Another beautiful day! Abby and I head out the door for a walk in the neighborhood. We turn right off of our street....which, despite the fact that is probably the most historic street in Bartlesville, is busy with traffic, especially at this time of the morning. It is bordered by the middle school (I think!) at one end and the high school at the other end. It is also a cut-through between New Bartlesville and Old Bartlesville (where we live.) The largest employer in town (I assume) is ConocoPhillips and their offices are downtown. Hubby walks a mile to work and loves it. But I digress.....

The walk this morning was through an older part of Bartlesville (as I said before.) Their is a mixture of shabby old houses and stately old houses. There are a very few new(er) houses sprinkled in. Fortunately the builders chose to keep with the style of the neighborhood and they are lovely too. I very much enjoy this walk as it goes by some really lovely houses. I just wish people were still there in them! Yes, of course they are inhabited, but I rarely see signs of life in them. No cars in the driveway, no open door letting the sun shine in. I'm sure that many of these people work. I don't work outside of the house anymore. I used to, but 4 1/2 years in Russia (and 4 1/2 years of aging!!) most likely took me out of any job market. That is fine. I really do enjoy my time at home. I just wish all the other women in the neighborhood were home as well!

Today, it was 109 degrees warmer than it was last Thursday morning. That's right.....last Thursday morning it was MINUS 27 degrees. This afternoon it was 82 degrees. AMAZING! In one week the weather changed drastically. No more snow, warm enough to wear sandals and capris and get my toes done! Woo hoo....I LOVE it! Warm weather makes me ridiculously happy...especially after 26 inches of snow and two weeks of really cold weather.

I know, can you believe I used to live in Russia?? I think the difference is that in Moscow, the weather never stopped anyone or anything. You just dealt with it. No schools closed, city government did not shut down, busses still ran, people still got out and about. Not so in Oklahoma. The place went absolutely nuts. They closed schools for days. It was crazy! I sure hope that is the end of it for awhile.

Yesterday was Valentine's Day. It's been a long time since we spent the day of love in the US. My new goal since moving back to the US is to be a better gift-giver/card-sender. So I decided to give Harry a real gift for Valentine's Day. Most often we eat in as the restaurants are so crowded on this day. Sometimes we celebrate before, but as we were busy over the weekend, it didn't happen. So I determined to buy Harry a gift, as well as cook him a dinner he would like. He knew about the dinner, but I managed to keep the gift a complete surprise! So after the dinner (at his request) of chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes and gravy, salad and Texas brownies, I produced the presents and card. I think he was a bit surprised! Mission accomplished!

And what did he get me? A beautiful bracelet....which will come in the next week or two!