Day 14 Captiva 2019

Saturday, Feb 16
Today we are having our Valentine celebration exchanging cards throughout the day...with our morning coffee, lunch, afternoon cocktails, and dinner.

We left about 8:30am for an hour drive through Ding Darling Wildlife Reserve.  Photos below of birds we saw …..my favorite of all is the little Green Heron.

 One of the best sights were  several Great Egrets and Snowy Egrets sunning at the tippy top of trees.

We enjoyed our drive and seeing so many beautiful birds. Back at the cottage, we had lunch of egg, cheese and sausage wraps with tomato salsa.

For our special Valentine dinner,  Al grilled delicious steaks and I prepared roasted  Rosemary garlic potatoes and arugula salad with my own vinaigrette dressing .  We enjoyed dinner with glasses of wine.

Valentine's Day on Captiva (Day 10)

Day began early on this cloudy Valentine's Day.  Temps are warm but no sun in sight.  Quiet morning on the porch with coffee and pastries.  Breakfast was poached eggs, bacon, toast, orange juice,  and grapefruit.  Wrote a quick post with pictures to this blog.   Sun came out around noon so  we went for a swim at the pool and sat outside until the sun went behind the clouds about 3:00.
 I finished another book Prodigal Son by Daniele Steel and Al finished Kill or Be Killed by James Patterson.

We spent the day exchanging Valentine cards through the day that we placed all around the cottage.

We had drinks on the porch at 4:30.  We stayed in for Valentine's Dinner as the restaurants are always so crowded on this holiday,   Al prepared delicious beef filets and I tossed a Caesar salad that we enjoyed with baked potato and rolls.  Al popped the cork on a bottle of Champagne to drink with dinner. Enjoyed by candlelight on the porch on a lovely warm evening.

Valentine's Day Part Two

Valentine's Day 2016

I received these lovely roses and cards from my Valentine

and a bottle of Mumm's champagne for our special dinner.

 

Before dinner we walked over to the beach to enjoy the sunset together.  What a great thing to do with your Valentine!

 

 

 

 

After exchanging more cards and glasses of Champagne,  we prepared a special dinner of Beef Tenderloin Filets with Mushroom Sauce, Caesar Salad, Roasted Rosemary Garlic Potatoes and Dessert of Tiramisu (Bailey's Bakery).   We had trouble with the outdoor grill but Al managed to cook the filets perfectly using the stove.  A Great Dinner for a Perfect ending to our Valentine's Day.

 

 

   

Day 15 on Captiva

Today is Valentine's Day!
This morning we exchanged Valentine's  Cards as we enjoyed our first cups of coffee.  We dressed warmly, at least by Florida standards, and headed for a walk through Bailey Tract, a favorite spot for birding.  May have been too cool for the birds as we did not see the usual number of birds and ducks.  We did spot some coots, moorhen, pied billed grebes, a pair of blue winged teals, tri-colored heron, little blue herons, and an Eastern Phoebe who was nice enough to pose for photos. As the morning warmed, several butterflies were seen.

 

 

 

 

 

After our 2 hour walk,  we stopped at Timbers Fish Market and bought beef filets, triple tail fish and shrimp for some meals including our Valentine dinner.   At home we walked out to the Bay and did some more birding and photographing .

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 We had sandwiches and chips for lunch.  I then played with photos that we had taken in the morning.

 

Our traditional thing to do for Valentine's Day on the island is to stay in and dine and open a bottle of Champagne.   We began dinner with Shrimp Cocktails.  Al grilled some really delicious Beef Filets and I prepared Caesar Salad, Asparagus, and Baked Potatoes.  We enjoyed the meal with glasses of Champagne.  For dessert, we had Tiramisu with Strawberries and Coffee with Baileys.  

Of course we exchanged more Valentine cards.  We had a really lovely day this Valentine's.

Day 13 on Captiva

Today is Valentine's Day!
A tradition that we do on Valentine's Day is to hide cards for each other throughout the house throughout the day....by the coffee pot, next to toothpaste, under the napkin at lunch, under the place mat on the dinner table, in a book, etc. You get the picture!  Al buys me the most beautiful and creative cards each year and of course I hand make him cards.  He spends careful thought in selecting the cards that he knows will give me inspiration for my designs.

Cards from Al

Cards made for Al

Close up on the felt envelope that came with one of the cards.

Since it was a cloudy and cool day we decided to check out some of the shops at Periwinkle  Shops after having lunch of chicken salad sandwiches made from last night's extra chicken that we cooked.

At the shops I bought a new leather belt for Al ....he needed one that fits better....must be losing some weight.  He bought me a new nightshirt perfect for sleeping on the Island.

                                                                            

                            





 We are staying home for dinner this evening since the restaurants are a bit busy with it being Valentine's and the start of Presidents' Day weekend.  I served an appetizer of  Caprese salad  made with fresh mozzarella cheese from the Farmer's Market, fresh basil leaves, and tomato slices drizzled with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Was very yummy.

Al, master of the grill, prepared delicious tenderloin steaks and grilled potatoes served with mushroom sauce and arugula salad with red onion rings and sliced radishes.  We enjoyed with a

 special bottle of wine.  Dessert of  Tiramisu  from the bakery followed our special dinner.

Day 10 - Valentine's Day

It is always fun and romantic to be on this island for Valentine's Day especially if you are with someone you love! And if the sun is shining bright! We started out the day exchanging cards with coffee made and served by Al. And we continued to exchange cards through out the day....mine homemade and Al carefully selected at Hallmark's. I had already received fresh flowers from the Farmer's Market  Al took his walk and I was on the computer.  We enjoyed breakfast of sausage and eggs with our Florida citrus.  The day turned cloudy around noon but then back to  sunny in time for us to spend the afternoon on the beach with some good books.

Our special dinner included filets perfectly prepared by Chef Al.....have you noticed his food is always perfect?  I prepared a portabella mushroom and onion sauce to accompany the steaks and corn on the cob,  green beans, and chopped salad with my Balsamic Vinaigrette dressing. Wines served were a white and a red Villa Antinori  Toscana. And there were more cards with dinner.

Day 17 Captiva

Happy Valentine's Day! We had a lovely day .....roses on the table from the Farmer's Market and a lot of cards exchanged between the two of us.  Al gave me such lovely cards with a lot of glitter, bling, ribbon and lovely sentiments.  I made a light lunch with the balance of the mussels and served with a radish salad.  Spent a lazy afternoon on the beach....was a bit cool but very sunny.

We had a special dinner tonight at home. We have found the restaurants on the island are so busy on Valentine's that we prefer a more relaxed evening together. We enjoyed caviar with drinks on the porch. We then prepared lamb chops served with mint sauce, rice pilaf, and Caesar salad and enjoyed dinner with Korbel Champagne.