather than try to make them. 

“Good idea,” I replied. And before they left I even had a glass of wine with them along with a couple of cookies! 

And I got to keep one of the cakes and all of the cookbooks!

Now, I wonder, what are they going to think of next?

The Flamingos Tour a Winery?

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You’re probably finding that idea to be a bit unusual just like we did, but after all, they’re flamingos. They love to party and enjoy good food and drinks. 

And as much as they like their champagne and fruited margaritas, they also like good wine! Just like us.

So one early fall morning they strolled in the house and informed us their limo would be there shortly to pick them up. I should be used to these excursions by now, but when they said they were going to visit a winery, I was a bit surprised.

They explained how they found this place a few hours away in the Virginia mountains that specialized in some of their favorite wines, and when the owners discovered they were flamingos, well, they were only too happy to arrange a special day for them there. 

“Don’t worry,” they said as they were leaving, “we’re not driving! Our limo service knows us by now and we’ll be fine. We’ll even bring back a bottle or two for you guys! And don’t wait up for us, because we’ll be late getting back!”

What more could we ask, I guess. However, they at least could’ve asked us if we wanted to go! 

Guess there wasn’t enough room for any more in the limo….

The next morning we found three cases of wine in our foyer, so we guessed they had a good time. However, we weren’t sure whether the wine was ours or the flamingos’!

We found out later when they told us all about their day, and what a fun time they’d had, and of course showed us all their pictures.

The winery looked more like a mansion, a huge estate in the mountains surrounded by acres of vineyards. Being a part time event planner, I immediately imagined planning beautiful weddings and parties there!

They had a private tour of the winery itself and got to see the inner working of a winery. They’d asked about stomping the grapes with their feet, and were quite disappointed to hear that it was no longer done that way.  Evidently they’d been looking forward to that.

After the tour they were treated to a picnic on the grounds of the winery. Complete with wine, of course! The views were amazing! And the food was delicious!

After the picnic it was time for wine tastings. 

Of course they took the time to look through the gift and gourmet shop first. And they had a great time shopping!

But the most fun was the actual tastings!! Of course. Complete with tasty crackers and bites of cheese to help cleanse the palate after tasting each wine.

It’s a good thing they had the limo waiting to take them home! I have no idea how much wine they consumed!

And neither do they! But they did say the limo ride back home didn’t seem to take very long. Most likely they fell asleep or passed out as soon as they crawled in the back!

Gotta love flamingos that like wine! Hopefully they’ll take us the next time!

Flamingos Need Pampering, Too

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Flamingos at a spa? Impossible, I thought. What in the world would they do at a spa?

When they told me they’d booked a weekend retreat at a very exclusive and probably expensive spa a few hours away, I thought they were crazy.  And I told them so.

“Did you tell them you were a flock of flamingos?” I asked. “What kind of spa treatments can they possibly plan that you all could use?”

They just looked at me and smiled the way flamingos do when they’re up to something. Or when they have a plan they don’t want anyone to know about. 

We don’t call them feisty flamingos without good reason.

And with that, they hurried out to their waiting limo, and said, “Don’t worry about us. We have it all under control. We’ll tell you all about it when we get back!”

Well, at least my husband and I had the house and backyard to ourselves this weekend, I realized, hoping they wouldn’t get into too much trouble at the spa! But I kept my phone nearby, just in case we had to go there and bring them home.

But obviously I was concerned for no good reason, because the flamingos walked into the house Sunday night, looking relaxed, refreshed, and happy, their bright pink feathers looking softer and even seemed to be glowing a bit.

“Let us tell you all about our weekend!” they said. “It was fabulous!” And they had pictures, of course.

The limo had dropped them off at this luxurious pink (of course) spa which was nestled a few hours away in the mountains near a lake. They were shown to their suite of rooms decorated, of course, in perfect flamingo style. There were even pink fluffy bathrobes and slippers for each of them, along with welcoming gifts and baskets of herbal treatments they’d be using.

The next morning the pampering started with a special cucumber treatment for their eyes. And being flamingos, after the treatment was over, they ate the cucumbers! 

Their beaks were soothed and polished with a coconut milk treatment which they thoroughly enjoyed. 

Then it was on to the sauna. Which wasn’t their favorite thing, but they had to try it out.

After a relaxing lunch on the patio by the pool, it was time for more pampering.

