2003 Valentine

Comment

Comment by Valentine Mark Herman on August 8, 2013 at 4:57am

Thanks Gail, your birthday is noted; In France, wives take their husbands names. In Holland they 'double-barrel' their names. My ex is 'stuck' with a double-barelled one, and no husband to match up with the second part of it.

It can have strange results like...

details  Netherlands (NED)
Xenia Stad-de Jong
Nettie Witziers-Timmer
Gerda van der Kade-Koudijs
Fanny Blankers-Koen

These are the names of the Dutch Olympic sprint relay team in the 1948 games. They won in a time of 47.5 seconds. It takes about that amount of time to say, "And they're off, and Xenja Sdad-de Jong hands over to Nettie Witziers-Timmers, and Nettie....etc"

See how quickly you can say it all!

Regards, Val

Comment by Gail Anderson on August 7, 2013 at 10:45pm

Valentine, I have your birthday on my calendar.  Will get your birthday card sent around October 1st, this should hopefully be enough time for it to get to you by your birthday.  My birthday is September 15, exactly one month before yours is.

The story about your name is interesting.  My Mother was a registered nurse, and like many women in that profession, Mama used her maiden name as her middle name on official documents after she married.  Here in the United States, a few women hyphenate their maiden names to their husband's surname, but this isn't all that common.  Most American women still take their husband's name when they marry.

Comment by Valentine Mark Herman on August 7, 2013 at 9:01pm

My birthday is on 15 October, a date that I'm sure you will not forget, Dear Gail.

My mother's maiden name was Valentine. It was originally 'Valentino' but over the years and generations changed.

It was not easy growing up in the NE of England with a name like Valentine, when everyone else was called John, Paul & George (but not Ringo).

My chidlren have Valentine as their middle names.

Valentine is a feminine name in France; Valentin is the masculine equivalent. I'm called Mark here. In Holland where I used to live, Val meant 'fall' (as in afll over, not fall/autumn).

My Mum spent 8 or so years in an old folks home. She had Alzheimers and Parkinsons, and later breast cancer. She died, peacefully, last year at the age of 91.

It's nice to know that your father is being well lookedafter; that makes all the difference.

Keep on mail arting (and don't forget my birthday!)

Bestest, Val

Comment by Gail Anderson on August 7, 2013 at 7:41pm

Valentine, I'm glad to see that you like the Valentine's stuff I've sent my husband.  Do you have a February 14th birthday - is that why you're called Valentine?  My late Mother had her birthday on February 14th, so Valentine's Day was always special to me, even when I did not have a husband or boyfriend giving me stuff on that day.

Glad to see that you liked the "God Blessed Texas" card.  Maybe our whole state sneezed and I didn't notice due to my own allergies.  After having a persistent sore throat that my regular doctor couldn't cure, I went to an allergist last month.  The allergist has me on medication that has me feeling better, but it cost me $108 to fill all the prescriptions.  But it's a small price to pay to be able to keep my pets.  Our family has 2 cats and 1 dog that we all love.

I am doing okay. I've been doing more mail art lately because I finally have the time to do it.  And it looks like I'm soon going to be working full-time again, starting at the end of August.  So I'm trying to make good use of this free time while I can.  In addition to doing mail art and uploading stuff here, I'm doing stuff that has been overdue for awhile.  Such as taking our dog to the vet to get her shots up to date.  I did that yesterday and learned that she has gained 10 lbs. in the last year.  So now I need to walk her more often and switch to a lower-calorie dog food for her.

My father has been moved to a rehab center for people with dementia.  He has some delusions sometimes, but is doing well for someone in his condition.  I hear that the nurses and other people that work there just love my Dad, so I can't complain about this place.  If my father is still around in January, he will be 80 at that time.

 

Talk to you later. - Gail

Comment by Valentine Mark Herman on August 7, 2013 at 6:12am

Lucky husband!

Valentine (Mark Herman)