"Kisses on the Bottom"

Kisses on the Bottom -- Paul McCartney's new CD is the gift Mr. Fun gave me this morning. When McCartney sang "My Valentine" at the Grammy Awards two evenings ago, I knew that I wanted to get this CD.

Yesterday we went to the local Target department store to take a look at the Exclusive Deluxe Edition of the CD; it was quite a deal for $12.99. Mr. Fun had to convince me not to purchase it (he had already bought it for me). The title of the CD comes from a line in the first song "I'm Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter." The Exclusive Deluxe Edition includes a free download of McCartney's performance at Capitol Studios, Hollywood, on Thursday, February 9th, 2012. The cover art on the CD and all the little extras that are included make it quite a find.

The book 1001 ways to be Romantic was a gift from me to both of us. I had read the first 15 pages a few weeks ago and knew that it was worth owning and we should read through a page or two every day. It contains some terrific ideas. Idea #28 expresses "'Communication' is, maybe, 10 percent of an A+ Relationship. Creating a loving long-term relationship is the most difficult, time-consuming, and complicated challenge you will face in your entire life. Also the most rewarding." It also contains some wonderful quotes, like this one: "For it was not into my ear you whispered, but into my heart. It was not my lips you kissed, but my soul." ~~Judy Garland

At the college today I gave all of my students a heart-shaped Peppermint Patty and a printed Valentine heart with the Ted Kooser poem "The Perfect Heart." I read the poem outloud. I think they all appreciated it. This was the first day of the semester. I had two great classes of students today and there were entirely more students wanting to be "added" than was possible. Thursday morning I will welcome and introduce one more class and then my spring semester will be in "full-speed-ahead" mode. I gave away most of the little box of chocolates I've been using in my photos lately to my colleagues in the English Department.

The only problem with today -- my Valentine, Mr. Fun, is quite sick. He has an infection or virus deep in his lungs with a very tight cough. When I got home from school I took him to the local Jamba Juice shop for two double-shots of wheatgrass. I asked if he wanted to go to the doctor. His immediate answer, "No!"

My little envelope from "Valentine, Nebraska" is included in my photo. I sent myself a valentine because I wanted to see how the envelopes would be stamped and wanted to know that they had arrived on time. I mailed them to Nebraska one week ago today and had no idea when they'd get there and then when they'd be postmarked and sent.

Also in my photo I included the envelope from a couple years ago that I sent to the Post Master in Loveland, Colorado. Next year I'll find another city that does a special postmark for this holiday. If you want to be included in my Valentine envelope fun, send your address to my email in the subject line write "blipper" so I'll know that it a legitimate email. My email is: carolscomputer at hotmail dot com.

I've thoroughly enjoyed sharing the Ted Kooser poems the past several days, and finding several of his books recently and purchasing them was a bonus of this season. This is becoming one of my favorite holidays.

Happy Valentine's! Good night from Southern California.
Rosie (& Mr. Fun), aka Carol