Fabulous February !

I've always been a "motif" kind of person. After my retirement and seeing an episode of "What Not to Wear", I eliminated much of the themed clothing from my wardrobe. Gone are the apple, pumpkin, and bunny shirts, the seasonal socks and most of the Christmas and Halloween earrings. My clothing is now more befitting an elderly retired person. Fortunately, I still have my tickle trunk full of costumes and my plastic bins containing specialized decor.   
                                              

My house often shows evidence of my former self. I love to decorate and celebrate. That's what life is all about isn't it? We celebrate. Sometimes, we celebrate our good fortune in waking up and living life another day. We celebrate our health and our history. Many of our most memorable celebrations take place with family and friends. What a joy it is to spend important and not so important occasions with special people.
 

February is one of the best, busiest months for celebrating. Not only is it the shortest month of the year, but it has holidays, events and festivities galore. February arrives as we are nearing the end of the long, cold, winter season. If you don't believe me, just ask the groundhog who thankfully predicted an early spring this year.

Not far behind Groundhog Day comes Chinese New Year, resplendent with dragons, loud drums and fireworks, parades and the colour red...my favourite. Welcome to the "Year of the Rabbit."

                                                                                                                                                                                           

Valentine's Day is a day of love. We see hearts, flowers and goodies everywhere and we like to share these with special people. It's a time to show extra kindness and give some added attention, particularly to those we care about most.

Many towns and cities have a "Winter Festival" in February. Some even include a polar bear dip for those brave souls who insist on plunging into the freezing water. Ice sculptures, skaters, horse drawn carriage rides and musical events abound.                              

                                                                                           

And now, we have added a relatively new celebration to the February repertoire, "Family Day". Since this coincides with the American "Presidents' Day", we were fortunate to have family members visiting from New York this year. We had a lovely time, as we walked, talked, made plans, saw sites, played games and of course, ate. This was the true definition of not just a family day, but family weekend.  What a lovely culmination to a wonderful winter month.  

John and Karen on the beach