Hearts and More Hearts

I realize that Valentine's Day is just a fond memory now, but I wanted to share one of the gifts my sweet, talented husband made for me.

It's a stepping stone for the garden! I just love it. We have been adding homemade stepping stones for a long time. We have some made by the boys when they were young. We added all kinds of things to the concrete: shells, marbles, old tools, fossils and rocks. Rick saves everything, and he had a jar of those flat marbles and put this together. I love those 3 blue ones.

Rick has been a maker his whole life. Even when he was a teacher he was carving wood in the evenings. He eventually went back to carpentry and now a handyman. So through the years I have gotten some beautiful handmade gifts. Here are a few of my Valentine's from other years:

This beautiful jewelry box is made from walnut. I can't remember when he made it, but it's been a long time. I use it to keep old pieces that I don't want to get rid of:)

This is from the front of an old coal furnace. (Don't you wish utilitarian things were made this decorative now?) He attached it to a wood base and hinge. Inside he etched a loving message. So sweet!

This heart flower planter is made from copper. You can see that he "sewed" it with copper wire. And then added some smaller hearts to decorate it. This usually hangs on a fence with some dried flowers in it. I love to display these expressions of love from Rick and smile when I see them.

In other news, I'm impatiently waiting for spring. We had to go to southern Indiana to help out some family over the weekend and got to see some crocuses blooming. It can't be long for us now! And I've seen my first robin for the spring!