pink memories

well, it's that day again.

a day which is happy for some and not so happy for others. i guess it's all a matter of perspective. i've never been big on a "holiday" that could potentially crush your heart like a bug if you didn't receive flowers, chocolates or a card telling you that you were the pivotal of someone's universe.

february 14th always reminds me of miniature cinnamon hearts [candies] and old cards. being a packrat, i still have mine — okay, i have a few of them — the cards, not the candies! thinking back on elementary school, i remember the excitement and buzz of the kids in my classroom wondering who'd they would get a card from or some little attached candies, too, if they were lucky. ultimately, you ended up counting the number of cards you received and that indicated how popular you were. looking back it seems cruel as there were always a few kids who got next to nothing and went home feeling like crap. i don't think those kids ever forgot that. on the other side of it, you were only too happy to run home and mill over the cards you did get and giggle over who gave you one.

well, it's no wonder that today is the best day of the year for card shops, flower vendors, chocolatiers and confectioners.

for a good laugh, check out this, this and this [my fave]. i love the anti valentine's day movement!

npr's Xgen picks for the "sounds of love" [you can listen to the songs posted though it's last year's article; see the links at the bottom too]. this year's picks and songs for the dumped (oh, my! lol).

if you need to whip up something in a hurry, take a look here for some ideas. for you chocolate lovers, look at this or try these amazingly good things (i love them!). definitely on the list of must tries from baker dorie greenspan.

how many ways can you say, i love you?

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H A P P Y

V A L E N T I N E S

D A Y

first snow

late friday afternoon, just as the sabbath was to begin, we experienced our first snow of the season. it brought me back to when i was younger, when around this time, children were getting costumes ready for that much loved pumpkin event [hallowe'en] often with a snowsuit underneath as it was so damned cold.

i took a small avi format video which i will try to upload later to be inserted here. something fun to see for those of you who have never seen snow yourself.

i was actually happy about this "premature" white event as it has literally been years with no snow this early on, sometimes not until december. that is so odd for canada. while i do not live in the "great white" of the northern parts of canada, not having snow until so late into the winter is of great concern and is yet another instance of the effects of global warming.

our northern parts of canada are warming increasingly year by year and changing the whole eco/environments of the inuit people, their way of life [what remains of it, traditionally] and the lifecycles of all wildlife such as the polar bear and whales. as the oceans warm, they must move in search of food encroaching on the local human populations where they would never normally venture.

a short article called, Atmospheric and Climatic Change in the Canadian Arctic, briefly explains things.

and for something really fun, try making your own virtual snowflake. my friend sent me this link during the summer when i was sweating to death from the heat.