The daughter of state Sen. Larcenia Bullard wants lobbyists, elected officials and college presidents to send flowers and fruit baskets to her mother when session starts on Tuesday.

In an email addressed to more than three dozen people, including University of Miami President Donna Shalala and Miami Dade College President Eduardo Padron, Edwina B. Simms listed contact information for several Tallahassee florists and gift shops. She also included the address of her mother’s Tallahassee office.

“Although you may not be able to travel to Tallahassee to be present on this day, I am quite sure she would be SUPER SURPRISED and APPRECIATIVE of your well wishes,” Simms wrote.

Bullard, who is serving her final year in the Florida Senate because of term limits, said she knew nothing about the email from her daughter.

“I guess she was trying to surprise me,” Bullard said. “She is a sweetheart.”

The Miami Democrat pointed out that lawmakers can accept floral arrangements and other celebratory items on the first day of session.

In 2010, Bullard’s legislative aides asked lobbyists to send flowers, fruit baskets, water and diet sodas on opening day.

“Has Sen. Larcenia J. Bullard assisted your organization in the past and championed causes which you advocate?” staffers wrote in an email. “Let her know just how much you appreciate her efforts with a Bouquet or Fruit Basket.”

Bullard said the email was meant as a surprise to brighten her spirits. At the time, the veteran lawmaker had serious health concerns.

This year, Bullard said she is feeling much better –- and full of mixed emotions as she heads into her final session. Bullard isn’t quite ready for her swan song, she said. “It has taken this long to really grasp everything,” she said. “I do believe we need to expand term limits to at least 16 years.”

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Last January, Elis were prepping for 18 to 25 inches of snow to blanket campus. This year, yellow flowers are blooming in Branford.

Photo by Jacqueline Sahlberg

English Prof. Leslie Brisman noticed the flowers, which he identified as forsythia, outside the window of his Saybrook College office, he said in an email to the News last week.

“Is this a horticultural reminder to all students that what is about to start is the ‘spring’ semester?” Brisman asked. “Or is it Yale’s own answer to Republican deniers of global warming?”

Eric Larson, manager of the Marsh Botanic Gardens on Science Hill, confirmed that the flowers appeared to be forsythia, but said he is not shocked to see them in bloom, given this year’s “rather warm” winter. Forsythia, he said, is more likely to bloom out of season than other flowering plants of the early spring.

“Given a southern exposure — facing south, with walls, dense shrubbery or other protection on its north side — it would not surprise me in the least to see forsythia blooming this time of year,” Larson said.

The color may not last for long, though: temperatures are expected to dip into the 20s tonight and tomorrow, and there’s a chance of light snow this evening.

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Jim Mora began reshaping the UCLA football program by dismissing two players, while a third left school because of academic issues, the school announced Monday.

Tight end Raymond Nelson and defensive tackle Wesley Flowers were both let go for violating team rules. Randall Carroll is academically ineligible and is no longer enrolled at UCLA.

Carroll was allowed to play in the bowl game after filing an appeal. Carroll had come to UCLA with great fanfare, as former Coach Rick Neuheisel had lured him away from USC.

He was also outspoken and was one of the vocal critics when UCLA temporarily withheld players’ bowl checks last month.

Carroll was the California 100- and 200-yard champion as a senior at Los Angeles Cathedral High School in 2009. He came to UCLA as wide receiver but had only 21 receptions in three seasons and was
making the transition to defensive back.

Nelson, a freshman, appeared in eight games. Flowers, a redshirt freshman, has struggled with injuries since he came to UCLA.

–Chris Foster

ALSO:

A Q and A with Kirk Herbstreit

Setting the scent for the BCS title game

SEC is consistently better … and occasionally lucky

Photo: Randall Carroll, left, Wesley Flowers and Raymond Nelson. Credit: Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times

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Q: Several years ago in the food section of the Chicago Tribune there was a sidebar on creating a lettuce “rose” or “flower” to display on a buffet. The tiny box had a color photo of a head of lettuce transformed, I believe, into a flower with eight “petals.” I have searched the archives on chicagotribune.com and Googled until my fingers fell off but have had no fortune in finding the exact instructions. The only other detail I seem to recall is that you had to put the lettuce in ice water.

—Tom Saaristo, Chicago

A: You sent this question in months ago, Tom, and I’m sure you thought I had forgotten. Nope — but I couldn’t find what you were looking for either. And, frankly, I couldn’t image a lettuce “flower.” Fussy food garnishes — turning a carrot into a Volkswagen Beetle, say — hold no appeal for me. Then I found this story, from July 23, 1987, and I think it’s what you’re looking for — although there’s no talk of a buffet or ice water. The piece, by a writer for the Minneapolis Star and Tribune, extols the virtues of salads served hot or room temperature as entree.

