Colleen and I are longtime friends. Really long time. We met in March 1969 at a church here in Jacksonville, Florida.
My friend Collie is a quilt-maker, who obviously likes bright colors. Her specialty is touch quilts with textures both calming and vibrant.
Last February when she visited, we made pink and white valentine cookies bedecked with red sprinkles. They were home-baked. The batter was not home-made.
A Short Valentine Story in Pictures
Another Valentine Story
Lynn Rosack, curator of collectible trivets featured valentines on her website last February. If you click on the link, you will find several mechanical greeting cards crafted from heavy card stock with an embedded ring that allows the card layers to rotate. Some are from the USA and others from Germany. All are created before 1950. You can view more examples of vintage mechanical Valentine cards with an ironing theme on her fascinating website.
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In this same blog post, Lynn featured a little doll pinning clothes on a line and finding a surprise romance.
As Lynn explains, “moving the lever at the bottom of this card Left to Right causes the little girl to hang a cloth on the line, her eyes to move, and a little boy to pop up with a Valentine heart. It measures 6 7/8β³ x 4 5/8β³ and PRINTED IN GERMANY is printed horizontally in tiny letters at the left front.”
Hot off the Press!
Snag a copy of My Checkered Life: A Marriage Memoir this Valentine’s week. Find it now in the BookBaby Shop.Β E-Book will be available soon.
Expect to laugh and cry and experience many emotions in between as you take an insider look into a long marriage between opposites: plain Mennonite girl from the East coast merging with off-beat pioneer type from the West. Sparks fly, sometimes igniting arguments, other times finding harmony. Discover how their early commitment is sustained by mutual love and trust. This 352-page memoir includes 126 illustrations, with restored photos and art work by husband Cliff.
How do you keep in touch with friends, long-time or otherwise?
What special cards have you have held onto?
Your cookies look delicious and perfect. The mechanical cards are delightful. Such a cheerful post for Valentine’s Day. π
Have a cheerful HEART day, Ally! <3
I didn’t expect to see a post from you pop up today! Your cookies look yummy, and how wonderful to have such friends! β€οΈ
Congratulations on your book!
You know I never post on Tuesdays, but today was a special day, so I decided to go for it. Thanks for the good wishes, Merril! π
You’re welcome, Marian!
Marian β Those cookies look delicious! And what a joy it is to have such a long friendship. My longest stay-in-touch friend is from the third grade.
That’s remarkable! I wonder if that third-grade friend has read your books. I’m sure she’s mighty proud of you. π
The cookies look too pretty to eat, but if you insist!
Ha! They’re long gone. The photos (and the cookies) were baked a year ago. Thanks, Jill! π
I know…wishful thinking. π
I remember a Valentine card I got in grade four from a boy that said βcarts full of loveβ and showed a cart full of hearts. I wish I would have kept it! I had not heard of Valentineβs Day until that year as we were new to Canada. My parents approved of that holiday, whereas they had reservations about Halloweβen! Yesteray we celebrated with our care group at our house with the theme of I Corinthians 13 and lots of Valentine goodies!
Thanks, Elfrieda! I know you love to bake, so I’m guessing your care group enjoyed lots of goodies. When you mentioned the cart full of hearts, I do remember such a Valentine card from grade school. π
Hi Marian, what a lovely friendship you have. My dad used to make gorgeous quilts too. It is such fun to bake cookies. I remember the doll hanging up clothes. There was a paper doll version when I was little and you could dress her in different outfits.
You must have played with paper dolls. I can picture you playing with dolls you could hold and ones you could dress up with wardrobe changes. Perhaps early inspiration for your fondant figures. Happy Valentine’s Day, Robbie! π
Yay for your book release. I will write some questions and send them to you!
Happy Valentine’s Day by the way! β€οΈβ€οΈβ€οΈI only keep the cards my friend Erika makes. She is very gifted at making cards! πππ
I wonder if your friend Erika knows how much you cherish her cards. Card-making is such a gift; I doubt I have the patience. Thanks for your interest in my book and its (early) release this week, L. Marie! π
Love the cookie making friendship and the valentines!
Thank you for stopping by, Luanne. And Happy Valentine’s Day to you too. π
Happy Valentineβs Day! My forever friendβ¦you are such a treasure β€οΈβ€οΈ
There we are–Valentine’s Day in 2022, just as we were emerging from COVID. I’m so happy we are friends and that you could help me “bake” this post–ha! π
Yummy looking cookies. We make heart cookies every year around here too. I don’t love to bake, so my husband knows that I REALLY love him when I make them for him. Happy Valentine’s Day!
