HE IS MY VALENTINE...

This is a VALENTINE repost from a couple years ago...

I am joining with LIZ for FOURTEEN DAYS OF LOVE

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TODAY'S theme is

" HOW DO I LOVE THEE...."

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This post was right after I had endured several surgeries on my legs...

Mr. Sweet took such good care of me through all of them.

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Below is my MR. SWEET

my heart....my lifeline

This is the strength that sat beside my bed during my hospital stays, all day long and would have gladly spent the nights in a recliner, beside my bed, if I had needed him to or even asked.....

because he cares !

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He is the one that had my bedroom all ready when I came home from the hospital....clean sheets, fluffy pillows, because he knew that it would please me and make me more comfortable.....
and....because he cares!

He is the one that kept my cup filled with Raspberry tea, while I sat with my leg propped up to help with swelling.....

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He is the one that bought this lovely book for me because he knows I consider my being a Grandmother my profession....(Webster says profession; "occupation requiring special study")

because he knew I would just love it..

He knows my being a Grandmother is one of my most cherished blessings.

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Can you see that I consider this lovely book more romantic than a huge box of

Valentine candy?

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Oh, I will love the candy he is sure to bring...it just will not be as SWEET as the thoughts he gives me each day. ...just because he cares.

That is romance to me.
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He is the one, that when my appetite was so slow to come back after surgery, that brought me sweet, ripe grapes and peanut butter and crackers...one of my favorite of all times snacks.....
because he cares!
He is the one that when I just could not stand the thought of eating, even if it had been all day, went to the grocery store and came back with fresh strawberries, Angel Food cake and whipped creme to tempt me into eating......
Can you see that this lovely gesture will always be more romantic to me than a vase of flowers?
Oh, and don't misunderstand...I do love flowers...but I love the fact that I have romance in so many other ways all the time. That is a fabulous feeling.

He is the one that jumped up early and made Pecan Waffles because he wanted me to start my healing process by eating good and knows there is not much else in the world that I love more than Pecan Waffles....
He is the one that served me on a pretty plate ....because he cares!
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Can you see how much more romantic this is to ME than going out to eat?
The time and thought he puts into caring for me is just a very romantic thing.
I do love going out to eat...it's just that, to me, the romance of it all is in the daily things.
Romance comes in all forms.....
WEBSTER defines romance as:
A Latin word meaning (1) A tale of love, (2) An exciting quality, (3) A love affair, and (4) To make love to .
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I define it as a Sweet Hubby that is ALWAYS there for you, watches over you, makes you happy, protects you and.....CARES.


I guess what I am trying to say is that ROMANCE isn't ALL about flowers, poems, music, candy, candlelight dinners, having a passion filled night on silk sheets.
All these EXTRA things surely add to the romantic side of life, there is no doubt.
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To my way of thinking, it is sometimes the little every day things that go on between a man and a woman that doesn't SEEM romantic in the least....at the time.
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But when they are all added together, sometimes we are able to see that...
"GOSH......how romantic is this whole, entire life of mine... just because he cares!"
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I am so blessed!
HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY, MR. SWEET...
I LOVE YOU for a million reasons but mostly, just because you're YOU !!

HAPPY PINKS.....

HAPPY VALENTINE'S.. I would like to introduce a new blogging buddy of mine...

RITA of SAGE CUISINE

The above photo is her header on her precious blog...

I just added a tiny pink heart in honor of our celebrating

VALENTINE'S DAY

here at HOW SWEET THE SOUND

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Please stop over at SAGE CUISINE and say hello and sign up to follow RITA...

She will welcome you!!

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A BEAUTIFUL PINK SATURDAY

FLOWERS are for VALENTINE'S....

....and, THESE ARE MY VERY FAVORITE FLOWERS....
BABY FLOWERS !!
Aren't they all so sweet you could just squeeze 'em !!?

...and did you see the tiny face in the flowers in photo #2 ?

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BEAUTIFUL DAUGHTER gave that book in photo #1 to me

for Mother's Day several years ago...I have just about "looked" all the pages bare.

It is a BEAUTIFUL book....

I ADORE ANNE GEDDES

and

her sweet, pink babies....

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I LOVE JESSICA and CATE !!
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There's tons of PINK awaiting you !!

PLEASE GO HERE TO HELP A CANCER VICTIM !

T'was a snow filled morning....

baaaaby.....IT'S COLD OUTSIDE

here in WEST TEXAS...

brrrrr

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Ole MAXINE....
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...ya gotta love her !

