Not much going on at Barlow Towers this week, but don't believe I harped on about the Valentine's Day celebrations last weekend did I? Well, let me enlighten you.
It appears that Valentine's Day is another 'thing' here (frankly what isn't? We've had 'donut day' and 'National drink wine day' recently so nothing surprises me any more). Unlike us Brits who tend to hold true to the original concept of only sending declarations of undying love to sweethearts and soul mates, here in the good old U.S of A it appears that it is also 'a thing' to send cards to your friends and family on Valentine's Day as well. (Another money spinner for Hallmark no doubt). It is especially popular amongst kids apparently, many of whom (especially the younger ones) seem to exchange cards and treats with all their classmates too (or rather another thing to add to mum and dad's to do list). At Ethan's school, bearing in mind they are all Middle/High schoolers and thus far too cool for that, they ran a 'candygram' service where you could purchase a treat for your friends and have it delivered to them in class during the course of the day. Not embarrassing at all. I asked The Tween if he was planning on sending any ... "Pffft, noooo!" ... or whether he thought he might receive any ... "I would rather die". He did inform us though, much to our amusement, that one of the boys in his class had arranged to send one to himself ..'To Andrew, from me," ... which I thought was quite enterprising (and a good way of delivering yourself a snack during a boring science lesson).
So this year, in the spirit of embracing our new culture, I made a card and a little chocolate gift box for Youngest and left it outside his bedroom door last Sunday, which I think he was secretly pleased to receive (well ok, maybe just the chocolates ... I'm sure the card made him cringe) as well as the usual one for Mr B.
After a late family brunch at one of our favourite breakfast haunts, (Butterfield's on Shea and Scottsdale Road if you're ever in the area ... amazing) Mr B and I headed off for our Valentine's Day treat ... to see the Dancing with the Stars Live, leaving the Tween at home, much to his relief. Despite his protestations to the contrary, I am still not entirely comfortable leaving him home alone late in the evenings as yet and so Mr B had wisely opted for tickets for the early show. In case you're not a fan, Dancing with the Stars is the US version of Strictly Come Dancing (complete with judges Len and Bruno, but thankfully not Craig, who would probably get lynched) and every bit as good, although usually far too much 'messing about' for Len! Lol.
Despite being one of only a few men in the audience (which seemed to be largely made up of middle aged women, funny that), Mr B didn't seem to mind, enjoying the scantily clad female dancers immensely (whilst also trying to commit the guy's routines to memory to practice later!). It was every bit as good as I had imagined and a fabulous Valentine's present.
One of the things I think I love most about living in Arizona are the stunning sunsets, especially at this time of year when they seem to be particularly spectacular, and never tire of marvelling at them - no two are ever the same. Last Sunday proved to be no exception and on our drive home we were witness to another beauty. My shots were not the best as they were taken out of the car window as we were speeding along the freeway, but hopefully you can get a flavour ...
Finally, to conclude the Valentine's theme this week, I made myself a little piece of art this week from a few bits of rolled up paper, a vinyl letter I cut on my electronic die cutting machine and a box frame. I was really pleased with how it turned out - and may have a new addiction!
Thanks for dropping in and hope you all have a good week!
TTFN
Bev x
No comments:
Post a Comment