Lynne, you have some of the nicest table settings :) 20 minutes for a Woolworth's frito pie!! I think I could have waited! I always make cute cupcakes or some kind of homemade goody for the grandbabies for holidays and deliver them with a card but this year I'm hobbling on a walker due to a stress fracture in my left heel. You know those pair of shoes you love but KNOW you can't wear very long? Yeah, well, our outing plans changed and I was in that type of shoe for nearly 12 hours Sat before last :o So the best Grammuffy could do was call the babies and wish them a Happy V-Day. DH came home from work with two white boxes with red bows from a cherished French bakery in Tyler...Chez Bazan. One box of decorated choc. covered strawberries and the other contained a piece of heaven! Best I can come up with from their website is Cinnamon Napoleon w/ Raspberry Sauce. I had reminded him last night that exquisite delicacies were carb free on Valentine's Day ;)

Happy day to all you valentines out there. Here is a local tradition in the next town over from me. The pic doesn't do it justice - these hearts are plastered all over town. Just a fun thing that gives me a lift. http://www.wcax.com/content/news/Valentines-bandit-strikes-again--474059953.html

Very true, Mike, but things are slowly being restored. We were very fortunate to have power since week 2 here in Arecibo. We were without water for 36 days but purchased filtered water from a hospital supplier for drinking and cooking ... there was NO bottled water!, refilled tanks of potable water through the municipality for bathing, and collected rain water for cleaning and laundry. Telephone and internet service is very poor and has still not returned fully. We had no property damage or flooding. Just a lot of discomfort those first couple of months. Stores and supermarkets are fully stocked but lots of local produce is missing until new crops grow. I put up a few pictures on FB for public viewing. You can see that by finding maria elena, arecibo ... I am wearing a peach sleeveless top and a big smile.

Librarian-gardner - what is that plant? Not familiar with it... I went to Trader Joe's a couple -3? weeks ago and right at the front door they had these gorgeous Hellebores in pots! 10 bucks! 6" pots, 12" high plants - phenomenal! I got 3 - all different - I have a couple of kinds in the ground, but i might keep these in pots to put by my front door in prime real estate when they bloom next winter. They are very moody looking... I don't have any roses blooming at the moment - pruning them all now - but the pictures you folks are showing are gorgeous! Happy Valentine's Day!