Love, beminnen, liefhebben, rakastaa, amour, liebe, liben, szeretet, amore, amare, amor, diligo, amor, gra.....
 

{Karin Taylor}

It's only a few weeks until Valentine's Day, and whether you have a spouse/partner or don't you can still celebrate Valentine's Day. It is said that the holiday is named after two among the numerous Early Christian martyrs named Valentine. The day became associated with romantic love in the circle of Geoffrey Chaucer in the High Middle Ages, when the tradition of courtly love flourished. It is a tradition for lovers to express their love for each other by sending Valentine's cards, presenting flowers, or offering confectionery, however like many other festive dates in our calendar it has become very commercialised with the card shops getting all the money. So why not be creative this year and make some handmade cards and gifts, cook a nice meal, bring your loved one to a special place or buy something unique.

{Magpie Mine's Shop}

So what exactly does Love mean to people??

Love is a canvas furnished by nature and embroidered by imagination ~Voltaire

Love is the only sane and satisfactory answer to the problem of human existence ~Eric Fromm

Love is like dew that falls on both nettles and lilies ~Swedish Proverb

Love is an irresistible desire to be irresistibly desired ~Robert Frost

Love is the greatest refreshment in life. ~Pablo Picasso

Love is the triumph of imagination over intelligence ~Henry Louis Mencken

At the touch of love everyone becomes a poet ~Plato

True love comes quietly, without banners or flashing lights. If you hear bells, get your ears checked ~Segal

Love one another and you will be happy. It's as simple and as difficult as that ~Michael Leunig
 
So what does love mean to you??

{Kim Casali}

 

Where there is love the heart is light,

Where there is love the day is bright,

Where there is love there is a song

To help when things are going wrong,

Where there is love there is a smile

To make all things seem more worthwhile,

Where there is love there's quiet peace,

A tranquil place where turmoils cease...

Love changes darkness into light

And makes the heart take "wingless flight"-

Oh, blest are they who walk in love...

They also walk with God above,

And when man walks with God again

There shall be Peace on Earth for men.

                ~Helen Steiner Rice

So tell us all what love means to you??

A big thank you to Bellaboo from Bellascountry for the Sunshine Award. You should go take a look around her blog it is beautiful and Bella the Golden Retriever is so cute. With all these dull days, a little sunshine would be nice and here it is in the form of the Sunshine Award to brighten up my day.

I have passed on a number of awards last month and again last week so instead of passing on this sunshine award, I decided to think of the people less well off than myself and hope for sunshine and happiness in their lives. May the messenger of love send some light to these people!

Birds

They have such extreme beauty and amazing behaviour.

Here is a lovely website I came across today Bird Poet By Connie Soto, check it out if you have time.

I love books, be it fiction, fairytale or folklore, I love them all. Every since I was a child I always loved books and book shops and book shelves and libraries. I used to read the dictionary when I was a child too- yes I told you before I was a nerd! I also kept books underneath my pillow. I sold all my Barbie dolls and other dolls when I was 11 to buy second hand Enid Blyton books. I donated alot of my childhood books to charity and local community bring and buy sales.  Here are a few childhood books I still have;

I still love to read this Aesop's Fables Book and when I was teaching, the children loved listening to the fables.

My Enid Blyton including Famous Five and Secret Seven Collection, I read these books so quick I remember very little of them :)

And then as I got older I started with the girly flick chick books

And some more...

So you get the picture, I have lots of books and have given away many others.

Here is some inspiration in the form of  a few lovely book shelves and home libraries.

{Nobodyandco}

{Country Living}

{Neville Johnson}

{Country Living}

If you would like to see some really intersting book shelves and bookcases I have come across this cool blog called the Bookshelf. It's well worth a look when your free.

Having read a post over at The Curious Cat blog about the book A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini, I thought I had heard of the book and I was right, it was sitting at the back of my bookshelf. Thank you for reminding me :) So that night I took it out when I was off to bed and started reading it in bed every night this week as I have not been able to sleep these nights. I finished it last night. It is a very gripping story about a girl in Afghanistan, about friendship, love and alot of brutality, suffering and endurance. It was very sad and brought me to tears a number of times. I really recommend this but be warned have your hankerchief ready and don't read it if you are feeling abit down. It brings home to us the suffering some people endure and reminds me of how lucky I am in life.