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ANOTHER snow out here in West Texas where it seldom snows..
I'm beginning to think Mr. Gore has it all wrong about global warming! :)
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It started snowing here on Thursday, after a nice rain, about 7:30 or so in the morning....
It's almost 4 in the afternoon and ...it's still snowing. Very light and fine, tho.
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*before I can even finish this post, it is now, at 4:30, snowing huge flakes..
I'm getting excited now...
...back in 1956, I was a senior in high school and it started snowing one
morning and snowed straight, day and night, for 3 days.
My hometown of PLAINVIEW, TEXAS (only 45 miles from where I live now)
had 36 inches...THIRTY-SIX, of the cold, powdery stuff...
Need I say that...
WE HAD A BALL....
I have a feeling it won't be nearly as much fun if it happens now, tho!!
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My summer time swing...

My winter time swing...
oops..I KNEW I should have taken the pillows off before this hit..bummer!
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This is such a heavy, wet snow, it's bending all the tree branches really low.
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An ice encrusted tree across the alley from our cottage..

using full power zoom on my Canon PowerShot SD 750.

O, I LOVE this little camera...
thanks, Mr. Sweet.
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WHAT AN ICY STORM...

THIS CALLS FOR DESPERATE MEASURES...
Pull out the tea kettle.. and put the water on...

I AM NEEDING......
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...a CAPPUCCINO
O, yeah, baby !!

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....and a snack..
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"...in the meadow, we can build a snowman...

and pretend that he is Parson Brown...."
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WHOLE WHEAT BISCUIT

SUGAR FREE APRICOT JAM..SPRINKLING OF CINNAMON

FRESH SLICED LEMON....JUST FOR SHOW ! :>)
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ahhh...I feel MUCH warmer now !

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I just took some leftover roast, added GUMBO FROZEN VEGGIES...
sauted chopped onions, green peppers and celery in light olive oil and added to the Gumbo.
Is it called GUMBO if it's got roast beef instead of some sort of fish ?...
I don't know...but I know it is gonna be rib-stickin' goodness tonight with
a glass of BLACKBERRY wine, eating in front of a roaring fire in the FRANKLIN FIREPLACE..

YA'LL STAY WARM NOW.....

THRIFTING, TABLESCAPING AND EATING...it doesn't get much better than THAT.

My good friend, MARTHA, and I spent the entire day

THRIFTING

and we had such fun and found some good "stuff"...
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I WON'T show ALL the great things I found in this one post..... I'll stretch them out a little....:)

I've already shown you the DESK and CHAIR that I got on this very trip... at Goodwill.

This is the D.A.V.......a fun place to go......
They not only handle thrifty items.....

antiques are scattered throughout the store, too...
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(don't ya love their little tiny "s" on " ANTIQUEs" ?

I picked up another small white ironstone platter...

I'm ALWAYS on the lookout for whites....

White ironstone looks fabulous in any setting, I think.
To me, it gives a feel of history to rooms....and that's a GOOD thing.

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You might like to know that I squealed like a sissy girl (Hi, Picket) when
I spied this huge covered dish at GOODWILL....
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It's not a tureen.....I'm really not sure what one would use it for...
Me?
It went right on top of my vintage green hutch, along with some other white pieces.
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Not a scratch nor a chip on either the bowl or the lid..... woo hoo !

$4.00.....GOODWILL
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Then we went to the SALVATION ARMY thrift store and
I was just flat thrilled to pieces when I found 12 of these adorable place mats...
all for $5.00
They are like new...not a stain or a tear or anything but cuteness !
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little places to tuck in a napkin....and your flatware..... lookin' especially good with RED ! :O)
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Wasn't I lucky to find an even dozen !!*


Will I EVER get tired of my redness ?
I don't think so !!
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...cause I just LUV red !
Baked chicken breast....baked in low fat ITALIAN DRESSING..
roasted veggies...carrots, onions, peppers and squash...a little olive oil, salt and pepper and
30 minutes at 350 degrees...
HEAVENLY....!!
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Regarding the healthier way we are trying to eat...
I made a crustless Veggie Quiche and it is really good...
Not that I would want it every day but I'm glad to be getting some recipes
that I know is a lot healthier than we've been eating.
I WILL make this again !
and...
a crustless, sugar free Chocolate Pie that turned out really good!!
It will be WONDERFUL when we can add some flour back into our diets and I can make a crust.
I am thinking, but don't know for sure, about making an egg white crust...
would it work?.....why not?.....it would give something for the pudding to sit on
and give an illusion, at least, of a crust......wouldn't it ??

