I'm Susan, and this is my little shop. Some of you have been coming in since I opened the door in the spring of 1991 with two coolers, a folding table and more nerve than sense, and some of you are finding us for the first time on the Internet, which still amazes me. Either way, I'm glad you're here.

The name comes from a saying my grandmother had cross-stitched over her kitchen sink. It seemed right for a flower shop, and it seemed right for me, since I've never lived anywhere but here.

Everything on this page is done by hand in the shop, usually while the radio is on. If you don't see exactly what you're looking for, send me an e-mail and describe it. I've never had anybody describe an arrangement I couldn't make.

Fall is my favorite season in the shop. The colors come in, the door stops sticking, and the mums show up on the sidewalk. Here's what we've got going through Thanksgiving:

Birthdays, anniversaries, new babies, get-well, thank-you, "I'm sorry," and "just because," which is my favorite reason and the one I see least often. (Gentlemen, take the hint.)

• Designer's choice, from $20: tell me the occasion and a budget and I'll use what's freshest and prettiest that day. This is honestly how you get the most flowers for your money.
• A dozen roses, arranged in a vase with greens and baby's breath, $45. Red, pink, yellow, white or peach. A half dozen is $25.
• Mixed vase arrangements from $25. Bud vases with a rose or a few carnations, $8.
• Green and blooming plants: peace lilies, pothos, ivy, African violets, and this time of year a lot of mums. From $12.
• Balloons: Mylar for $3.50, latex 3 for $2, and a balloon bouquet to go with any arrangement.
• Fruit and gourmet baskets from $30. Let me know a day ahead for these.

Prices include the container, the card and the ribbon. Delivery is extra (see below).

I love doing weddings and I try to do only one a weekend so each one gets my full attention. We'll sit down together in the shop (bring your mother, your maid of honor, a swatch of the dresses and any pictures you've torn out of magazines) and go through it piece by piece: the bridal bouquet, attendants' bouquets, boutonnieres, corsages for the mothers and grandmothers, altar or arch flowers, pew bows, and centerpieces for the reception. Then I'll write it all up with prices so nothing is a surprise.

Bridal bouquets start around $60 for a simple hand-tied bouquet and go up from there; most of my brides spend between $400 and $900 on everything, and I've done lovely weddings for less. A $50 deposit holds your date. I am already booking for spring and summer 2000, and June fills up first.

My album of photos from weddings I've done is in the shop. I'd love to put pictures here, but my nephew tells me I need a scanner for that, and right now the money is going toward a new cooler.

This is the part of the job I take most seriously. If you're reading this because you've lost someone, I'm so sorry.

I work with both of the funeral homes in town and deliver directly to them, so you only need to tell me the family's name and which funeral home. I'll find out the viewing and service times myself. Casket sprays start at $125, standing sprays and easel pieces at $75, and sympathy baskets and vase arrangements for the home or the service start at $35. Family pieces (a heart, a cross, a wreath with a ribbon that says "Grandpa" or "Beloved Sister") are made to order.

If you'd rather send a green plant, those are always appropriate and they last; peace lilies are the most popular for a reason. I can also send a dish garden.

Out-of-town orders are welcome by e-mail. Just tell me the name of the deceased, the funeral home, what you'd like to spend and what the card should say. I'll confirm back to you the same day.

I check e-mail first thing in the morning and again after lunch, every day the shop is open. Send me a note at [email protected] with:

1. What you'd like (or the occasion and a budget and let me pick),
2. Who it's going to and where (a street name and town is enough for me to find most people in Fairview; for anywhere else I need the full address),
3. The day you'd like it delivered, and
4. What the card should say, exactly as you'd like it written.

I'll e-mail you back with the price and to confirm the details. Please don't send credit card numbers by e-mail. When I confirm your order I'll ask you to call the shop with your card, or you can stop in and pay, or I'll bill you if I know you. Same-day delivery on e-mail orders received before 11:00 a.m., except for weddings and funeral work, which need a little more notice.

Orders for Valentine's Day and Mother's Day should come in a week ahead, and I mean it. I still have nightmares about February 14, 1998.

We deliver in our own van, Monday through Saturday:

• In Fairview: $4, including the hospital, both nursing homes, both funeral homes and all the churches.
• Millbrook, Cedar Grove and the lake: $7.
• Anywhere else in the county: $10, and I'd rather have a day's notice.

For flowers outside our area, anywhere in the country, I can send your order through the florists' wire service to a shop near the recipient. There's a wire fee and the other shop does the arranging, so it won't look exactly like mine, but it'll be fresh and it'll get there.

Hospital deliveries: please double-check the room number. Flowers can't go into intensive care, so if your person is in ICU, I'll hold them and deliver when they've moved, or send them to the house instead.

This is the little card that comes tucked into every arrangement. People keep telling me they lose it, so here it is where you can find it. Fresh flowers will last a week or more if you treat them right.

We're on Main Street in Fairview, next to the hardware store, with the green awning and, right now, about 200 mums out front. You can't miss us.

Phone: (555) 555-0147
E-mail: [email protected]