Senior Housing and Assisted Living

More roses are bought in the few days before St. Valentine’s Day than in any other similar period in the year. Until not so long ago, people were mindful of the significance of the colours of roses (I am pretty sure that it did not apply to other flowers as well).

For example, it would have been a serious faux pas to give a young teenage girl a red rose, but not a pink or a yellow one. All the colours had a significance. However, it is a bit like reading Tarot cards, not everyone agrees on those significances.

Anyway, out of interest and to keep the tradition alive, I will give you the commonly accepted meanings of the colours of roses below.

‘My love is like a red, red rose’, so goes the poem and when most people think of a rose, the first colour that probably comes to mind is red and, in fact, the word ?rose? comes from the Latin word ?rosa?, which means red.

It is also true that red roses are the most common and the most bought colour, but there are so many other colours that there is an entire lexicon of significance that can be said with them.

Here are some colours and their meaning:

Red – Love, romance, beauty, obsession, yearning and respect

Burgundy – Unwitting loveliness

Red but withered – Our love is over

White – Wholesomeness, youth, pure love and virginal innocence

Pink – Happiness, admiration, gratitude and charm

Dark Pink – Thankfulness or thank you

Yellow – Happiness, gladness, companionship, pleasure or platonic love

Yellow with Red Tip – Falling in Love

Orange – Fascination, desire, or enthusiasm

Red and White – (a bouquet of roses of two colours) – Passionate wholesomeness or unity

Peach – Sincerity, gratitude, appreciation, modesty, admiration, or sympathy

Lavender – Love at first sight or enchantment

Black – Death or our love is over

Blue – Unfeasible, unachievable or secrecy

Red Rosebud – Symbol of wholesomeness and beauty

White Rosebud – Girlhood or youth

Thornless Rose – “Love at First Sight”

Single Rose – Straightforwardness

Two Roses – An engagement or impending marriage

Rose Leaves – Sign of hope

Roses – Sent every month – loveliness ever renewed

Unfortunately, there no true black or blue roses in nature, as the pigment structures in the rose do not allow these colours to be bred, although it has not stopped gardeners trying for hundreds of years. However, there are some very dark purple roses, which are used in stead of black roses. There are also some very pale lavender roses that seem to be blue, but have a shade of pink in them. Traditionally, blue roses are usually white roses dyed.

No matter what you want to express with your flowers, a bouquet of roses can articulate your emotions. So next time you give a bouquet of roses, why not try to express what you want to say by selecting the colours with care. The recipient probably will not understand these day, but you could send them a copy of this article or have fun explaining the meaning to them over a bottle of wine.

Owen Jones, the writer of this article, writes on many subjects, but is currently involved with valentines Day Gift Baskets. If you have an interest in romantic gifts, please go over to our website now at Romantic Gifts Ideas

Some people do not like being alone on St. Valentine’s Day. Younger women in particular consider that being alone on St. Valentine’s Day carries a stigma, which makes them feel depressed and lonely. But just because someone is not in a relationship, it does not mean they cannot have a good time. I will give a couple of suggestions below to help you have a time to remember.

1] Call up all your single girlfriends and go clubbing. Many young men like to dance every now and again or to their favourite songs, but they do not like to dance non-stop. On the other hand, young women often do like to dance non-stop, so you may have a better time without a boyfriend in a nightclub.

2] Another good idea for single girls on Valentine’s Day is to give a movie night at your home. You can invite over all of your single friends and hire a few comedies. Instead of being sad and miserable, you and your friends could watch the movies and take the rise out of the characters in the movie.

Hire a few horror films too for an extra special night. Lots of young people like horror films. They like to have a scream and hide their faces behind their friends’ backs. Treat the evening like a proper night at the movies and get popcorn, snacks, ice cream and cola, etc in.

3] You could hold a singles party. Invite all of your single friends and tell them they have to bring a friend of the opposite sex. Buy or borrow some of those games that make you answer personal questions like ‘Forfeits’ and ‘Twister’, where you have to put your hands and feet on different coloured spots on a plastic mat.

‘Mr and Mrs’ is another game where you ask one half of a ‘couple’ questions about the other in his absence. He has to confirm the replies when he is invited back into the room. The replies could be side-splitting, because the people will not know each other well.

3] Hire a table in a non-romantic restaurant and get eight or more girlfriends to go out for a meal. Once the atmosphere starts building, it can become great fun and you could go dancing later.

4] You could arrange a visit to the theatre and have a meal afterwards. Most people do not go to the theatre every year, so going with your friends on St. Valentine’s Day would make the day truly unforgettable.

5] You could make up a basket of your favourite things. Include some really special things like gourmet chocolate or other gourmet candy. Get something lavish to drink that is appropriate to your age. Then you can pig out on your favourite foods and drink and watch a few films on your own or with your sister or other family member like a favourite cousin.

There are many things you can do to enjoy Valentine’s Day as a single girl, there’s no need to mope around feeling sorry for yourself at all.

Owen Jones, the author of this piece, writes on many topics, but is currently involved with Gourmet Chocolate Candy. If you have an interest in romantic gifts, please go over to our website now at Romantic Gifts Ideas

Chat rooms are becoming more and more popular as people flock to them in search of an audience, friendship, and even love. You can even access chat rooms from your mobile phone making them easier than ever to locate and use. Most of these chat rooms are safe enough, being moderated, and more importantly, self-monitored by their members. However, the dangers of chat rooms for the over 50s crowd is growing.

Many older people who until recently could not operate a computer are learning and enjoying the benefits, especially in social networking. But while the younger sets are drawn towards the Face Books and My Spaces of the net, the seniors are taking their places in the chat rooms and are having a grand old time doing it.

Smart developers have latched on to the idea and have created chat rooms aimed specifically towards the 50′s and over crowd in search of companionship. It is a win-win situation where everyone gets what he or she wants. Chat rooms are booming and people are getting together and talking. For some, it seems to be the perfect solution.

Of course, anywhere you have a crowd of people who are not savvy to the ways of the internet; you will also have people who are savvy in the ways of taking advantage of them. This is why it is so important to be careful and also to watch out for your fellow chat roomers. Take the time to learn your way around the chat room that you use and learn its terms of service, and privacy policy. The more information you have, the better off you will be. Say hello and make yourself known to the moderator so that they know you are new and that you are concerned about the safety of yourself and others

It is important to bear in mind that no matter how nice the typist on the other side of the screen appears to be, you really never know whom you are dealing with. Never give out personal information about yourself, no matter what. The risk is simply not worth it.

When you think about the high occurrence of identity theft in the last fifteen years you begin to realize how little progress we have made against it. You need to be vigilant at all times

When you register in a chat room, do not use your real name for a handle, and be very careful all the time. You cannot let your guard down even for an instant. That is not to say that you cannot have fun and make friends. You just have to be careful what you reveal about yourself that could be used against you.

In casual conversation, someone could build a profile of you in just a matter of weeks that could do plenty of damage. On the other hand, there are plenty of people in chat rooms that just want to be friends and enjoy chatting with other people. It is a fine line to tread, but if you are going to play the game, those are the rules. The dangers of chat rooms for the over 50s is real so protect yourself at all times.

Struggling to find senior pen pals? Then you need to generate your senior chats user profile and start building authentic, world-wide friendships today.