Valentine's Day

With Valentine’s Day this week, I have been thinking about that special day and how to celebrate it.  I wasn’t sure how or when it started, but I remembered hearing something about someone named Valentine.  So, I did what I like to do when I don’t know or remember something.  I do a Google search.  I found out a little bit about the origin of Valentine’s Day.

In 270 A.D., the Roman emperor Claudius II didn’t want the men to marry during the time of war, thinking that unmarried men would be better warriors.  Bishop Valentine went against these orders and performed secret weddings.  This went on until his execution on Feb. 14^th.    So, Valentine’s Day is really a celebration of love and marriage.

I heard the other day that Valentine’s Day should be called “Single Awareness Day,” since so many unmarried people struggle with a day that celebrates the one thing that is elusive to them.  I am sure that there are many people out there who do not enjoy Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day is another day that is a sad day for some, especially for those women who would like to be mothers but have not had the opportunity.

To me, Valentine’s Day is a day to make heart sugar cookies, decorate my home with lots of hearts, and eat chocolate.  When my kids were little, I loved to do special foods for holidays. Sometimes I would make pink biscuits or pancakes for breakfast on Valentine’s Day. We often had red gelatin hearts for dinner, red punch to drink, and heart shaped desserts.  I would try to remember to put a little something special in their school lunches, such as a note or card to say “I love you”.  I also remember making heart necklaces or hair bows for the girls to wear on Valentine’s Day.  I think that holidays are a great excuse to do a few out of the ordinary things.  I hope that is something that my girls remember about their growing up years.

I can’t do much for those people out there who are lonely and sad on Valentine’s Day, but I hope that maybe I can do a little something for someone.  A note of affection or appreciation, a plate of cookies left at their door, a quick text or email to a friend, etc.  Maybe I can help someone feel remembered and loved on the day that we celebrate love.  We all want to feel loved, even if we don’t have much romance in our lives.  I hope you have a wonderful Valentine’s Day, that you feel loved, and that you can help someone else feel loved.  XOXO

~Gayle

Stay at Home Grandma

After working at a local bookstore for several years, I decided a few months ago to quit work to become a ‘stay-at-home’ grandma.  I feel very fortunate that I was able to make that choice.  One of the many things I had wanted to do with the grandkids was to make holiday treats.  I guess there is a bit of my mom in me that way.  At Halloween, I had two of the kids come over and we made treats.  Using pretzels, candy melts and a few other things, we made “pumpkins” and “bones.”  I wish I would have taken pictures. I found the ideas on Pinterest.  Anyway, the kids had fun and were good helpers.  We even made ‘mummy dogs’ with hot dogs and crescent roll dough for dinner.  Yummy!

At Thanksgiving, other grandkids were here, so we decided to make turkeys out of sandwich cookies, malt balls, peanut butter cups and frosting.  I had seen these on Pinterest (of course!), and one of my daughters was given some by a friend.  So, the day before Thanksgiving, 5 kids helped me to make the turkeys, making enough to put one at each person’s plate for Thanksgiving dinner.  We had quite an assembly line, ‘glueing’ the pieces together, then refrigerating them overnight.  In the morning, we added finishing touches (beaks and eyes).  When it was time to set the table for our feast, there was a cute cookie turkey at each place.  Not everyone ate theirs, as the frosting had made the cookies a bit soggy, but it was worth the time and supplies to have that time with some of the grandkids.

I saw a cute gingerbread type Nativity stable made from graham crackers, frosting, marshmellows and candy on Pinterest.  I think next week I will recruit some grandkids to come make them with me.  Then, maybe snowman cookies in January, hearts in Feb, shamrocks in March…..

~Gayle