One of my favorite possessions is a collection of hand carved red hearts
When I first met my husband, he started a new tradition our first year together. Each Christmas he carves a red heart for me from a piece of wood that has a story. He carves our initials, the year and it is by far my favorite Christmas gift.
Our readers know how much we love handmade gifts. During COVID Melissa and I really got into making things for our families, friends and each other. Last fall we did a LaSoeurette Guide to Instant Pot canning, and all of those handmade canned goodies turned out to be awesome Christmas gifts. I also love using my canned fruits and fruit sauces as a delicious accompaniment to homemade plain yogurt. By the way, if you have never made homemade yogurt, buy a yogurt maker and try it.
For Valentines Day, we thought it was apropos to share my hand carved heart collection my husband Shawn has made for me. I love holding the hearts in my hand. The first time he gave me one of the hearts, he told me he had made it for me because he wanted me to be able to hold his heart in my hand. Deep sigh! Yes, it is totally romantic, and I love holding these wooden hearts through the year. I look at them every day in my living room, and sometimes I go through all eleven hearts, look at the year he made it and think about milestones that year. I also like to as where he got the wood for the hearts. One heart is made from an old fence we took down in front of our house. Some hearts are made from trees from his mother’s yard.
Valentine’s Day is a great time to start a tradition with whoever you love. Valentine’s Day isn’t just for lovers. My grandmother and her best friend exchanged the same birthday card for years, adding little notes, newspaper clippings and pictures stapled to it. It became their tradition. I still love getting cards from my niece and nephew. Even chocolates are a wonderful treat.
