A beloved mantelpiece

 The snow fairies are happy in Missouri right now...  Yes, we are....  But there is starting inside, deep inside us snow fairies..  a distant longing for some sun and some flowers and some sky that isn't reflected in an icy landscape.  Yes, I am ready for spring..  That doesn't mean we'll get it any time soon, although my friends and family constantly "boo" me for loving snow...  Somehow they were right aggravated at me for "causing" the advent of our 2o inches we received on Tuesday...  So I did what any snow fairy might do.  I have been engaged this morning in "spring" cleaning little corners and spots of Mom's house. 

 The first place to tackle is always the mantel.  We decided to go with a traveling rose theme for Valentine's Day.  I was afraid I had lost my "touch" as I wandered about her house looking for disparate pieces to match and mingle.  I believe items call out to me, "Here I am!" they say.  "Will you choose me for the mantel?"  I sometimes don't know Mom's treasures well enough, and they are shy.  But finally these few rosy china pieces made the journey from cabinet to mantel top...   

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When I finish, I will add in a few Vintage Valentine impostors, and the look will be complete.  I would love to make a banner today, but I am not sure I have time.  I have some friends who are brave and fierce enough to face our dreaded driveway.  My son and his lady love came last night for some fun and lasagna, so the path has been made.  My cousin's hubby created a deep road through the icy drifts, and it looks like bridge railings along the side of the road.  Sometimes I wonder how (and why) my dad decided to build so far back from civilization.  I guess this old house was already here, and that settled  it.  Family Legend has it an old Swedish man built this fireplace, and even though it looks primitive and old, my parents always adored it because they could recall his Swedish laughter and his accent as he created a hearth for their early home together.  My parents had the real love story that books and movies try to recreate.  High school sweethearts, pioneers on the prairie, so to speak, together....  a lifelong enchantment with each other...  Ah...  vintage Valentine, indeed.

Stay warm and happy!