Single on Valentine's Day?

 

Now her eyeroll was absolutely sincere. “Cal, no woman wants to tag along 

with a couple to a dance on Valentine’s Day. It paints a big L for loser 

in the middle of her forehead, and they’re so damn hard to wash off.”

Blood Brothers

_____________________

By Banej - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=20114709

 

30 fun, positive things to do if you're single on Valentine's Day

—either alone or with your Galentines—

all of which are better than an overpriced dinner.

The Oprah Magazine

The secret to staying safe while hiking is preparation

“You set?”

Noah took another bite of his tractor wheel. “Yeah.”

“Let’s see.” She stood back, skimmed her measuring glance up, then down, then up

again. “How long have those boots been out of the box, ace?”

Less than an hour, Noah thought, as he’d bought them in San Francisco. “So I

haven’t been hiking in a few years. Unless we’re planning on climbing the

Matterhorn, I’m up for it. I’m in shape.”

“Health-club shape.” She pressed a finger against his flat belly. “Fancy health club,

too. This won’t be like your Stair-Master. Where’s your water bottle?”

Already irritated with her, he held out a hand, cupped it and let rain pool in his palm.

Olivia only shook her head. “Hold on a minute.” She turned on her heel and headed

back into the lodge.

“Is it just me,” Noah asked Shirley, “or does she browbeat everyone?” When the

dog merely sat, shot the doughnut a hopeful look, Noah broke what was left in half,

tossed it. Shirley caught it on the fly, gulped it whole, then belched cheerfully.

Noah was still grinning when Olivia jogged back out with a plastic water bottle and

belt loop. “You always take your own water,” Olivia began and to Noah’s surprise

began to nimbly hook the bottle to his belt.

River's End

________________

Whenever you head outdoors for an adventure, preparation is the key. Make sure you pack more than a water bottle and a snack. Whether you're planning a short nature walk or a major overnight camping trip, it's important to pack properly for outdoor excursions of any length.

Mother Nature Network

________________

Cal was waiting for her when she drove up.

He stepped out, started down the steps, the dog

wandering behind him, as she got out of the car. 

He took a scan, starting with her feet.

Good, sturdy hiking boots that showed some scars and wear, f

aded jeans, tough jacket in I’m-Not-a-Deer red, and a multistriped scarf 

that matched the cloche-style cap on her

head. Silly hat, he mused, that was unaccountably appealing on her.

In any case, he decided she knew what to wear on a hike through the winter woods.

“Do I pass muster, Sergeant?”

Blood Brothers

♡ Happy Valentine's Day... On Your Own ♡

“She can come, too—to the dance.”

Now her eyeroll was absolutely sincere. “Cal, no woman wants to tag along with a

couple to a dance on Valentine’s Day. It paints a big L for loser in the middle of her

forehead, and they’re so damn hard to wash off.”

Blood Brothers

__________________________

Brooke Cagle brookecagle [CC0], via Wikimedia Commons

Being alone on Valentine's Day may leave you feeling like the only person without a partner. It's easy to let the media, advertising, and shopping malls make you feel like something is missing if you are not in a relationship on this particular day.

There are many reasons why you may find yourself alone on Valentine's day, both of your own choice and due to circumstances outside your control.

Very Well Mind

❄️ Stay Warm 🌨️ Stay Safe 🧤

"Getting cold."

"Maybe it'll snow. Maybe it'll snow six feet and there won't be any school."

"We can always dream." He picked up the ball and winged it in a way Simon desperately admired.

"If it snows six feet, can you stay home from work?"

"If it snows six feet, I'll make a point of staying home from work."

"And we can have hot chocolate and play ten million video games."

"That's a deal."

Key of Valor

______________________

You can thank the polar vortex for this beastly blast of winter

Dangerously cold temperatures will hit much of the Midwest and bring a deep freeze to parts of the U.S. — and the weather term we can't stop talking about is to blame. Raise your snow shovel to the polar vortex.

The National Weather Service warned that wind chills will drop to their lowest readings since the mid-1990s across the Upper Midwest.

The National Weather Service in Des Moines, Iowa, said “this is the coldest air many of us will have ever experienced”

mother nature network

______________________

“How much are they calling for?”

“About three feet.” Cal dropped down beside him, mirrored his pose. “Used to be we liked nothing better. No school, haul out the sleds. Snowball wars.”

“Those were the days, my friend.”

“Now we’re priming the generator, loading in firewood, buying extra batteries and toilet paper.”

