I don’t know. But, I’ve always loved it since I was in elementary school, trading paper Valentines with classmates.

I’m celebrating the day with a cup of tea. This tea has an astringent taste but a beautiful color!

Forced this winter, I’ve enjoyed every moment of watching these energetic little bulbs spring up and blossom. I like playing around with editing the flowers and so, here’s one last look before they fade away. Spring is coming!

If you stay tuned to this pretty and informative video of Paris’s Palais Royale, you’ll hear the history of the restaurant as well as anecdotes about the French Revolution. Also some tips about a zoom lens! Corey Frye provides it all!

At the 27 minute mark in the video, you’ll hear a very short but interesting history of restaurants.

In 1952, photographer Ruth Orkin was on her way back to NYC from a photo shoot in Israel. She stopped in Europe and while in Florence, Italy, she met another young American, Jinx, and together they took some random shots around the city. The one above is without question the most famous of the series.

While I adore the picture above, I equally love this one:

As a woman who spent a lot of time looking at and loving the city of Florence in her 20s, I can relate to both of the pictures above.

And then there is this one, which tells the opposite side of the coin:

https://www.orkinphoto.com/photographs/american-girl/

Boy, can I relate to the exhaustion portrayed. Looking at art and wandering the city produces profound exhaustion! And Stendhal Syndrome as well.

When I first visited Florence in the late 1970s, the beaded curtains still served as “screens” keeping flies and sunlight out of store interiors. The same as above, the shot taken in 1952. You don’t find that anymore.

Below are 2 informative videos that will capture the moment for you.

In my house:

In the late afternoon winter sunshine, this plant almost seems to glow!

Amaryllis blooming from forced bulbs. I started them around December 1 and am enjoying their joyful blooms now. They remind me of flamenco dancers in their crimson glory!

I wonder if they were playing bridge?