This time it was a massage. They’d never had one, so they weren’t sure what to expect, and they were concerned that no one at the spa had experience in massaging flamingos. 

They were assured there were masseuses who had that experience, and actually they did, and the birds received excellent massages with lotions and potions they didn’t know existed!

After all this excitement they were relaxed but exhausted, and looking forward to relaxing on the patio with some refreshing cocktails and hors d’oeuvres.

Spas don’t usually provide alcohol to their guests, but they ARE flamingos, and you just can’t deprive those pink birds of their favorite refreshments. And they were certainly treated to an array of choices, even including raspberry popsicles (most likely with a touch of framboise!).

After a refreshing swim in one of the saltwater pools, they went to bed to prepare for the next day, which started with a yoga class. If you’ve never seen a flamingo doing yoga, well, here are a few pictures!

Then it was time for pedicures! The flamingos enjoyed a luxurious foot soak in a floral and citrus foot bath. And they really needed it, since they’re on their feet all the time in mud and sand as well as ocean water. In fact, the spa had prepared an extra special and extra long session, since their feet needed it so much.

They even selected special nail polish designed to last longer than regular polish. They proudly showed us their toes, and they really did look good! And of course they had designs put on each nail. They ARE flamingos, you know!

The last part of the day was having their feathers washed, conditioned, and fluffed. And I must say the spa did a great job! They even got eyelash extensions!

And they must specialize in pampering animals at this particular spa, because they took a picture of this cute little dog getting her hair done as well!

So did they have a good time? Absolutely! I think these pictures are proof!

And now they want me to go with them next time! That’s something we’ll have to discuss a bit later.

A Flamingo Baby Shower

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Did you know that flamingos lay one egg at a time? But before the egg is laid, both parents help to make the nest, carefully mounding it just right with mud and twigs and feathers. Then after the mother bird lays the egg it incubates 27-31 days, and both parents take turns sitting on the nest.

We didn’t know it either, until some of the flamingos came to us ask us to do a baby shower for one of the flock. And they wanted it in two weeks, because they had to be sure to have it before the baby was hatched. And since Felicia had just laid the egg in the nest she and Frankie had built, the flock only had two weeks to plan and have the event. 

And Karen and I were already in the middle of planning baby showers for our own daughters! “Please, PLEASE help us,” they said. “It’s important!”

So what were we to do? It’s not pretty when flamingos start crying, so we had no choice but to squeeze another baby shower into Karen’s company’s schedule. Fortunately she didn’t have anything on the books for that day so we were good! 

How to do this quick? Well, first of all there wasn’t time to print and mail invitations, and since all of the invitees  had email and Facebook accounts, digital invitations were perfect! We’d suggested the flamingos could fly to each home and deliver them, but they said they had too much to do and that would simply take too long, plus flamingos don’t really like to fly a lot!

And all of the flamingo ladies invited accepted immediately! This was going to be loads of fun! Decorating was easy, because we already had decor stored from other parties.

What to serve? Not too tough, since by now we were used to planning parties for our flamingos, and we knew what they liked, but we still had to make it a bit unique, with more appetizer items and fruit. You know, nothing heavy, because the mom-to-be had to get back to the nest for her turn incubating the egg. 

And course there had to be cakes, cupcakes, and cookies! And the cuter the better!

Only at this event, since it was a baby shower, we elected to serve an assortment of non-alcoholic punches and drinks, along with limited cocktails. Momma had to get back to her nest, you know, and she couldn’t be tipsy!

Felicia arrived right on time for the shower, leaving Frankie to take his turn on the nest while a number of his friends kept him company and fed him his favorite chilled shrimp appetizers. So everyone was happy!

And the girls had a great time! They played games, again led by Karen and me. They’d wanted to play the “How Big is the Egg?” game, a version of the popular “How Big is Mommy’s Tummy?” game, but Felicia hadn’t wanted to disturb the egg by moving it around to measure it, so that didn’t happen. After the games it was time for food, and everyone ate and ate, and then Felicia opened a huge pile of gifts! So many cute and fun things for the baby flamingo, including a baby book! (What kind of gifts do you get for a baby flamingo? We didn’t know, but her friends did, and they were perfect!)

Everyone kept an eye on the time, and when it was time to leave all the guests signed the guestbook, gathered up their shower favors, and took Felicia back to the nest where she showed Frankie and their friends all their goodies for their first hatchling, who would be arriving in a few days.

It was a great day, and a great party!

