So — it’s the beginning of the month of March and therefore maybe (but it is a “hopeful maybe” on my part), we will see a bit of spring arriving sometime soon. This past week we had a couple of nasty days weather-wise, and winter let us know that it was definitely still with us.
We are now in the season of Lent, working our way toward Easter, this year observed on April 4. I hope that by the time that special holiday gets here — and it’s only about four weeks from now — the weather will have cleared up and we will have a day of sunshine and joy.

I am sitting in my living room and it is filled with the enticing fragrance of jasmine. The aroma is coming from a decorative lamp that burns scented oil. This device has a French name which I can neither pronounce or translate.
The little lamp was a gift and I had to learn how to use it. The instructions: fill a little container (it might be made of stoneware) with the oil and put a fitted wick into the neck of the container. This is covered with a metal cap. To light the lamp, remove the cover, set fire to the wick, let it burn for 3 minutes and blow it out. Replace a decorative cover over the lamp — it has holes in it to let the fragrances escape. Later, when it is time to extinguish it, take the decorative top off and re-cover the wick with the fitted metal cap. Yes, this seemed complicated but eventually I got it.

Lent officially begins this week — on Ash Wednesday, Feb. 17. Lent is the season leading up to Easter and lasts 40 days. It is a time of preparation and a time when many people engage in meditation or religious study. Lent is also (often) a time when Christian people make some kind of sacrifice. This might involve not eating a favorite food or not participating in a particularly enjoyable activity. Any or all of this is a way to concentrate or focus on Easter, a commemoration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Christians believe that Jesus is the son of God and that He was raised from the dead after being crucified (nailed to a wooden cross). From the resurrection of Jesus comes the promise of eternal life for his followers.

Valentine’s Day is coming up this Sunday. You still have time to do something thoughtful for someone you love — or even for someone you simply like a lot. The stores have racks and racks of Valentine greeting cards so this is a good time to send one to a person who has a meaningful place in your life.
I wondered about St. Valentine (who he was, what he did, when he lived, etc.) but was not able to find much definitive information about him. In fact, one source said there may have been several men upon whom the “Valentine” stories are based.