“Sucks to be grown up.”

Blood Brothers

Beautiful Snowy Scenes

It sat like it belonged there, content and well-settled in the woods.

Blood Brothers

____________________

Photo by MossCreek - Browse home design photos

Photo by THV COLLECTION - Look for exterior home design inspiration

Whether the holiday season brings sunshine or rain where you live, we hope these 100 snowy scenes will bring warmth and cheer this holiday season. Grab a cup of hot cocoa and enjoy some winter armchair travel with these modern, traditional and contemporary-style exteriors shown in all their snowy splendor. 

HOUZZ

____________________

“It’s a beautiful spot, Cal.” Layla took the first out of his hands. 
“Currier and Ives for

the twenty-first century.”

Blood Brothers

Quoting Nora

Friendships That Have Stood the Test of Time

For old friends

Where there is no vision, the people perish.

--PROVERBS 29:18

(as in The Pagan Stone)

_________________

By Kuleczkaxx - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, 

https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=60483362

It’s often believed that long-lasting relationships and friendships are almost impossible in Hollywood. Actors and singers have one thing in common: they’re all creative personalities, and there is always an endless struggle for popularity.
However, at Bright Side have found 11 celebrity friendships that have stood the test of time and are characterized by true devotion and sincerity.

Bright Side

_________________

“We should do this every year on our birthday,” Cal decided. “Even when we’re old.

Like thirty or something. The three of us should come here.”

“Drink beer and look at pictures of naked girls,” Fox added. “I call for—”

“Don’t.” Gage spoke sharply. “I can’t swear. I don’t know where I’m going to go, but

it’ll be somewhere else. I don’t know if I’ll ever come back.”

“Then we’ll go where you are, when we can. We’re always going to be best friends.”

Nothing would change that, Cal thought, and took his own, personal oath on it. 

Blood Brothers

🌸 Happy Mother's Day

Cal had let out his first shocked cry in the delivery room of Washington County Hospital
while his mother panted and his father wept. 

Fox had shoved his way into the world and into his laughing father’s 
waiting hands in the bedroom of the odd little farmhouse 
while Bob Dylan sang “Lay, Lady, Lay” 
on the record player, and lavender-scented candles burned. 

And Gage had struggled out of his terrified mother in an ambulance
racing up Maryland Route 65.

Blood Brothers

_________________

From silent births to delivering in a lobby, these are the most dramatic celebrity birth stories

Keep reading to find about the most unusual celebrity childbirth stories.

INSIDER

By Serge Melki from Indianapolis, USA - To all the Mothers, CC BY 2.0, 

https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=24321824

The most amazing birth photos we've ever seen

Leilani Rogers is a birth photographer who loves what she does - and she has been kind enough to share some of her favourite images with us. Be prepared to have your breath taken away.

More info at http://www.photosbylei.com/

BIRTH

Touches to Feel Connected and Loved

She went to Cal first. Her long blond hair swung forward as she leaned over his chair to kiss him. “Hi.”

When she straightened, her hands stayed on his shoulders. 
Fox wasn’t sure the gesture was purely out of affection or to soothe. But he knew
 when Cal’s hand came up to cover one of hers, it meant they were united.

The Hollow

___________________

CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=103428

A touch can convey a lot more love and affection than words. 

Use these 16 non-sexual touches to feel more connected 

and loved in your relationship.

Love Panky

Psychology of Color and Emotion

Alan glanced around. The interest he'd felt for the woman was only increased now by her living quarters. 

It was a hodgepodge of colors that should have clashed but didn't. 

Bold greens, vivid blues, and the occasional slash of scarlet. 

Bohemian. 

Perhaps flamboyant was a better description. 

Either adjective fit, just as either fit the woman who lived there. 



All the Possibilities

__________________

By Serge Melki from Indianapolis, USA (This time she was snatched) 
[CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Goethe on the Psychology of Color and Emotion

His most fascinating theories explore the psychological impact of different colors on mood and emotion — ideas derived by the poet’s intuition, which are part entertaining accounts bordering on superstition, part prescient insights corroborated by hard science some two centuries later, and part purely delightful manifestations of the beauty of language.

BRAIN PICKINGS

__________________

She had on those high, sharp-heeled boots, faded jeans, and a watch cap, bright as a cardinal, pulled over her hair.

She’d wound on a scarf that made him think of Joseph’s coat of many colors, which added a
jauntiness with her coat opened. 

Under it was a sweater the color of ripe blueberries.

