Happy Valentine's Day

Hope you're having a good Valentine's Day. It's a strange sort of holiday. We all know love is where it's at, but that needn't mean it's limited to couples and traditional ideas of love, or another reason to spend money. I had to explain to someone at a bookstore the other day that I wasn't interested in her coupon (get a discount on books if you buy a greeting card) because nothing could convince me to buy a mass-produced greeting card. Personally, as you may know, I am overly fond of cinnamon hearts. I like to eat them until my mouth turns red, which is surely unhealthy, but it's tradition, and only occurs once a year. When I was living in Tokyo (briefly) I noticed how the Japanese love to import a good holiday, but occasionally something is lost or gained in translation. The version of Valentine's Day I saw there involved emergency chocolate pop-up stores on every corner, with lines, hundreds of metres long, of women (in stilettos - it was like a uniform), desperate to buy chocolate for the men in their lives.

This can be a rotten day to be alone, and it can be difficult for those in committed relationships too because of unnecessary expectations. So, when I made some valentines I tried to stick with something lighthearted (brains are big with the zombie-set) though open to interpretation. But also, a valentine appropriate for sending love to friends too - cause I love my friends, don't you?

I am very happy to be having a good day (surprised with flowers, instructions not to look in what must surely be a gift-hiding place and plans for dinner). To anyone reading this, I hope your day is going well, that you know that your people love you, and that you can do as much or as little as you want to recognize the day. Now, though I'm happy in steel-toes, coveralls and a hardhat, I'm also enough of a girl that I to need to try on several dresses and question what I will wear, so I must run.