I moved to the greater Seattle area on September 12th a few years ago. This was just the beginning of the rainy season (No, the Seattle area does not get rain all year long but shhhh don’t tell it’s a secret). Coming from 350 days of sunshine to 300 days of rain was quite the transition. I lived at the time with my older brother who was delighted to show me around the area. One of the places we went in those first few months was Ikea.

Ikea (www.ikea.com) is a gigantic furniture and home furnishings store that is Swedish in origin. Its home furnishings struck me as two things (a) simple and (b) inexpensive. My brother bought some furniture and we dined at their little restaurant which serves Swedish meatballs and lingnonberry soda. Delicious. I almost left the store without buying anything until on our way to the checkout line I spotted a shelf of ‘assorted tropical’ plants. I have a love for plants and just couldn’t resist this  friendly little sprout with two clusters of leaves that stood about an inch high. The plant lived in my bedroom and I named him Edward. He was my friend in my transition to my new residence and has stayed with me in all five houses/apartments that I have lived in since.

Edward has now out grown three different pots and doesn’t show any sign of slowing down. He has grown from one inch to three feet. Today I transplanted Edward to a new pot and will be moving him from the counter to the floor.