valentine's day gift for dad (pt. I)

Look at these beautiful trees. I call them "ornamental plums". I don't know where I got that. It might be correct, I'm not totally sure. But they are snowing all over the sidewalks right now, and they are lovely.


I was thinking about what to do for David for Valentine's Day. We just celebrated my birthday two weekends ago, so I don't feel like too much giving or receiving hoopla would be appropriate right now....our cups runneth over at the moment. Poor David has been camping out for the last ten nights in the living room so we can let my mother and aunt, who are visiting from out of state, take our bedroom. He's been a real trooper. And last Friday, after I'd been out all damn day acting the tourist with my mother and aunt, he called me into Stella's room, away from everyone, and said "Here, I got you this".


It was the Blexbolex book "People", which means David had been listening to all my chatter a few weeks ago about ripping another Blexbolex book to shreds to use as note paper/cards. I thought that was really sweet. 

By the way, my other two copies of "Seasons" came in the mail the other day. Now I've got one to look at with the kids, one to gift, and one to keep tearing assunder. Unfortunately, "People" has some AWESOME artwork and text as well, and it might end up being cards and letters and wall hangings too. We shall see!

Anyway, I got to thinking about a nice valentine for David. He's not that into chocolate, his liquor cabinet is looking like it's in pretty good shape.....and then I remembered that the kids and I know how to make his favorite food, and that that food is easily shaped into a heart. And then I got really clever.

I grabbed his favorite, grimy looking rock salt and colored it red with just a few drops of coloring, shaken together in a plastic bag.

And then I grabbed two handfuls of sesame seeds and turned them red, too.

And now the two plates of what looks from a distance to be rare ground beef are sitting on the stovetop, drying out and totally confounding David, who cannot figure out what they are. Hahaha!

To be continued...