When the idea came to me that perhaps our greenhouse should have a time capsule, it never occurred to me this is what it might look like. But as I sat at my kitchen table and  considered all the things that this Gee-oh dome project meant to us, this  bottle seemed to just jump at me!

First there is the fact that it is a a glass bottle. My mother is crazy about glass. She even removes salad dressing from the plastic one it came from and stores it in the glass bottle. All fall I spend my harvest days putting up produce into glass jars and “canning” them. The canning part is the fact that a sealed lid process keeps the food safe for consumption later in time. So the glass bottle is holding its contents for the future finder. 

The next fact is that it is an Izzy soda bottle.  We purchased the soda on our way back from Swan Lake  Christian Camp at the grocery store in Viborg. It is significant because our children have spent many Camp weeks attending  camp there and also counseling camps. But this year our daughter Lennea has not only worked there for the summer but has stayed on as staff through the fall. The soda reminds us of summertimes well spent. 

Then of course there are the seeds.  What better thing to give to the future than seeds from the flowers of the past?  The pretty pink flower sends me right back to the first flower purchase of the spring for this year. We purchased a bright pink potted daisy for the girls’ bachelorette party room. I was so pleased to enjoy the pink zinnias all summer and into the late fall. They reminded me of Yolanda and Josh’s wedding. They reminded me off the joy we shared during our time together that weekend. 

Finally the note. It’s not important to repeat what was written. The best part was writing it to the future “dear reader.”  I have no clue who or if it will ever get read. Remember all those visuals of bottles found on the beach with a note on them? It’s about the hope someone someday will get a small glimpse into who we are because of that note. 

The thought that is most behind the whole concept of the pop bottle flower vase is the song “Time In A Bottle.” Because it’s not really about the greenhouse project or the time capsule phenomena itself, but rather about spending time with loved ones. The time we as a couple spend together building the reject also builds US. So as others come and join us in our labor, the time spent together is cherished. 

Time in a Bottle by Jim Croce has  the most enjoyable inappropriately used lyrics that I know. The song’s most recent coupling was in a commercial with Cookie Monster to describe his  food affair with his cookie craving. Here are the lyrics as posted by Google Play Music:

“If I could save time in a bottle

The first thing that I’d like to do

Is to save every day till eternity passes away

Just to spend them with you

If I could make days last forever

If words could make wishes come true

I’d save every day like a treasure and then

Again, I would spend them with you

But there never seems to be enough time

To do the things you want to do, once you find them

I’ve looked around enough to know

That you’re the one I want to go through time with”