Happy Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day...hugs and kisses to all the wondrous collective souls who helped heal a heart...You've Got a Friend, too........wishing you light-hearted Valentine's Day fun with those you love.....

Iris from The Holiday: I understand feeling as small and as insignificant as humanly possible. And how it can actually ache in places you didn't know you had inside you. And it doesn't matter how many new haircuts you get, or gyms you join, or how many glasses of chardonnay you drink with your girlfriends... you still go to bed every night going over every detail and wonder what you did wrong or how you could have misunderstood. And how in the hell for that brief moment you could think that you were that happy... And after all that, however long all that may be, you'll go somewhere new. And you'll meet people who make you feel worthwhile again. And little pieces of your soul will finally come back. And all that fuzzy stuff, those years of your life that you wasted, that will eventually begin to fade.

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.
Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.
It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
1 Corinthians 13:4-7

Take this Waltz...new love can just sweep you up...even if you already have a love....that makes sense now........Brideshead Revisited, Season 1: Episode 2...imagining the new loves together....

StoryPeople... Hide and Seek...

I was never good at hide & seek because I'd always make enough noise so my friends would be sure to find me. I don't have anyone to play those games with any more, but now & then I make enough noise just in case someone is still looking & hasn't found me yet.

...this Maja hopes you find her....

McDougall's Hearty Dal Soup

Servings: 4

3 1⁄4 cups water

1 onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1 1⁄2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

1⁄4 teaspoon ground cumin

freshly ground black pepper

1 cup red lentils

1 15 ounce can garbanzos, drained and rinsed

1 14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes

2 cups chunked Yukon Gold potatoes

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1-2 teaspoons chili paste (Sambal Oelek)

2 cups fresh chopped chard

Place 1⁄4 cup of the water in a large soup pot. Add the onion and garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally for 3-4 minutes, until softened. Add the ginger, paprika, cumin and several twists of freshly ground pep- per. Mix in well, then add the remaining water, the lentils, garbanzos, tomatoes and potatoes. Bring

to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 50 minutes, until lentils are tender. Add lemon juice, chili paste (start with 1 teaspoon and add more to taste) and chard. Cook for an additional 5-7 minutes, until chard is tender. Season with a bit of sea salt, if desired. Serve hot.