Happy Valentine's Day

  From My Heart To Yours

Brenda
xox



Past Valentine's Posts
  

A Fine Romance by Susan Branch

Talk about a fine romance this Valentine's Day. You see, my own dear Valentine, aka Dearest Hubby, totally surprised me with a delivery from Amazon. Don't you love it when you hear the doorbell and you just know UPS has left a brown parcel in your mailbox? Don't you love the word 'parcel'?

Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy, oh boy.............................. Inside was a longed-for copy of Susan Branch's latest book A Fine Romance.

It was ♥ love ♥ at first sight. Beautifully bound with a gorgeous red ribbon bookmark, it lays open without fuss. Every page is filled with art renderings and glimpses into Susan's unique style as she shares the trip she and her Joe took to the English countryside. And, it all begins with the very fine romantic story of how those two met.

Whether you've visited England before or still dream of doing the trip across the pond, I think you'll really enjoy love, love love reading this book. From the romantic voyage across the Atlantic on the Queen Mary 2, to learning to navigate British roadways, to traveling through beautiful English countryside, strolling through romantic gardens, stopping to have tea...

To visiting the homes of favourite authors like Beatrix Potter and Jane Austen, and meeting the loveliest local people, not to mention English woolly lambs, Susan invites her readers 'the girlfriends' to be a part of this grand adventure. And when you read it, it's just like being there. Well, almost.

A Fine Romance is magical from cover to cover. Pages are filled with Susan's photographs, whimsical art, hand-drawn maps, recipes, quotes, not to mention her droll stories and fascinating diary entries.

I've been savoring each page... dreaming too, as this is the very kind of trip Mr. Hubby and I have been dreaming about and planning a while now for ourselves. As Susan often reminds us...

"Because nothing happens unless first we dream."

~ Carol Sandburg    

Pack Light - Armchair Travel. Now, if that kind of trip isn't possible right now, remember that packing for armchair traveling is light and easy. You could ask your own Valentine to send you your own copy of A Fine Romance, Falling in Love with the English Countryside.

Lots More On Susan's website. And if the budget doesn't stretch for a book either, then you might enjoy Susan's interview about her new book, or have a fun snoop through the appendix of the book which is also on her website -- it includes live links to all manner of interesting and delightful tidbits about the trip.

Here's wishing you a fine day and a little romance,

Hugs,
Brenda
xox

Heart Day Surprise

Hubby came home with a sweet surprise....

The tiniest pleasures of sweet variety...

Delectable sweets handmade by an up and coming local Chocolatier...

Lovely to look at... still better to eat!

The savouring has been most delicious!

Wishing you a very Happy Heart's Day!

With a gentle kiss atop thy head...

Brenda

xox

 

Heart Day Happiness

"Love is a friendship set to cookies...er...music."

~ E. Joseph Cossman

 Hugs and sweet blisses!
Brenda
xox

Gifts From The Heart

It was the pleasantest of surprises. The door bell rang early on the morning of Valentine's Day. Hubby and I had just arrived home from our wee hours housekeeping stint at the local performing arts center. Our lovely, thoughtful neighbour, on her way to work, was standing at the door with hand outstretched, offering homemade heart-shaped cookies.

What a surprise, what a treat! How delicious they looked with their pink frosting. So pretty.

Gifts that arrive unexpectedly can turn an ordinary day into one of wonder and delight. Those moments of time, when relived in our memory, give us a rush of pleasure all over again as we recall the affection that was wrapped up in that offering.

Earlier this morning I thought of another gift that brings me joy whenever I remember it. This gift comes to us through a text from the New Testament.  First learned as a little girl, I took these words as a young teen to my own heart and received the gift offered. 

And so as I remember them all over again today, I'm writing with hand extended....for anyone who would care (and maybe dare) to ponder and receive them as their own gift from God the Father:

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.~ from John 3:16 NIV

Wishing you lots of heart treats today!

Hugs,
Brenda
xox

Get On With One's Loving

This is a forever favourite movie; I have watched it so many times, I know the lines by heart. Enchanted April is the award-winning 1992 film that's based on the book with the same name by Elizabeth Von Arnim.  It tells the story of "four dissimilar women in post-war England who leave their damp and rainy environs to go on a holiday to a secluded coastal villa in Italy...They come together at the Villa and find rejuvenation in the tranquil beauty of their surroundings, rediscovering hope and love."

A lovely movie with beautiful scenery and wonderful music, there are many spots that 'enchant' me. A most favourite place in the movie comes when Lottie, who found her own heart suddenly well and overflowing with love, entreats Rose to remember that it's important to get on with one's loving.

Perhaps I'm drawn to the phrase because, in our busyness, it's so easy to lose sight of what our lives are really about. If all our 'doings' do not enhance the beauty, joy and meaning of our lives -- and those we love and those our lives touch in some way -- then how important is it, in the end?

A perfect reminder as we celebrate Valentine's Day -- the day we give special attention to love. But like Lottie, I'm also eager to grace the other 364 days with ways to surprise, encourage, and just get on with our loving. Not just romantic love, but love in all its forms. After all, what can be more important?

With loving thoughts,
Brenda

xox