Valentines and rainy days...

We had our Valentine party on Saturday night..... friends from here, and V & S drove up from Clear Lake. The pot-luck dinners always turn out so perfectly, with different foods and surprises..... we never know what anyone is going to bring and somehow, it just always works out well and there's always a dish that you've never seen or tasted before. Our friend H made an Indian recipe with cabbage and Indian spices and by the end of the night there was precious little of that left in the bowl.

Our across-the-road neighbor S couldn't come on Saturday, and she's the one who usually bakes over-the-top desserts for our parties. S can bake as well as (or better than) most bakeries, and her desserts are always outstanding. Knowing that she wouldn't be here, I tried a cupcake recipe-- it started out as a cake, but at the last minute I put the batter into paper cupcake liners that had a Valentine design on them. Chocolate cupcakes with a chocolate-cheesecake-mousse frosting. (I've been watching too many episodes of "Cupcake Wars.") The cupcakes were delicious, and with an apple pie from J&J, and Dove chocolates in all the candy dishes, we had more than enough to satisfy everyone's Valentine sweet tooth.

We played a trivia game after dinner...... we thought that might be better than Charades..... but afterwards, I got to thinking that maybe the neighbors just enjoy spending the party-time visiting with neighbors that they don't get to see every day (and sometimes not even every week). Maybe we don't need games at our parties? But everyone seemed to have a good time, though, and that's the important part. We originally thought our neighbors here weren't up for big parties at all, but that doesn't seem to be the case..... everyone seems happy to get the invitations and more than happy to celebrate and get together with friends and neighbors here.

We can't have a party without surprises........ I had a Valentine-print tote bag for the lady who had the most Valentine-y outfit on (and that was definitely L, with her Snoopy sweater just covered front and back in hearts--- Texas stores have more holiday-themed clothing than any place I've ever seen). And V got the big red-silk heart candy box, for wearing the most red (a bright red dress-- she looked like a stunning Valentine). I also filled up a pretty goblet with Dove chocolates and asked everyone to guess the number of candies........ G won easily, with his guess being just one number off the actual total. G's wife said he spent too much time studying that goblet, as if he were counting each candy-- well, if that's what he did, it worked.

We had a cold weekend.... and the party night was colder than it's been for the last couple of weeks. Our 'winter' has been milder than the last two winters, and everyone seems to be very happy about that-- especially us. We've had our share of frozen pipes, thank you very much, and my husband has taken every precaution so that doesn't happen again. It's raining today... but it should clear up tomorrow for the 'real' Valentine's Day.

Rainy days.... we're getting rain on a regular basis these past couple of months. The bluebonnets should be out in full force by mid-April, if not sooner with all the rain and warm weather we've had. Everyone is looking forward to the wildflowers this season, especially after not having very many at all last year.

Our neighbor B came over last week with three dozen eggs from her chickens. She had a huge shopping bag filled with egg cartons-- her chickens are giving her at least nine eggs every day and she was "spreading the wealth" among the neighbors. After B left that day, I took two of the eggs out to my own hens and I held those eggs in my hands and said "Look! See these eggs? This is what you're supposed to be leaving in that coop for me!" Both Scarlett and PittyPat have been laying eggs again..... PittyPat gives me an egg every other day, and Scarlett has been laying an egg almost every day. Coincidence or not?