Whatnot Wednesdays: Hearts, Abstract #CFFC

Posted on by Teagan Riordain Geneviene

Wednesday, February 4, 2026

Didactic_model_of_a_mammal_heart
Anatomical Model of Heart, Wikimedia photo

Hello, everyone. With my head full of hearts, I welcome you to Whatnot Wednesday.  There are enough different hearts that this qualifies as a Whatnot post:  Abstract hearts for the challenge, steampunk hearts, vintage hearts…  

 On Mondays, Dan Antion is the moderator of “Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge” (CFFC).  The topic for this week was “Detailed or Abstract — or both.” The word abstract sent my weirdly-wired mind tumbling through its twisting pathways.  It resulted in the multi-layered mishmash, the flummoxed freakout, the hard to follow hurtle that I call Whatnot Wednesdays.

When I hear “abstract” I usually think of art, but in those twisting recesses of my brain, I remembered it’s also a sort of philosophical concept.  It includes ideas, qualities, or states that exist intellectually but can’t exactly be experienced through the five senses… yet they are fundamental to human thought, and include things like emotions, morality, time… and love, and romance.  That’s the best I can do to explain how my abstract thoughts led me to make a collage. 

And that’s my “photo” part of this “Whatnot” for the challenge part.  Or at least I’m calling it a collage — maybe that’s abstract too.  Anyhow it’s a “52-Pickup” type collection of photographs of vintage Valentine magazine covers.

2026 Vintage Valentine Covers CollageWith all the hearts in my head, and with Valentine’s Day just around the corner, I kept thinking of all the falling hearts in the book trailer I made for “Fiona Finch and the Pink Valentine: a Steampunk Novelette”…  Then, naturally Fiona showed up, insisting on being part of this post.  Fiona has a Valentine tip — an ebook as a Valentine has no calories, it won’t make your sweetheart sneeze, and it’s less expensive than a greeting card…

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Thanks for visiting.  Friendly comments are encouraged.  Hugs!

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Of course, here’s the rest of the obligatory shameless self-promotion…

 

Universal Purchase Links

Paperback Universal Link:  relinks.me/B084P73L4C

Kindle:  relinks.me/B084NZFZ14

 

 

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This blog is entirely human-written.  Furthermore, the author expressly prohibits any entity from using this publication for purposes of training AI technologies to generate text.

This is a work of fiction.  Characters, names, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, locales, or events is entirely coincidental.

Copyright © 2026 by Teagan Ríordáin Geneviene

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33 thoughts on “Whatnot Wednesdays: Hearts, Abstract #CFFC”

  3. Teagan,a beautiful post to brighten the greyest of days.I enjoyed learning how your thought process on the word abstract ended up with this lovely collage. I love looking at old magazines and these are delightful. The video is wonderful and the flow of hearts perfect for the 14th … and any day really! 😊❤️

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    1. Hi, Annika. I’m delighted to give you a smile. When I reviewed various definitions for “abstract” (and it helps for writing an article to see that in print, even if we already know the word) I started thinking of hearts right away. When Fiona popped into my head, related to hearts, I went ahead with it. I’m hoping to have a new Valentine themed novelette ready. I started it 2 years ago… anyhow, I don’t know if it will be finished in time… so Fiona got this post.

      Thanks very much for visiting. Have a thriving Thursday. Hugs.

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  5. 💓💓 to you Teagan!

    Fiona Finch and the Pink Valentine is a wonderful novelette! I remember it well.

    YES, a great Valentine for the heart, from the heart.

    Heart shaped hugs!

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  8. Teagan, I loved wandering along with you through this wonderfully tangled trail of hearts, ideas, and images. Your way of thinking, letting “abstract” spill out into art, philosophy, collage, and story, feels like a celebration of how creativity actually works, not how we pretend it works. And yes, Fiona absolutely belongs here; she has a knack for showing up just when hearts and imagination are already in motion. I love re-reading Fiona Finch and the Pink Valentine at this time of year. It’s playful, inventive, and full of affection. Thank you for inviting us into your Whatnot this week. Quack Quack!!! Sending hugs on speedy wings to you and the Scoobies!

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    1. You see so much in just a glance, Rebecca. Thank you for your truly mindful comment. And I’m happy that Fiona and Quellie have a friend in you. I recently let Amazon recently make an audiobook of the story. I was pleased with the result and pleasantly surprised that I liked it for a bedtime listen. Hugs headed back to you on pink wings.

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  9. This is a wonderful heart post, Teagan, and your collage is so lovely! Fiona Finch and the Pink Valentine has drawn my attention on Amazon, looks delightful 😍 And wishing to let you know, today I have posted my review of The Geostrophic Pearl as well! I loved reading both books very much, thank you again for this unexpected chance of reading this splendid duology! 💖

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    1. Hi, Nicole. Fiona’s story is a quirky-fun, fast read. I was just telling Noelle that I was pleased with the audiobook Amazon made and used it as my bedtime listen.
      Oh! I didn’t expect you to finish book-2 so soon, let alone have a review post ready. Thanks so much. It really is important to me, just to share my stories and know that people enjoy them. I’ll add a link to my Saturday post. You are a sparkling gem. Hugs.

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    1. Thanks very much, Noelle. Recently I let Amazon make an audio book of it. I love audio books and listen to part of one every day during my lunch break, and different (gentler) ones at night when I’m trying to get to (or back to) sleep. I was pleasantly surprised that the Fiona Finch audiobook had just the right tone for a bedtime story (so to speak). Stay safe and warm. Hugs.

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  11. Love this post. I’m a fan of hearts and have a rock collection of them. Great collage and you remind me Valentine is soon! Sending huge hugs xo

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    1. Ah! Excellent point about the rash, John. (Especially considering that for the past couple of weeks [on and off] something, apparently an allergy, has been badly irritating my eyelids. Just the lids… Nothing extreme, but it’s weird, and uncomfortable. Oh well — onward.)
      Anyhow, I meant to try and find a better heart photo for the header, and I got interrupted. I need to finish that. Hugs.

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  13. I love that collage, Teagan. I remember that magazine cover with the Supremes. My favorite cousins were big Motown fans and I remember flipping through that magazine in their house.

    I think you’re going to like the next series in CFFC.

    PS, I really enjoyed Fiona Finch and the Pink Valentine

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    1. Thanks, Dan — it means a lot to me that you enjoyed Fiona, and remember the story. That’s a cool story about the magazine. I loved the Supremes when I was a little girl. LOL, my mother and her mother were appalled by how much I liked the song “Love Child.”
      The next challenge? Ah… “Inventions” huh? Cornelis is already clanging around in his submarine in my head. 😀 Hugs.

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