What this Girl Likes

It was a very good day here in Chi-town for this knitting biologist. How can it not be when it starts with this:

Roses from my Sweetie

Isn't he the sweetest? My desk definitely smells pleasantly of roses right now. Call me a traditionalist, but I do love roses, the deep red ones, in particular.

Then, as if winter was falling in love with the idea of spring, we had 60 degree weather and sunshine here in Chicago today. That's almost unheard of in February. It made for a perfect early afternoon trip downtown to pick up a few little goodies for John (a bright red cyclamen for his desk and some yummy chocolates from Ethel M) before meeting him for lunch. John works in the Prudential building just across the street from Millenium Park, so for lunch, we strolled over to the Park Grill. Apologies to Claudia for not taking a picure of the lovely chocolate dessert we had. I must have been too busy watching the skaters on the outdoor ice rink outside the restaurant.

After I got back home, I made a short trip to the post office. Gale, a very kind reader who was de-stashing from her knitting book library when I mentioned my interest in Teddy Bears, sent me Debbie Bliss' Teddy Bears and Toy Knits books as well as Alice Starmore's Fisherman's Knits. There are such wonderful things in the Debbie Bliss books. I just love the knitted garments that go along with some of the bears and other animals.

After knitting the next pattern repeat on the Dragon sock (bringing me up to three repeats on the second sock), and inspired by the Teddy Bear book, I also did a little spinning. Not worth a picture (it's the white wool/silk I got from my parents for Christmas) but it was a nice way to relax and enjoy the evening before getting ready to go to Scylla, a Bucktown restaurant both John and I very much enjoy. I was hoping to have pictures, but the light levels were just too low for the camera on my Moto RAZR phone to do the food justice -- it was all good, especially the crab and basil "cheese cake" which featured a layer of lump crab combined with marscapone cheese and seasoned with lemon and basil. Dessert was excellent as well. It was a frozen chocolate mousse with frozen strawberries and champagne gel paired with a flourless chocolate cake, chocolate glaze and brandied cherries. Yum! And it went very well with the rose champagne we were having.

After 9 years of Valentine's Days, John still manages to surprise me with his thoughtfulness -- he really has to think ahead to do the sweet things he does.. Sometimes I think that there is one thing that guys just don't understand about women and Valentine's day. It's really not about how much money you spend, it's about how much thought you put into making it a special day. Of course, it's hard not to like being showered with gifts, but the in my book the greatest gift of all is knowing that someone took the time to do something special because they wanted to make you happy. You just can't knit enough socks for a guy who puts his heart into making you happy.