Mosaic Monday #15 - Life with you is a trip ...

I am feeling the love this month, and not just because February plays host to Valentine's Day.  You see, it's also my birthday month!  Cards, a few gifts and a shower of electronic birthday wishes made me as warm and gooey as a freshly baked chocolate chip cookie.  Who doesn't want a little attention now and then?

Sometimes thoughtfulness arrives in a time and way we don't expect.  Like the day Spousal Unit presented me with this gem, a couple of days before my special day.  No, no, no - not a gemSTONE.  A folding utensil - a spork (spoon+fork) - with a long handle.  Why, you ask?  Well, imagine the scene.  You're backcountry camping, and when you are carrying everything you will use on your own little back, minimizing weight is the name of the game.  Who needs pots and pans?  Just reconstitute your chili con carne right in its bag.  But, the average spoon or fork is not long enough to reach the bottom of the bag, and soon enough your fingers are coated with chili as you endeavor to spoon up the goodies there.  

Enter the folding utensil.  Light.  Folds up to stow easily in your backpack.  And unfolds to go where no average spoon or fork has gone before - those corners harboring precious calories that you need for the next day. Does he love me, or what?







So I gave him my heart … my heart sugar cookie from Starbucks!

Speaking of hearts, I adopted a red theme for the house after the Christmas decorations were boxed up for another year.  A stroll around the aisles at the Dollar Store (incomparable source of inexpensive décor) yielded two types of red ribbon, a red/gold mesh, glittery hearts and plastic hearts that resemble hard candies.  I constructed my own bows, and added in natural resources such as red twigs and other flora from our back forty.  And one day, a delicate white doily arrived in the mail, a gift from a former au pair, who lives in Poland.  This hand-made crocheted doily from a nearby village became the piece de resistance on our dining room table.

For my birthday,  a neighbor brought me home-made granola, and a flower arrangement that I utilized as the gathering point for my birthday cards.





To top it off, Spousal Unit (a.k.a. Head Chef) prepared a masterpiece of a dinner.  I wanted a meal at home, so we could both enjoy some wine, not to mention the ambiance of a wood fire.  It was a delight from start (salmon with caper sauce on toasted English muffins) to entrée (three mushroom risotto) to dessert (key lime pie).  

His second gift was as practical as the folding utensil, and one that I had requested - a belt and scarf organizer for my closet.  Yep, folks at this age, it's the simple and useful gifts that matter most. The accompanying card had me in tears … (bold words he added)

Life with you is a trip.  And I'm grateful for every twist, powder turn, bend, detour, hike and off-road excursion, wandering aimlessly tour we take together.  Because no matter what, when I'm with you, I feel like we own the road.

Awww.  Lest you think he is only this romantic for my birthday, check out his FaceBook post from Valentine's Day.

Right back at you, babe, right back at you.  Life with you is the best trip ever.

Mosaic Monday

Welcome to Mosaic Monday, a weekly meme where we get together to share our photo mosaics and collages.

Please include at least one photo mosaic/collage in your post.
The link will be open from 1 p.m. Sunday until 11 p.m. Monday (U.S. Mountain time).
Remember to add the link to your Mosaic Monday post and not the one to your blog.
Please link back to this post so that your readers will be able to visit and enjoy more wonderful mosaics; taking the MM blog button from my sidebar is an easy way to link back.
As host I will visit every participant and leave a comment so that you know I stopped by.
Please try and visit as many other blogs as you can, especially those that join in later, so that everyone's creativity can be appreciated fully.
Thank you for joining in today and sharing your mosaics with us. 

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