the pink week-end, continued

There is this devilish side to me that likes to torture Ed with holidays such as this one. I'll get up to let the cheepers out and say in an off hand manner -- it's my Valentine's day gift to you. Or, I'll spare him the Sunday vacuuming and do it myself -- as a special treat for this day, I tell him. Or, I'll make a heart out of raspberries on his oatmeal.






This is when it begins to sink in that unfortunately, I'm one of those who likes special days. It's a truth he prefers to forget, even as I wont let him. Every day is not Valentine's Day, not should it be. This day of hearts and sweet gestures is one that feels good because you don't typically pamper your emotions in this fashion. And yes, you can be jaded, or indifferent to it, or downright hostile to yet another commercial infraction on your peace and quiet, but for me, February offers too many bleak days and cold nights. A chance to step outside of your routines and play a little with the person or people you love seems like such a fine thing!

By late morning, Ed is scrambling for ideas: a movie? No, too crowded. Nothing is pulling me there. Chocolates from our favorite store? Closed today, my dear -- I say with a wicked smile, rubbing in the idea that Valentine's Day requires forethought. He doesn't give up: dinner out? Not today, so how about tomorrow?

I agree to that. After all, much will be decided in terms of my Warsaw apartment saga in the next 24 hours (though not today -- no one in Poland works on Sundays, not even real estate agents) and it will be lovely to cap off the day with a dinner at a favorite place.

As for today, we settle on going to the annual garden expo. Bring on the thoughts of flower fields and put me in the mood for spring! Especially since it is a cold and yes, somewhat snowy day.






At the expo, there is a small farmers market and Ed is so in luck, because a chocolatier (Roots, which claims to make farm crafted chocolates using local Wisconsin ingredients, including herbs, vegetables, fruits and honey from their farmstead) is selling boxes of sweets and of course now he can be the one grinning wickedly, with a boast that he attended to the chocolates for his sweetie after all.

Too, we buy seeds for tomatoes and seeds for my garden annuals. (I learned how invaluable these are when I visited Giverny at the end of October and found, to my surprise, that most of the color at that time came from annuals. I'm determined to experiment with more than cosmos and nasturtium varieties this year, though these two will always reign as my favorites.)






We checked out all the booths and vendors. I think I joined a dailily club and I distinctly remember putting myself on the mailing list for some iris specials put on by the Iris Society.

Finally, we retreated to the seminar room to listen to a presentation about bee keeping. We have flirted with this idea for years and though we have really no intention of getting our hands into hive management, nonetheless we listen attentively. It's sort of like people who don't want to travel going to a presentation on what to pack for your next trip to Europe -- you do it because the imagery is nice, nothing more.


In the evening, well now, it's Snowdrop's second Valentine's Day and once again, she spends it with us at the farmhouse.






Such a happy event!

(I take off her tights -- she's running so fast that I worry about our slippery floors.)






I remember last year's photo of Ed and Snowdrop: she was calm, he was tentative. This year -- they're old hands (though as before -- her hand is tiny when next to his).






Oh, Snowdrop, you heart studded little girl! (Playing here with her Valentine's Day treat -- a new stacking toy: a penguin.)






Oh, Valentine's Day!


Ed and I are not married, nor do we have children together, but still, I laughed out loud when reading this poem in the New Yorker (I did not find it myself, because, well, I have been too busy vacuuming the house to read my own New Yorker today; it comes to me via the blog of BenandBirdy, so thank you for it!).

It's called "Valentine's Day Poems for Married People" (click here to read) and I would have read it to Ed, except for that crucial fact that we are not married and we do not have children together and so he may not have mustered up the level of amusement the piece deserves.

I hope a smile crept into your day more than once today. Happy February 14th, however you treat it! With love.