5 WAYS TO ENJOY VALENTINE'S DAY

1. Have a honey to be around.
2. Go to dinner, make a dinner, sip wine or your favourite beverage.
3. Give Valentines to little ones.
4. Dress in red or pink or both.
5. Last but not least. Eat lots of chocolates.
Hope everyone enjoyed their Valentine's Day.

WELCOME TO FEBRUARY-MONTH OF LOVE

So Valentine's Day is in February and we think of love. Some say a contrived card company event. However, the red and white and chocolate make it fun. An excuse to have a dinner out with hubbie or family. Time to buy flowers or other little treats. For most Canadians we think it is the last month of winter.Ground Hog Day to let us how long until Spring is vital!  Yes I know March can be brutal and cold but February takes us 1 month closer to Spring. So we live in hope.There is also Super Bowl Sunday if a sports fan. There are some family birthdays, another excuse to have a cake. Well it is okay to have cake anytime! Another winter month to consolidate plans and finish indoor projects. Taking care of business like the song goes. Personal stuff! I look at the January cleanup of some areas of my home so it entices me to continue the process. Every box packed. Every closet cleaned is validating. Some goals achieved. But there are fun events to enjoy! So bring it on February, the short month of the year!

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VALENTINE'S DAY 2017

Red and pink are the colours. Although most of Canada is seeing white due to the abundance of snow. Valentine's Day began with a martyr in 269 C.E. in Romans times. Apparently he was a priest who married Christian couples so was killed. It is fun to read versions of how the day all started. Even the cupid angle brings in Greek mythology. So do some research to help with some facts of the day. Impress your colleagues and friends with your wisdom. Modern Valentine's Day is cards, red roses and lots of chocolates. Dinner out makes all the restaurants busy and happy. Being on a Tuesday, many lovers probably celebrated over the weekend.

It is an opportunity to break up the winter season with some fun. For children at school they write little cards to each other.
For this Senior couple, take out and eating in will be the day. I bought two big cupcakes at work to bring home to help with the celebration. Some goodies, stickers, pencils and a piece of clothing for all my grandchildren made it fun. Of course a little monetary surprise to give them a boost. My real sweet Valentines are my six sweet grandchildren. How about you? What are your plans for the day? How do you celebrate?

RED ROSES MEAN LOVE

Receiving flowers at any time can be romantic. Red roses are so iconic at Valentine's Day.

 

A reminder that flowers grow somewhere. Actually most roses are imported from Columbia! Not just coffee! In the background there are some cut tulips, a favourite for the spring time in Canada. Flowers in the winter bring a much needed relief to the home. The fragrance is aromatic! For sweethearts, red roses mean the most. Did you receive flowers from your sweetheart?

VALENTINE'S DAY 2014-ENJOY

Happy Valentine's Day! One of those days that sweethearts are supposed to declare their love for each other. Little children exchange valentine cards at school. Boxes of chocolates and flowers are bought and exhanged in droves. Restaurants have a good turnout as it is one of the busiest dinners to attend. The red brightens up the winter snow. It is a fun day to wish everyone a Happy Valentine's Day! So what are your plans! Well mine are simple. With some food gift cards to use, Adolph and I are getting a takeout chicken and ribs dinner to eat at home to continue to watch the Olympics. He bought me some beautiful red roses for my birthday recently so I advised him that we could wait for the Easter and Spring flowers! It is that little winter break to give us an excuse to celebrate! Celebrating life, love and chocolate can only be good! Thanks to that Italian saint- St Valentine that was martyred around 269 - the patron saint of lovers. Enjoy your day! 

THE IDES OF FEBRUARY

Here we are at the 15th of the month. It seems halfway but actually with February it is past that mark. With Valentine's Day with all the flowers and chocolates over, there is little excitement about the days ahead. Perhaps that is the reason for so much depression this time of year.To find activities and fun can help keep the spirits going. Although the sun is returning to us with longer days, is it the darkness that brings darkness to our lives? Winter driving and commutes are longer which leaves less time at night to do those much needed chores. Times we are just tired, right? So are there things that you can do with less energy and effort? Reading? A game with the children? Organizing a drawer- each night do one? Sometimes just getting started with something small. Work can be strenuous with more sick calls from colleagues. Sometimes more mental health days than actual sick days so covering for those away brings stress. Oh the ides of February! The month in the middle of winter so it seems but actually much closer to Spring than realized. Get out and walk in the snow! Get back to a winter activity! Make a snowman with a child or a snow angel! Pretend you really like it and before you know it, a new season will arrive! Or you can still go to bed and pull the covers over your head and hope it all goes away!

ROMANCE, INTIMACY AND SEX-ARE THEY THE SAME?

While walking this morning, I was thinking about the new craze- reading the trilogy "The Shades of Gray". I have not read the books but have done a little research. Erotica, dominatrix, leather, collars and handcuffs are some of the ideas presented in a couple's life. Apparently the second book delves into their relationship. What I have found interesting is asking others who are reading the books what they think? The clinician in me! One of my friends found her younger daughter-in-law surprised she had ventured to read the books! Each generation reads something to do with sex. Ancient times in Hindu life it was the Kama Sutra. Not just a book on sexual positions but outlining a goal of Hindu life. Kama- sensual or sexual pleasure and sutra- a thread or line that holds things together. It really was a guide to virtuous living and the nature of love and family life. Lady Chatterly's Lover and The Joy of Sex are books that have passed my way! Old copies of Playbook and Penthouse with the letters to the editor that seemed unreal. So my questions- romance, intimacy and sex are they the same? I think they can complement each other. Everyone needs some romance in their lives. Look at the amount of flowers and chocolates sold on Valentine's Day! Even flowers just because can bring some romance! I think it is romantic that my husband brings me coffee in the morning while I am getting ready or even before I am out of bed! The little things that help a relationship to thrive. Intimacy can be many things- holding hands, rubbing A5-35 on sore joints or the goodbye kiss as couples part! Just sex in a couple's life without some romance or intimacy can exist but does it keep the relationship going! I love one ad on TV where a young couple are walking and they swing past an elderly couple holding hands. The young woman looks back smiling at the old couple! Is she thinking I hope I have someone when I am that old? Or how romantic? Or some cynics- they are holding each other up! The question? Perhaps the answer is- we need all three. Do they help a relationship to last? Probably! Does the latest craze hurt couples? Probably not as with my little research it is mostly women that are reading the books! I do not know of any man admitting to the craze! What do you think?