And a week later we received pictures of the newest flamingo, hatched just three days after the baby shower.

Isn’t she precious? Now eat lots of yummy shrimp, little one, and soon you’ll begin to look like mommy and daddy, and you can join them on their adventures!

Photo Sources: 1st Row: designMyParty; Pinterest; Dazzle Expressions – 2nd Row: via Pinterest – 3rd Row: Pixabay; Pinterest- 4th Row: via Pinterest – 5th Row: via Pinterest- 6th Row: via Pinterest – 7th Row: via Pinterest; via Etsy- 8th Row: storytender.com

A Flamingo Bridal Shower

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Several weeks ago a few of the girl flamingos came to me with a problem. Or really a question. One of their friends, a flamingo named Fiona, had just gotten engaged, and they wanted to give her a bridal shower. 

Not just any bridal shower though, but one she’d remember for years. A very special, and of course, very pink event. And since they remembered the wedding I’d helped them with a few years ago for another friend, they figured it would be much easier if my friend Karen from Main Stream Events and I helped plan and coordinate it.

How do you say “no” to a group of flamingos when they’re looking at you with those big flamingo eyes and ruffling their bright pink feathers?

Knowing Karen would happily agree to help, I told them to get a guest list together, give us a couple of dates and a few of their ideas and we’d take care of it.

Of course, they already had all that ready for us, and after thanking me several times, they flapped their wings in excitement and headed out to buy shower gifts for their friend while Karen and I set to work!

The first thing we did was to select shower invitations. We presented the girls with several styles to choose from. With so many opinions it took a while, but they finally selected their favorite and Karen sent the order to the printer. 

We even found a special flamingo bridal shower stamp to use for mailing the invitations! How awesome was that!

Next on the list: decorations. They had to be feminine, pink of course, with a hint of gaudiness that flamingos just love! And we gave them a lot of ideas to choose from! So many, in fact, they wanted to use them all and use every room on the first floor of our house (where else?) for the party!

“Only if you flamingos clean up afterwards”, we said. And they agreed. Fortunately.

And no bridal shower is complete without a few games, and we ordered some really nice ones to use! (With Karen and I volunteering to host the games so we wouldn’t have to play.)

Next came ideas for the food. Flamingos love their shrimp, as we all know, so of course their favorite shrimp dishes were included, along with some colorful charcuterie boards.

And of course, no flamingo party event is complete without cocktails, including of course, pink champagne to toast the bride-to-be.

Flamingos also love fancy desserts, and this event absolutely has to have an array of beautiful yet delicious cakes and cookies, of which the leftovers, if there were any, would be boxed up in treat boxes for shower gifts for the attendees as they left. Karen and I actually saved a few of them in the kitchen just in case there weren’t enough left to fill up the leftover boxes!

We gave them a choice of cookies and cakes to choose from, and although they wanted them all, we insisted they pick only two cakes and four trays of cookies! Which do you think they chose?

And of course, all the gifts were wrapped in pink! Fiona had a wonderful time opening everything, and wondering how she’d get them all home!

And just before the party ended, Fiona handed out these cute little message in a bottle gifts to her “flock” to ask them to be in her wedding. Perfect ending to the shower! We also made sure everyone signed the guest book as well as getting a special treat box to take home filled with leftover goodies from the shower.

Yes, it was a lively party, and the perfect bridal shower. Every flamingo had a great time, and they cleaned up as promised, (while drinking more pink champagne of course!) and we sent them all home in a limo. After all, you can’t let flamingos drive after they’ve had a bit too much to drink!

Photo Sources: 1st Row: SE paper designs; Card Hunter; Kristen Smith via Etsy; PaperandInkDesigns; Pumpkin Design Cards – 2nd Row: minted.com – 3rd Row: Eve’s Crafts; Jessmy via Emmaline Bdide; Kaxixix; Pioneer Woman; Soiree Love- 4th Row: LooseyGoosey; Big Dot Of Happiness – 5th Row: source unknown- 6th Row: source unknown; Little Creek Creativity via Emmaline Bride – 7th Row: source unknnown via Etsy; Kazana via Emmaline Bride; Hooray Days; Sweet by Natalie; Lucansandme creations; CookieCutterBaking – 8th Row: ; pexels.com- 9th Row: KseniyaaRevia-Need My Flock; Twisted Velvet; Amazon – 10th Row: hqlimo,com