It would also be good in a Sugar free graham cracker crust ..either one made at home or a store bought one.
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Gotta go now...
I just received my new issue of BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS...
and my quiche and cup of hot, DUNKIN DONUT coffee is calling me.....
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linking with
SUSAN for TABLESCAPE THURSDAY
and
GOLLUM for FOODIE FRIDAY
SHOW and TELL with CINDY
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THANKS SO MUCH FOR STOPPING BY TODAY.....

I LOVE A CLOUDY DAY....

Time again to link up with SUSAN at OUTDOOR WEDNESDAY..

This day was getting more cloudy by the second...

but the weatherperson said NO RAIN IN THE FORECAST...
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...hoping.... hoping for rain...
I love rain...I love almost any kind of adverse weather..not tornadoes, tho.
All those beautiful, dark clouds...and NO RAIN !
but....inside I have flowers blooming..
that are supposed to be "resting" up for spring and summer...
hmmm...
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My large southern windows act much like a greenhouse, I think.....
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Maybe we will get the rains......next time.

PUT IT ON THE SHELF ! (REPOSTING TO ADD LINK)

I just discovered the other day that...

I LOVE SHELVES..

just LUV them...

I guess I have a SHELF FETISH....

O, MY!

While thrifting, I found this little shelf...was a natural pine color

and I grabbed my favorite creamy white spray and went to town...

Now, I'm not real sure where to use it or what to put on it...
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When I had this long, slender table in my alcove,

I thought about using the little shelf there....pens, note pads and etc...

but then....
as some of you know....

...I found this cool desk with all the drawer space I will ever need...

what?? did i just say that? I mean, people use desk drawers to store DISHES....right ??

This was a very simple, pine shelf found at the thrift store...

I found these gorgeous iron swirly, rusted brackets and had MR. SWEET attach them .

I LOVE the way it turned out..

...I don't display many items on it...

I think just the shelf itself is pretty enough !
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This is a tiny wooden shelf that I've had so long,

I can't remember where in the world I got it...
probably at a fabulous garage sale, tho !!
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I also picked up this tiny little green shelf...

this little lidded tea/coffee pot seems to have a pewter lid...I thought it was silver for awhile

but it never shines...even with a good cleaning with WRIGHTS SILVER POLISH...

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'Course, this shelf is green and.....I'm not really into a lot of green right now but this is all chippy and worn and

I hate to start all over on it...

......maybe in the spring..

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This sweet little intricate shelf was at a flea market once...a long long time ago..

It hangs in my kitchen..

with ivy and a little cast iron fairy...

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...and a little cast iron bird, on a pedestal...nestled in the trailing ivy at my kitchen window....
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MR SWEET made these shelves to fit over my 2 dining room windows...
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I actually need to take everything down, clean and go with something different for awhile..
maybe in the spring....*sigh.....
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I ordered this little shelf and quilt holder years ago...
from somewhere like...THE COUNTRY DOOR or someplace like it.
That's my mama's work of art quilt hanging there...
I also need to take it down, toss it in the dryer with a softener sheet to refresh it...
*heavy sigh........maybe in the spring...!
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This shelf over the OTHER dining room window is home to
several roosters and their mates....:O)
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That beautiful transfer ware is very old and once belonged to my mother.
I can remember when I was a tiny girl and DID NOT want any of my foods to even come CLOSE to touching,
she let me eat out of these English blue transfer ware plates because they are divided....
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She was a sweet mama!!
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The other night when DEEDS spent the night with me while her mama and daddy
went .....out on the town,
she was hungry for CHEESE QUESADILLAS
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O HONEY...

They were so good. (of course, since I am now on that diet..I don't eat these right now! bummer!)

Flour tortillas, cheese, butter, heated in skillet on top of the stove or you can do them in the oven.

Butter one tortilla, lay a slice of GOOD cheese on it and top it with another buttered tortilla...

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We like them with chips and salsa and I especially love them
when I have a little granddaughter sitting across from me, swinging her little legs from the chair,
giggling, talking and being my best friend !!
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AIN'T LIFE GRAND !
:O)

linking with

GRITS AND GLAMOUR and A SOFT PLACE TO LAND and 2nd TIME AROUND