Almost St Valentine's ❤️

 It's almost St. Valentine's Day 💖
It's a day I love.
When the kids were little, we had an advent for it.

Each day they got a little tid-bit in their mailbox.

When we first began doing it, they each had a tin cup,

and each morning they would check their tin cup

for a goody.

Then one year, I found little mailboxes.

Those filled with treats was their Valentine that year.

We kept them and used them each year after that.

I still have the tin cups and have given them their mailboxes.

There is even a larger tin cup with a label my daughter made,

because they had each made me a card or surprise.

Alas, my kids are grown.

I just mailed off a little Valentine package to each of them

in this morning's mail.

Several years ago, a friend shared some spice thins with me.

They were a store bought cracker/cookie 

that's now been discontinued.

They were delicious, and I finally found a recipe

 that is remarkably close and equally delicious.

I will share the link to the recipe I used at the end of this post.

So I made some of those and some button-ups.

Button-ups are essentially a shortbread cookie,

partially dunked in chocolate and topped with a cinnamon candy.

I also did some chocolate hearts but had them all boxed up

and had forgotten to take a picture.

Another fun little treat for this week is a blossom.

I have been given multiple starts 

of my great-grandmother's geranium plant.

Each and every one has met its fate.

It is a true deep red.

My mom gave me her plant (from Ggma) at the end of summer.

It needed trimming and was "spent" looking.

I kept 4 stems and stuck them in starter pots of soil.

Three have lived and one died.

Of the 3 that lived, 2 are blooming.

They are certainly a cheery sight during the winter gloom.

They have been fun and easy to propagate.

I don't have room inside so they only get a north facing window.

I guess they don't mind.

And the plant Ma gave me is looking good too.

On a side note:

I also have a pole bean and a tray of spinach planted.

I just can't help myself.

I purchased one of those little green houses on clearance last fall,

but it's still too cold for it.

I will probably set it up the end of the month and

see what kind of trouble I can cause in the garden.

(Never mind the dirty window.  Tis the season.)

All and all, blooms and treats~

It must be Valentine's.

Spice Thins / Pepparkakor