Flower Shops Alexandria LA

Alexandria LA Press

Community Briefs: Dec. 30

Flower cards benefit Beauty for Ashes ALEXANDRIA — Receive a new bouquet of flowers every month for a year by purchasing a card for only $45. Stop in at Ousley's Harvest Gardens each month to pick up your bouquet of flowers. Beauty for Ashes Transitional Home for Women will receive $25 from each card purchased. Cards will be available at Ousley's Harvest Gardens and Alexandria Monroe Chamber of Commerce. VFW serves food every Wednesday ANDERSON — The Veterans of Foreign Wars, 3210 Columbus Ave., will have all-you-can-eat chicken wings, drumsticks and chicken strips with slaw and potatoes every Wednesday from 4:30 to 7 p.m. Cost is $7. Watch night service at New Jerusalem ANDERSON — On Thursday, beginning at 10:30 p.m., the New Jerusalem Missionary Baptist Church will have a watch night service. The service will be held at 2318 Sheridan St. Guest speaker will be Minister Jesse Reynolds. The public is invited to attend. Breakfast will be served immediately following the program. Host pastor is Dr. Shellie I. Foard. http://www.heraldbulletin.com/news/local_news/briefs/community-briefs-dec/article_52860e4c-ae78-11e5-beda-87f4a6599459.html

Jerome "Jerry" Wagner, 90, St. Cloud and formerly of Foley and Alexandria

Millerville, MN and grew up on a farm. After serving in the Army in the early 1950’s, he bought a dairy farm of his own in Alexandria. He began a 30-year career with the U. S. Postal Service in 1958 working in both Alexandria and St. Cloud. He continued to farm until he was 85, helping out his sons on the Foley farm. Jerry always loved to work with his hands and enjoyed handling the constant construction and repairs that are needed on a busy farm. No toaster was safe from him and his screwdriver. He was a member of St. Patrick’s Catholic Church and the Foley Knights of Columbus. In retirement he was able to further indulge in his love of fishing, baseball, reading, and visiting his family and friends, especially seeing his grandchildren and all of their accomplishments. He could find a distant relative to visit in any town in MN. He loved to take long drives to see the countryside, crops, and what was new. At any moment you might find him stopping for ice cream, a cup of coffee, or a roll to indulge his sweet tooth. But he always saved his beer of the day for back home. Plus he always had his emergency candy stash safely hidden away, or so he thought, a... http://wjon.com/jerome-jerry-wagner-90-st-cloud-and-formerly-of-foley-and-alexandria/

5 DIY holiday decorating ideas from a former White House florist

Dowling devoted to staging magical White House displays, it never looked a lot like Christmas in her own home. There just wasn’t time. Her Old Town Alexandria house would usually get only a simple wreath on the front door. Dowling, who served as the White House chief floral designer from 2009 to 2015, was in charge of monumental holiday installations that were viewed by more than 100,000 visitors annually. The displays might include upward of 55 Christmas trees and thousands of ornaments, put up by hundreds of volunteers. Everything had to look fresh for about five weeks. “Nothing prepared me for what it was like, with all the logistics, details and demands,” Dowling says. “Each year, by the time we had finished our decorating process, I felt like I’d pretty much had enough of Christmas.” John McDonnell The Washington Post Former White House chief floral designer Laura Dowling holds a wreath made of peppers. Dowling had opened her own flower design studio specializing in French-style bouquets in 2002, after a career in government and public policy. She left the White House job in 2015, setting off a flurry of speculation. “I was brought in to make change, and I did,” Dowling says. “It was time to start thinking about what I would do next.” Wha...