The story included a recipe in which iceberg lettuce is cut into wedges and arranged like a flower. Where the recipe came from isn’t clear; celebrity Chef Wolfgang Puck and his latest cookbook (alas unnamed) are cited in the story, however. The recipe name, too, is a mystery: A “lotus” salad without any lotus. Oh well, it was the 1980s. Let me know if this is what you wanted. And, if any reader has another idea of what this lettuce “flower” should be, contact me, too.

Lotus salad with stir-fried pork and vegetables

Prep: 25 minutes. Cook: 6 to 8 minutes. Makes: 4 servings

1 head iceberg lettuce

1/2 cup each: mirin (rice wine); rice wine vinegar; toasted sesame oil

1 to 2 teaspoons dry mustard

1 1/4-inch piece ginger, grated fresh ginger

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1/2 pound boneless pork, cut into narrow slices

1 cup diagonally sliced celery (about 2 stalks)

1 cup fresh bean sprouts

3/4 cup snow peas, trimmed

1/2 cup sliced water chestnuts

1 large tomato, cut into julienne strips for garnish

1. Cut lettuce into wedges. Arrange wedges spoke-fashion on a serving platter (to form a flower shape). Make the dressing by combining the mirin, vinegar, sesame oil, mustard and ginger in a jar; shake well.

2. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in skillet. Stir-fry pork 2 minutes, or until done. Remove with slotted spoon. Add celery to the skillet, stir-fry 1 1/2 minutes. Add bean sprouts, snow peas, water chestnuts; stir-fry 1 1/2 minutes or until all vegetables are crisp-tender. Return pork to pan just to warm through.

3. Spoon the stir-fried mixture into center of the lettuce flower. Garnish with tomato in between the wedges. Serve with dressing.

Do you have a question about food or drink? E-mail Bill Daley at: wdaley [at] tribune [dot] com. Snail mail inquiries should be sent to: Bill Daley, Chicago Tribune, 435 N. Michigan Ave., Chicago 60611.

Twitter: @billdaley

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In 2012, Yahoo! News will tell the nation’s story through the experiences and views of real Americans like you. Watch the first Remake America video »

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Corey presented professional skater Brooke with flowers after he kept taking charge of their routines and suggesting ways the pair can ‘stand out from the crowd’, which is thought to have infuriated the brunette beauty.  

A source told The Sun: ‘Corey and Brooke are not seeing eye to eye at all.

‘He is convinced he knows a thing or two about ice performance even though he has admitted he is basically an amateur.

‘He’s been suggesting things for them to do and ways that he thinks they can stand out from the crowd. She’s at her wits’ end and is convinced they’ll be given the push.

‘He got a reality check when he saw how close the other couples were and realised he needed to make amends.

‘Corey got her a big bunch of flowers as a gesture to say sorry and pleaded with her to forgive him.

‘But it could be too little too late.’

However, the 40-year-old former child actor admitted on last night’s show that he has no skating talent.

He said: ‘My skating ability out of 10 is… zero.’

Corey and Coronation Street star Andy Whyment – who plays Kirk Sutherland – are thought to be the first contestants to turn down a fake tan after they opted out of getting the look in the show’s ‘spray tent’.

MORE: Jorgie Porter wows in Dancing on Ice, finishing top of the leaderboard

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9 January 2012
Last updated at 05:07 ET

Gardener Terry Walton said snowdrops were out before Christmas

The mild weather so far this winter is having an impact on wild flowers, with many already in bloom, a survey in Cardiff has found.

National Museum Wales discovered 63 species had flowered, an increase on the normal 20 to 30.

Dr Tim Rich, head of vascular plants, said: “Autumn frosts have not been severe enough to knock the plants back for the winter.”

Gardener and broadcaster Terry Walton said vegetables were ahead of schedule.

A wild flower hunt around Cardiff by Dr Rich with Dr Sarah Whild of Birmingham University showed how warm the winter has been so far.

Dr Rich said: “Only winter heliotrope is supposed to be flowering at new year, but three spring-flowering species – hazel, primrose and lesser celandine – were flowering very early.”

Continue reading the main story

“Start Quote

The snowdrops were out before Christmas, which is absolutely crazy”

End Quote
Terry Walton
Gardener and broadcaster

The survey found that the mild winter has allowed many garden flowers to bloom early too, with Camellia, Forsythia and Laurustinus flowering already.

Rhondda Valley gardener Terry Walton, a regular contributor to BBC Radio 2′s Jeremy Vine show, said vegetables, such as garlic, winter onions and spring cabbage, were also well ahead of schedule.

He said: “Everything is confused. We really haven’t had a winter.

“It was a poor cool summer and it’s just continued right through. Now it’s gone into early winter and the temperatures are not changing.

