Valentine's Day

Generally Michael and I give the "gift of self" (as my older sister likes to say) for minor holidays like this--back rubbing coupons, a delectable dessert and a date, etc. But this year Michael out did himself by presenting me with the project that he and an old Austrian woodworker in our ward (repaired some of the most famous cathedrals in Salzburg after WWII) had been working on for over half a year. Michael loved this time with him to speak German exclusively and reminisce about the beauties of that corner of the world. They began with some raw planks of black walnut and created this out of it.

I wish I had photos of the whole process but, alas, I wasn't allowed to see it until Valentine's. Franz, our friend, affectionately joked that Michael had gone over the entire thing at least thrice with a dentist's tooth buffer to get it just right for me. I am so excited for the last step (only the base is left--can you tell?) to be complete so we can move it inside and enjoy this beautiful work of art! (Though I know I'm going to cringe for the first year each time a child touches it, let alone eats off it!)

I decided to get fancy too, and I put together a stupid poem and picture for Mikey to put in his office. If it were a contest, I'd say I won!