February -- The "Lovers" Valentine Month!!

Hey, long time no post, but the reason is: I've been so busy making valentine's for ALL my favorite folks, (chuckle)! If you did not receive your valentine yet, it must be lost in the U.S. mail!! You know how overloaded the postmen are in this beautiful "heart month". Suffice it to
say, you already know you have won my heart, so do not fret about whether or not the valentine
made it to your special p.o. box! You are definitely counted among my favorite people!

This year, my sweet husband and I decided to celebrate Valentine's Day at one of our favorite restaurants close
to our home: The Italian Garden, with such delights, and heavenly treats for the palate, each time we visit! It is really a grand taste of Italian food, with those famous Italian paintings on the walls,
and service is outstanding, as the wait-staff must surely have been trained in Tuscanny, Italy! Tuscanny is definitely where ALL the chefs are trained for The Olive Garden restaurants, and that too is another
favorite restaurant of ours, no matter what "special occasion we happen to be celebrating"! Once we went there to celebrate "really living in these special times"!!

My husband and I decided to be "creative" in our valentine's to each other! We took pen in
hand, and worked very hard to create just the special prose, to let each other know just how
much we love and appreciate our "mate for life"! I think back on many other Valentine celebrations, and how we spent those special times! Sometimes, we celebrated at the grand
strand of Myrtle Beach, S.C.; other times in those beautiful and serene "Great Smoky Mountains" of N.C. bordering Tennessee. No matter where we happen to be on Valentine's Day, you can rest assured, we are thankful for our marriage, the stability of our mate; and the special
love that we share, come rain or shine.

When one of us feels sad, the other cheers us up! When
one if hurt, even bleeding, the other binds the wounds, gives us hugs and kisses to smooth the
way! If I burn the toast(once in a long while), he forgives me, and we just toast again. We've
been through many critical times in our marriage, but somehow we have learned that
each is not perfect, although try as we might--so we have learned to accept the "less than perfect", and be happy and thankful for what we have. We have become "soul mates", and
even sometimes, we know just what the other is planning to say!! Well, "Happy Valentine's to
all my friends out there! Enjoy your year, and remember to "Stop, and smell the roses"!!