Valentines Day

When I was working with all the engineers, most of them professed not to believe in "Halmark" holidays. Of course there is some truth in the fact that Halmark has cooked up a large number of holidays. Sometimes, though, we could use a reminder to tell someone that they are special. I am sure these same guys who didn't bring flowers, candy or a card for Valentines didn't do it for any other day of the year either. Hubby bought me chocolates but he usually brings me chocolate every time he goes to the store. He knows how much I love it. As far as I am concerned Valentines is a good time to tell Hubby, I have never loved anyone so much and never felt so loved by anyone before him.

The Dollar Tree

Mom and I went to the Dollar Tree today. As I have said before, that is one of our favorite places to shop. I bought pencils and toys for grandchildren, a can of soup, and a valentine for my Hubby. Mom bought potato chips and a figurine of a clown riding an old-time bicycle. Mom collects clowns. At Christmas I gave the grandchildren $5 gift certificates to the dollar store in their stockings. My grandson called to tell me what he bought. He told his mother they were all things she wouldn't approve of. ( guns, weapons etc) My granddaughter got on the phone and told me she bought dolly stuff and a bear and then continued to tell me for the next half hour everything they had at the Dollar Tree. Next year I will be sure to give all the grandchildren gift cards to the dollar store.

A Houseperson

I am a houseperson. I tried to warn Hubby before we were married. My Dad was a houseperson and was always putting in new shelves and cupboards in whatever home he lived in. A houseperson lies awake at night thinking up things to do around the house, like making valences for the vertical blinds or tiling the rise on the family room steps. Hubby is not a houseperson. He says he could live in a cave and he probably could if it had low humidity, air conditioning and internet acess. I nagged my first husband endlessly but with Hubby I only make suggestions--repeatedly.

Let's Get Out of Here

It is eleven degrees out and that is warmer than it was all day yesterday. The wind howls and blows snow in big clouds. The Sun Garden window in my kitchen has ice in the corners and even when I was quilting and the wind would blow one of those 50 mile an hour gusts I could feel the breeze leaking around the windows. The weather forcast says it will be cold like this for three more days with 1-2 inches of snow tonight and 3-5 inches tomorrow. I told Hubby I wanted to get away somewhere warm if only for a weekend. He went up to the trusty computer and arranged for a week in Phoenix. I understand the temperature is in the high seventies. I hate to leave Mom behind but I offered to go on a Carribean cruise with her but she says she always catches cold when she flies. She has a point. Hubby is busy cashing in a Northwest voucher and our 61,000 points from Choice Privilege. We are out of here.

Accidents

Mary's husband, the Brain, dislocated his shoulder playing racquet ball last week. Accidents are always unexpected and painful, either physically, financially, or to our pride. Some accidents leave life long scars and some people never recover. Others are painful but we recover and sometimes forget they even happen. I hope this is the Brain's type of accident. Still others are painful but in looking back on them we cannot suppress a snicker. For example, Mary breaking her nose in ballet class, or John getting a black eye when he tried to put his pants on, both legs at the same time and fell and hit the toilet. There was also the time Jim broke his finger by sitting on it playing "Duck,duck, goose." My favorite though is Gretel's accident. She was running late and put her shoes on without tying them. She ran outside and slammed the front door behind her catching her shoelace in the door. She greeted the front sidewalk dramatically.

Unmatched Socks

When the kids were little I always had a huge bag of unmatched socks. I always kept them for the sock that got left under the bed or got inside something else. When you cleaned the basement you often found the match or if you looked in the toy box. Then there were those socks you never found a match for. Once I found an unmatched sock with an iron on tape on it with a kids name I had never even heard of. I bet his mother had a bag of unmatched socks. Anyway I thought when it got down to the two of us there would be no more unmatched socks but I was wrong. I do find children's socks from the grandchildren when they visit and sometimes nobody will claim them. Where do there matches go? Some of them I am sure are the result of my method for darning socks. When I find a sock with a hole in it I say"Darn" and throw it away.

Letters to Grandma

At least once a month I write to my five grandchildren. I usually send a photograph that Papa or I have taken. Now the grandchildren are 5,6,8,8, and 10. I remember the excitement when my grandmother wrote me a letter. I wrote letters to my grandmother until she died in 1970. This year at Christmas all the children got stationery in their stockings so that Grandma would get letters back. Three of the children have written me. This is from a letter from one of them. He said it was a drawing of his family as snakes.