Saturday Show & Tell – 8th Edition

Welcome to Saturday Show & Tell – 8th Edition. This week’s round-up features 10 bloggers and touches upon the following topics: flowers, travel, social commentary, and even a bit of fiction.

April showers bring May flowers, but why wait? Today, Mandy Chatsworth brings us A Floriculture Tour Around the Continents posted at :

Inspired by my co-blogger’s post on the Fairmount Park Azalea Garden in our home city of Philadelphia I decided to put together what I’m calling a Florticultural Tour of the Continents. The post highlights iconic flowers across the globe that are known to strike our emotions and our imaginations so profoundly they can inspire us both creatively and intellectually. I hope you enjoy it and are as inspired as I was by each beautiful blossom as I was writing the piece!

Click on the photos to see larger versions of each blossom. (As an aside, I love Stargazer Lilies so much that they made up half of my bridal bouquet last week.)

Roses made up the other half of my bouquet, and roses are what Byteful Travel brings us this week with the post, Top 10 Sublime Sights at the International Rose Test Garden in Portland (The City of Roses) posted at Byteful Travel.

What would you do if you saw a rose that looked exactly like a Hawaiian tie-dye shirt? You might gasp and gaze at it for a while, right? What if I said you could see not one, but thousands of roses like this, completely free of charge? Amazingly, all of this is a reality at the International Rose Test Garden. That’s right, within Portland’s Washington Park, this world-famous rose breeding facility produces some of the most incredible roses you could ever imagine. The colors alone will blow you away. (Tons of high-rez photos included.)

Are you feeling inspired now to plant some flowers in your own backyard? If so, check out Leineriza‘s post entitled, Growing and Gardening in Sandy Soil posted at Back to the Roots.

If you’re lucky enough to have sandy soil in your area, don’t despair. It’s a problem that’s easily solved. It needs work more than other soil types but if done right, improving sandy soil could be one of your gardening trophies. We’ll tell you how.

Not sure what type of soil you have? Leineriza’s site offers easy ways to figure out exactly what kind of soil you have. I can hardly wait to give it a try, since I have yet to start a garden here in Texas.

Like Mandy’s Floriculture Post, Katie Sorene’s post takes us around the world. Instead of flowers, however, she shares My Top 10 Foodie Travel Destinations posted at Tripbase

Katie’s list hops all over the globe, including Turkey:

After witnessing a call to prayer at dawn or so, breakfast might include olives, tomatoes, bread and kaymak (slow boiled milk turned into a cream). A portal for civilizations, many cultures have made their mark on Turkey, but the one that lasted is the Ottoman Empire. The Ottomans enjoyed fresh vegetables, nuts and yoghurt.

The next travel-related post we have comes from Lee, who presents Stag and Hen Party Weekends Quest Adventures Cardiff Wales posted at Cardiff & Swansea Quest Adventures.

Looking for a thrilling stag or hen weekend adventure before the big day, a twist on the usual celebrations? Something memorable & exciting for your stag and hen parties, then you’ve come to the right place. Quest Adventures will provide a fun packed unique stag or hen party.

Stag and hen parties are the UK’s version of bachelor and bachelorette parties, in case you were wondering. We didn’t really have either before our wedding last week, but we may do something fun in the fall. I never seem to do anything in the proper order in my life, so why not? What about you? Have you ever been to a stag or hen party?

Next, the topic  shifts to Social Commentary, starting with Khaleef @ KNS Financial, who presents Cash Strapped Rutgers University Pays Snooki From Jersey Shore $32k To Speak To Students!

I have not seen Jersey Shore, but I catch glimpses of the name, “Snooki” on the tabloids in the grocery store checkout line. What do you think?

Bullying frequently makes headlines these days, whereas, when I was a kid, it was just one of those topics that kids kept to themselves. David Leonhardt gives his take on the matter in a post called, Don’t Back Down posted at Self-Help Happiness Blog:

Once the kid hit me good in the jaw. But I didn’t hit back. Just as in the song – “As bad as it hurt, I just grinned” – and after that first punch, it was over. I guess he didn’t know what to do with someone who doesn’t hit back.

I like how David points out that bullying occurs throughout life, not only on the playground, although it can take much subtler tones with adults. I’ve seen mother-in-laws, for instance, bully family members while in complete denial of the torment they inflict. (I adore my mother-in-law, though. She is a blast!)

I wholeheartedly agree with RateMeister’s post, called Don’t Pick Up the Phone posted at Project Thinkery .

Your phone rings and you knock over your first-born child as you desperately try to pick it up before the second ring. Why?

Why, indeed? I know plenty of people who are slaves to their phones and I bet you do, too. Unlike the people RateMeister describers, however, I’ve never felt compelled to pick up up the phone if I am busy doing something else. I’ve caught a lot of grief for that over the years, though. What are your thoughts? Has Miss Manners spoken out on the subject?

On a lighter note, Maureen O’Danu shares an amusing anecdote entitled, My Hallucination was Mooing posted at Am I the Only One Dancing?. She sums up the scenario like this:

Sometimes real life can be more surreal than fantasy.

I don’t want to spoil anything, but I have actually had a similar experience!

Lastly, Joseph Charles Campbell shares a short story he wrote called, How Soon? – A Short Story posted at Psychedelic Arts and Musings. It starts with an intriguing premise: What would you do if you started receiving letters from yourself that you had no recollection of writing?

Eight days ago, I started receiving mail that I had unknowingly sent myself. The first one came and I thought nothing of it, initially discarding it as some sort of prank from someone. I’ve never been one to effectively ignore peculiar events, though, and later that night my conscience got the best of me. I stumbled out of bed, and dug the letter out of the trash.

If I were a writing teacher, I think Joseph’s premise would be a fun one to give the entire class. I won’t tell you how his tale ends, however; you will have to read it for yourself.

That wraps up this week’s edition of the Saturday Show & Tell blog carnival. Thanks to all who participated this week, either by submitting a post, or by leaving comments below. See you next time!

Speaking of…

Would you like to highlight your blog on an upcoming Saturday Show & Tell? If so, here are 2 ways to submit your post. Either send the link directly to me via tui [at] mentalmosaic [dot] com, or submit it through the Blog Carnival site via this link. If you have any questions, shoot me an email, or ask in a comment below.

As always, if you enjoyed this week’s post, give us a shout out. If you didn’t, well, just remember what your mama told you about doing when you don’t have anything nice to say.