There was something about her, he mused, that would have been bright and eye-catching even in mud brown.



Blood Brothers

"I See Fire"

Cal held his arm out. Fox, then Gage pressed their scored wrists down to his. “

Brothers in spirit, in mind. Brothers in blood for all time.”

As they stood, clouds shivered over the fat moon, misted over the bright stars. Their mixed blood
dripped and fell onto the burnt ground.

The wind exploded with a voice like a raging scream. The little campfire spewed up flame in a
spearing tower. The three of them were lifted off their feet as if a hand gripped them, tossed them. 
Light burst as if the stars had shattered.


Blood Brothers

____________________

Whenever I listen to this music I crave the Amazing Sign of Seven Trilogy...

Oh, misty eye of the mountain below

Keep careful watch of my brothers' souls

And should the sky be filled with fire and smoke

Keep watching over Durin's sons

If this is to end in fire

Then we should all burn together

Watch the flames climb high into the night

____________________

At the farm, Brian held his wife’s hand as hundreds of people stood in his fields staring at the sky. “Jesus, Jo, Jesus. The woods are on fire. Hawkins Woods.”
“It’s not fire. Not just fire,” she said as her throat throbbed. “It’s . . . something else.”

At the Pagan Stone, the rain turned to fire, and the fire turned to light. Those sparks of light struck the black to sizzle, to smoke. Its eyes began to wheel now, not in hunger or pleasure, but in shock, in pain, and in fury.

“He’s doing it,” Cybil murmured. “He’s killing it.” Even through her grief, she felt stunning pride. “Hold on to him. We have to hold on to him. We can bring him back.”


The Pagan Stone

How Seeing affects Eating

By sunny mama - cauliflower crust pizza slices, CC BY-SA 2.0, 

https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=39964349

How much food people consume can be influenced by subtle cues about weight 

that aren't consciously perceived, according to a novel 

chocolate-tasting study in the journal Appetite.

WSJ 

________________________

“"This is because you think if you eat half my slice of pizza it doesn’t count.”"

"“Well, it doesn’t, technically."”

Blood Brothers

Happy Valentine's

 Cal sent a dozen Pink Roses to his Mother.

She liked the traditional flower for Valentine’s Day, and he knew his father always went for the red. 

If he hadn’t known, Amy Yost in the flower shop would have reminded him, as she did every blessed year.

 “Your dad ordered a dozen red last week, for delivery today, potted geranium to his grandma,and he sent the Valentine’s Day Sweetheart Special to your sisters.”

 “That suck-up,” Cal said, knowing it would make Amy gasp and giggle. “How about a dozen yellow for my gran. In a vase, Amy. I don’t want her to have to fool with them.”

 “Aw, that’s sweet. I’ve got Essie’s address on file, you just fill out the card.”

 He picked one out of the slot, gave it a minute’s thought before writing:Hearts are red, these roses are yellow. Happy Valentine’s Day from your best fellow.

 Corny, sure, he decided, but Gran would love it.

Blood Brothers

___________________

Romance That Doesn't Break the Bank: How to Save on Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day is just around the corner, and Cupid has his bow pointed right at you— or rather, right at your wallet.

According to a recent study by the National Retail Federation, 54.8 percent of consumers are expected to celebrate the lovers' holiday, and spend a total of $19.7 billion.

Here are some tips on getting the biggest bang for your V-day buck. 

NBC

___________________

“You sent me flowers on Valentine’s Day.”

 “I hear my mother calling,” Layla announced. “Coming, Mom!” She made a fast exit.

 “You sent me tulips that look like blooming candy canes on Valentine’s Day.”

 “They looked like fun.”

 “That’s what you wrote on the card. ‘These look like fun.’ Wow.” She scooped a hand through her hair. “I have to say that I’m a sensible woman, who knows very well Valentine’s Day is a commercially generated holiday designed to sell greeting cards, flowers, and candy.”

 “Yeah, well.” He slid his hands into his pockets. “Works.”

 “And I’m not the type of woman who goes all mushy and gooey over flowers, or sees them as an apology for an argument, a prelude to sex, or any of the other oft-perceived uses.”

 “I just saw them, thought you’d get a kick out of them. Period. I’ve got to get to work.”

 “But,” she continued and moved toward him, “strangely, I find none of that applies in the least in this particular case. They are fun.” She rose up on her toes, kissed his cheek. “And they’re beautiful.” Then his other cheek. “And thoughtful.” Now his lips. “Thank you.”

 “You’re welcome.”

Blood Brothers