Postcards for the Weekend: Love / Lovely

Papilio machaon (swallowtail)
Postcrossing card from Poland, December 2017

The butterfly is lovely, and I’m sure it loves the flower…

A Curious Encounter 
(Artist: Amy Brown)
Card received from John in England, February 2018

Not sure whether this is love at first sight; but love often starts with curiosity, doesn’t it?  

Too-whit Too-whoo, So Cold for ‘oo’
(Artist: Molly Brett, 1902-1990)

▲And ooh, this looks like love, too!▼

There’s Room For You!
(Artist: Margaret W. Tarrant, 1888-1959)

The last two cards both came from Jarina in the Netherlands in December 2017 – and I have to confess it did not strike me until now, that they were painted by different artists!

Postcards for the weekend 72: Love/Lovely

Love … (Postcards for the Weekend)

BY-2025760 – Postcrossing card from Belarus (December 2016)
”March” by Irina Zeniuk

From Jarina in the Netherlands (February 2017)
”Wat een vrijheid!” – What a freedom!
Oil on canvas by Ilya Repin (1903)
Ilya Repin (1844-1930): Russian realist painter, who played a major role in bringing Russian art into the mainstream of European culture.

♥ Happy Valentine’s Day to everyone who’ll be celebrating ♥

FMTSO: Love Is in the Air

♥ From the No Limit Street Art Festival ♥
(September 2015 in Borås, Sweden)

Looking back at these colourful pictures from last year’s
street art festival makes my heart long for spring again!

Linking to:

Friday My Town

Shadow Shot Sunday 2

Love (FMTSO)

I’m not in habit of putting up any special decorations in my home for Valentine’s Day. I still have the red-and-white curtains up in my kitchen though, with matching table cloth and towels – and the red amaryllis in the window seems to love me still (and I love it back!) 

When I bought it just after Christmas it was showing three buds, which was promising enough – but after those three magnificent sprays of red were past their prime, it surprised me by shooting up a fourth flower stalk – which is now in bloom for the Valentine’s weekend.

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

Linking to Friday My Town Shoot Out – Love

♥ All You Need Is Love ♥

All you need is love
All you need is love

All you need is love, love
Love is all you need

There's nothing you can do that can't be done
Nothing you can sing that can't be sung

Nothing you can say but you can learn how to play the game
It's easy …

Nothing you can know that isn't known
Nothing you can see that isn't shown  

[or is there?]

All you need is love (All together, now!)
All you need is love (Everybody!)

All you need is love, love
Love is all you need

Mystery or Love Story

The BTT question as usual comes from Deb at Booing Through Thursday.

All things being equal, which would you prefer–a mystery? Or a love story?

Now here we are with the “all things being equal” again…
As I’ve said before, in my opinion, “all things” are never equal; and my reading and my experience of it does vary with my mood and circumstances.

And what is meant by “mystery” versus “love story” anyway? (You might notice that I’m in a sort of contrary mood today. I am!)

How many mysteries are there that do not include a love story? And how many love stories that do not have a hint of mystery?

Actually I’d say many of the best stories include a bit of both.

What I’m growing rather tired of is the kind of mysteries too full of bloody violence (using the b-word in its literal sense). What I’d like to see more of is authors who know how to pinpoint the more ordinary mysteries of human behaviour – even when it does not go as far as murder.

I might be reading such a book just now, but I won’t know until I’ve finished it. I might return with a review when I have. There are certainly mysteries involved, and love stories hinted at as well, but it is not yet obvious how it all fits together. Remains to be seen whether the enchantment will last through the whole book or not. For now I won’t even give you the title because I really don’t want to know more about it until afterwards!

Quotes of the Week–Beginning of Love

“The beginning of love is to let those we love
be perfectly themselves and not to twist them
to fit our own image.  Otherwise we love only
the reflection of ourselves we find in them.”

~ Thomas Merton ~

♥ ♥ ♥

“You have to walk carefully in the beginning of love;
the running across fields into your lover's arms
can only come later, when you're sure
they won't laugh if you trip.”

~ Jonathan Carroll ~

♥ ♥ ♥

“If I had a flower for every time I thought of you,
I could walk in my garden forever.”

~ Alfred Lord Tennyson ~