A different kind of Valentine’s Day

Well, here at DandelionEnd, we’ve had (and we will have had) a rather unusual Valentine’s Day.  We did chores, finished some minor tasks, and now, we’re preparing for a family Valentine’s Dinner

This morning, I finished the modifications we had to make to our electric fence system.  The other day, because of melting snow and wet weeds, the fence charger wasn’t working.  It was so bad that the children could touch it without harm.  So, after Sharon and I talked, the children found a break in one of the strands.  Afterwards (this was on Wednesday), Sharon went and purchased a Gallagher (sp) fence charger, the M1000, made by those clever New Zealanders (I think, but maybe it was in Australia) for the modern sheep farmers.  Sheep wool is usually impervious to most normal chargers, and the sheep ignore the warning system.  But we found out on Thursday, the new fence charger works quite well.  Our 94-pound, 6-month-old, Newfoundland male dog had been running (pre-installation) in and out and between the fence.  Apparently, Bear tried his new game post-installation, and was quite surprised by the shock.  “Yipe”, said he.  When Sharon returned from a brief trip into town later that day, “Sparky” was sulking on the back steps in front of the door.  As of today, he still wasn’t approaching the fence.  Anyway, I installed an inline lightning arrestor, so that a lightning strike won’t zap the system and free the animals.

Before I was fnished, Sharon and the girls went to Clara City for their Block-Of-the-Month thingie at Shades of The Past quilt shop.  Both Sharon and Laurel are also making serious progress on their other, personalized, quilts.

So, now, as I blog, the entre’ cooks.  We’re eating stuffed pork, baked potatoes, and peas.  The pork is stuffed with apples and prunes.  We’ll also be eating chocolate-covered strawberries, shrimp cocktail, and individual cheesecakes.  For our beverage, we’ll be drinking sparkling grape juice (which is really just carbonated juice).

But there’s more.  We’ve decorated the dining room special for the evening meal, and we’re all dressing up just to sit down for a meal together.  We’re all looking forward to the meal.

Now for those of you who think DandelionMom and DandelionDad aren’t very romantic, let me say a few more words.  First, we’ve been married just shy of 20 years and we have eight children, so we know what we like, and what we don’t enjoy, and what is possible, and what doesn’t make sense.  We don’t like crowds of people on “official” holidays.

Secondly, we do think it is important to let our children see certain aspects of our romantic love.  Yes, the children see us kiss.  (I knew a couple from my childhood that my dad later told me, “They never let their children see them kiss.”)  And, yes, they have seen us holding hands, and on the rare occasion, dance (with each other only, and only at home).  We could leave them at home, and go out byourselves, but frankly, we’re tired, and I’ve been working on the road for long weeks.  Sharon and I go out at other times by ourselves, and, no problem.  Not only no problem, but we all enjoy the separate time.

So, tonight, we’re dressing up for a party at home.  The boys, and actually all of us, will get to choose our own clothes as long as it is dressed up.  I might be wearing a suit and some sort of tie (or not), and I imagine the ladies of the house will be wearing dresses (but maybe not).  One son came to show me his thermal sweatshirt (red) and his camo pants, but hey, it’s clean.

The food is pretty close to done, now, and it’s time to get dressed.  Happy Valentine’s Day! (Feel the love.)