‘Bursting into bloom’

“The ground temperature is still extremely warm … (plants) like plenty of rain which has been almost non-stop. They think: ‘Winter’s over, let’s start to flower.’”

He said dandelions, daffodils and snowdrops had been early this year.

“The snowdrops were out before Christmas, which is absolutely crazy, so there’s lots of stuff which is bursting into bloom well ahead of schedule,” he added.

But Mr Walton warned that winter was not over and there was still the possibility of some frost, but as the days became longer and the nights shorter it was unlikely to have much of an impact.

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While a biting winter wind blows outdoors, the bright sunlight of Tuscany bathes the new gallery inside the Post Road Art Center.   Twelve artists and their teacher are showing 40 paintings that depict the sun-saturated beauty of the Italian countryside around Siena, Italy, where they studied for a week last May in a centuries-old estate.

Their paintings are featured in “Green Tuscany,’’ a lovely exhibit showcasing work done by area artists and their teacher who are all members of the Concord Art Association.

The former agricultural estate now houses programs aimed at preserving Tuscan culture and protecting the environment.

Led by noted artist Ilana Manolson, each captured the farm at Tenuta di Spannocchia where they stayed, the surrounding fields and flowers and sky in their distinctive styles that, when viewed together, convey the rich profusion of moods and colors that have infatuated painters for centuries.

Verna Friedman favored rich acrylics that infuse commonplace objects with incandescent colors. Dayna Talbot mixed verdant greens and subtler earth tones to suggest the quiet harmony of the Tuscan landscape. Judith Schneider used quiet neutral colors to accentuate the brilliant reds and yellows that made her expressionist scenes simmer like glowing embers.

Post Road Gallery owner Randi Isaacson predicted viewers would be intrigued by the varied approaches of a dozen artists who were often painting similar scenes.

“They’re all in the same place essentially painting the same thing,’’ she said, “but they’re creating very different kinds of art.’’

Each artist is exhibiting three or four paintings while Manolson is showing a triptych which she’s expected to expand into a larger work. Most paintings in the show are for sale. The exhibit runs through Saturday, Jan. 28.

Isaacson credited Friedman for setting in motion a series of events which led to her decision to host the show.

Isaacson said Friedman, a Marlborough resident who works out of White Rabbit Studios in town and has shown her paintings in her other exhibits, told her about the study trip to Italy.

Since renovating her center last year, Isaacson now exhibits art in a new 16-by-22-foot gallery so works on display, don’t have to share space with supplies as before.

“The new gallery space gives visitors an unencumbered look at the art we’re showing. It’s a better experience for the viewer and that makes it better for the artists,’’ she said.

Friedman and other artists in the show said working under Manolson’s direction with fellow artists in Italy provided encouraging feedback and exciting new subjects to paint.

In Tuscany, she directed group members to paint in morning and afternoon sessions and brought them together around 6 p.m. to critique one another’s work.

An Iowa native with several degrees in art who has taught painting at several schools, Friedman said the eight days in Italy gave her a rare opportunity to work en plein air. She described herself as “a colorist’’ who uses bold colors to depict a sense of place.’

In “Seat Under the Arbor’’ and “At the Pool,’’ Friedman goes beyond strict realism by using heightened colors to create “semi-abstract’’ scenes that convey the way the brilliant Tuscan sunlight inflamed her own perceptions.

Talbot said she aimed to “translate the simplicity of life in Tuscany into my paintings.’’

A Carlisle resident whose family roots extends back to Umbria, she is showing three oil and acrylic landscapes she described as “a little experimental, a little all over the place.’’

As her scenes become less representational, Talbot seems to be exploring the power of subtle colors to express complex moods.

“There’s a little expressionist feel in my paintings. But they’re also realistic,’’ said Talbot. “There’s no social or political message. They’re all about the relationships of color, composition and form.’’

Throughout her stay at the Spannocchia estate, Schneider watched with growing fascination as the leaves on a cactus blossomed into “richly-colored flowers.’’

In gorgeous mixed media paintings, the Framingham artist captured the fertile abundance of a garden terrace and courtyard by using subtle colors to inflame the reds and orange hues that brought her landscapes alive.

While others might regard her feverishly-colored scenes as tending toward expressionism, Schneider said, “To me, my work is very realistic.’’

“”My brain is thinking. But my hand is doing the work,’’ she said. “It’s an automatic expression of what I see.’’

The Essentials:

WHAT: “Green Tuscany’’

WHERE: Post Road Art Center, 1 Boston Post Road E, Marlborough

WHEN: Through Jan 28

HOURS: 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday; Thursday until 7.

Admission: Free

INFO: 508-485-2580, www.postroadartcenter.com

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