That’s so sweet, Arlene. I’m sure your husband appreciates the cookies–and the sacrifice they represent. π
These days, I stay in touch with my oldest friends by text and by several leisurely visits with all four of us each year. I am lucky that I have two first cousins living very close by as well as lots of siblings, nephews, and nieces. I even have my mother, whom I see every Sunday and often on other days also.
The only special cards I’ve hung onto are the ones Stuart and I exchanged during the two years we lived apart from each other while we were dating/engaged. The rest of our cards didn’t make the cut when we moved. Sadly.
It strikes me that love for family and friends is woven tightly into the fabric of our Mennonite souls. And it’s heart-warming to see the chorus of well-wishers for you and Stuart on CaringBridge. By the way, everyone I’ve supported on this website has survived and is thriving, Shirley. π
I believe you’ve taken some time to celebrate Valentine’s Day this week. . . and more to come! π
What fun to make bake cookies with a long-time friend! I think the last time a friend and I were a duo in the kitchen was when I was still in high school. My friend decided we should make peanut brittle. I don’t remember actually eating any, just flying brittle hitting the ceiling when she vigorously prised it out of the pan, which she’d forgetten to grease. She could have put somebody’s eye out with that!
Flying peanut brittle, I would think, has the effect of broken glass. It’s good to hear there were no casualties with that escapade in the kitchen back in high school. Thanks for sharing your story, Liz! π
Baking cookies with a friend is such a fun way to bond and make even more memories. These Valentine cookies look so sweet and yummy. Before we had children, my college roomie (after graduation) would visit me and we’d make cookies together during the holidays. Love the photos from that time. Now we stay in contact with texts/e-mails, and Instagram! With each of us busy with work and grandkids, a phone call is more difficult to navigate. However, in the end of March I’m finally getting together with my five college besties for our annual 4-day get away, which ceased for three years because of Covid. Can’t wait. Hmmm, perhaps we should make cookies!
After the scary isolation of COVID, you (and I) have friend-ly gatherings to look forward to. My sisters and our daughters plan to get together in April or May. I’m glad you can enjoy Girl Time with college friends in March. Four days seems like a nice chunk of time to catch up with each other.
Cheers to whatever we can cook up, or bake up, this season. Thanks, Pam! π
What a charming card, Marian! In the last couple of years, I’ve been learning the Art of card making and, in particular, die cutting and pop up cards. It’s all so beautiful and fascinating! We hold on to most cards we receive from family and dear friends, especially if they are home made.
Lovely cookies too.
Fatima, you are surely gifted when it comes to handcrafts–knitting, crocheting, and card-making too. Thanks for stopping by to chat today. π
The detail that charmed me most was seeing that the girl on the card was holding a clothespin in her mouth, to make her job easier. π Wasn’t it fun (and revealing) to exchange those simple little cards with friends at school, especially boys. I remember when a kid named Jack gave me one that got me pretty excited, inferring that he liked me. For real–and a rather short romance. (And P.S. I don’t like hanging up clothes but like everyone else, the fresh smell is divine.)
You have keen vision, Melodie. I had to check again to see the clothespin in the little girl’s mouth, something I now recall my mother doing. At our previous address there were two clothes lines in the back yard, and I enjoyed hanging bed linens and towels outside. Yes, the fresh smell IS divine. π
Cookies, roses, and a new book. Also a good friend with beautiful quilts and other crafts. You had a great Valentine’s Day and I just ordered your book.
Now you are the 5th wonderful thing (make that—FRIEND, not thing!) that happened this week. Thanks for ordering my book. You can be sure I will reciprocate later on this year, Elaine. Monarchs, milkweed, and life lessons are high on my list of favorite things! π
I love those old fashioned Valentine’s Day cards. What fun to make Valentine cookies with a friend.
Yes, Darlene! I imagine some of your Canadian ancestors had Victorian Valentine cards similar to these in their attics. Or maybe they’ve passed them on to you! π
Marian β Those cookies look delicious! And what a joy it is to have such a long friendship. My longest stay-in-touch friend is from the third grade.
Welcome, Max! If your website is any indication, you are in education as am I. Thank you for introducing me to another source of inspiration for education. π
What a charming card, Marian! In the last couple of years, Iβve been learning the Art of card making and, in particular, die cutting and pop up cards. Itβs all so beautiful and fascinating! We hold on to most cards we receive from family and dear friends, especially if they are home made.
Yes, home-made cards are the best. I do like the surprise of pop-up cards too. Thanks for sharing, Max!
Hi, Marian. The valentines featured on your blog are wonderfully nostalgic, and the cookies you baked with your friend look so-o-o good. Your book-that’s a must-read!
I’m glad the valentines lured me to read my book. By the way, My Checkered Life: A Marriage Memoir is a sequel to the first: Mennonite Daughter: The Story of a Plain Girl.
Thanks for sharing your interest, Nancy! π