Today is Older Daughter's birthday!
We had nothing special planned for the day – we're not big on going overboard for birthdays – but we got her a French silk pie and a gift card to her favorite café, and that was about the extent of it.
But we're all together and all healthy, so that's what matters.
And here's the obligatory newborn photo, just to embarrass her (smile).
The venerable Dick Van Dyke turns 100 years old today!
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Love him or hate him, you have to admit the guy had talent as a singer, dancer, and comedian. Here's a dance scene from "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang":
Or how about this hilarious clip from "The Carol Burnett Show":
Happy birthday, Mr. Van Dyke.Today is Younger Daughter's birthday.
Happy birthday, dear daughter!
Today is Older Daughter's birthday!
We had nothing special planned for the day – we're not big on going overboard for birthdays – but we got her a French silk pie and a gift card to her favorite café, and that was about the extent of it.
But we're all together and all healthy, so that's what matters.
And here's the obligatory newborn photo, just to embarrass her (smile).
Today is Don's 67th birthday.
He's celebrating the day by stacking branches and loading firewood from a tree we had to take down a month ago. In other words, a typical way we celebrate birthdays around here.
Happy birthday, honey. I love you!
Today's my birthday! I'm 62 years old. For the record, I feel much younger. Surely I'm only 45 or so?
"Now you're officially a Social Security pensioner!" Don said, and he's right. I've already applied for Social Security benefits. Wild thought.
At any rate, today is just an ordinary day. I'm working my online job. Don's working in the shop. Older Daughter is working on tankards (though she promises to make a lunch "extra heavy" with broccoli, just for me. I adore broccoli).
My life is blessed.
Today is Older Daughter's birthday!
We had nothing special planned for the day – we're not big on going overboard for birthdays – but we did just take a trip to town for errands and we bought her a Subway sandwich of her choice. We also got her a gift card to her favorite café, and that was about the extent of it.
But we're all together and all healthy, so that's what matters.
And here's the obligatory newborn photo, just to embarrass her (smile).
Today is my 61st birthday. We spent it doing something very exciting: Bringing the car into an auto-repair center to have a cracked windshield replaced. Whee.
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But on the way home, we stopped and picked up my birthday present, and I'm giddy with delight.
Let me back up and explain. For decades, I've used a trio of large pots for water-bath canning.
The two smaller pots (3-gal. and 4-gal.) were given to me by my mother a long, long time ago, at least 25 years ago. I have used these pots for every conceivable kitchen project under the sun, including water-bath canning.
I picked up the largest pot (it's not marked, but I'm guessing it holds 5 gallons) at a yard sale some time later. It's of cheaper construction and proved it by splitting a few years ago when I tried to pick it up when it was full. It kinda "buckled" in on itself.
These cracks are on both sides of the pot and have gotten deeper over time, to the point where I can no longer water-bath quarts because the water will seep out the cracks when I add enough to cover the jars.
The pots my mom gave me are in great shape, but they're juuuust a bit too small for effective water-bath canning. When I fill them with water an inch over the top of quart jars, the pots are so full that water tends to splash out once it achieves a rolling boil. Plus, one pot holds only five quart jars, the other holds four quart jars, making for longer canning sessions since I can only can nine quarts at a time.
So earlier this week while canning peaches and blueberries, I expressed my frustration to Don. "I've made an executive decision," I said. "I'm buying a proper water-bath canner." I showed him the splits in the largest pot, and why the smaller pots tend to splash during canning, and he agreed such a purchase was massively justified (and overdue).
A brief bit of online research showed many water-bath canners were sold as kits, something I most definitely didn't need since I already have all the other accouterments.
But coming through town today, we stopped at the local hardware store and found exactly what I wanted: two water-bath canners. They cost $29 each.
Each has its own rack.
And look – they hold seven quarts apiece! And they're plenty deep to properly immerse the jars during a rolling boil!
Honestly, I'm giddy. Thrilled to my toes. Like a kid at Christmas. I've been water-bath canning for over 33 years and never had the proper equipment. What took me so long to get these?
Ironically, after this week's canning frenzy, I don't have anything more to water-bath can this season. But I'll be all set for next year. Woot! What a birthday present!
Younger Daughter turned 25 years old yesterday!
She knew something was up since she caught us whispering a lot. My dad is fairly deaf, so "whispering" is often a relative thing. Still, she didn't know exactly what was planned.
The surprise was my youngest brother and my sister-in-law, who showed up laden with balloons and the elegant cake shown above, a culinary marvel from a French bakery. It was a pistachio cake with a layer of mango sponge at top, and a mango glaze all over. Since Younger Daughter adores mangoes – they are literally her favorite fruit – she was very happy.
We had the best party! My brother and sister-in-law stayed for several hours, and all six of us talked nonstop.
Toward evening, since Younger Daughter and I needed to run an errand, we decided to hit the beach again before it closed.
Apparently there was a shark attack at this beach a couple years before, so this sign was installed as a warning. Shifting sands have literally buried the sign up to its neck.
Of course we couldn't walk on the beach in shoes. Within moments we had kicked them off to splash in the water.
Gorgeous views.
Even the seagull seemed to think so.
What is it about waves? I could stare at them for hours.
We walked along the deserted sands for about thirty minutes, beachcombing. Younger Daughter found a small but lovely sand dollar.
I found what looked like a small siphonophore of some sort.
While we didn't know whether it was a Portuguese man-o-war, Younger Daughter drew a warning around it.
As we walked back to the parking area, a train passed by.
The beach was a very nice way to end a the day of celebration.
Today is Older Daughter's birthday!
We're not doing much except battening down hatches and getting ready for snow as well as an ugly cold snap.
But that's okay. We're all warm and together. That's what counts. Happy birthday, dear daughter!
Sorry for the radio silence, dear readers!
First of all, a hearty Happy Birthday to Don! Today he turns 65.
Yesterday I jokingly asked if he had any special plans. He thought a moment (/sarc/) and said, "Hmm. I think I'll work on this project and that project and the other project." In other words, a typical day in which he's trying to get various things done before winter.
The reason for my silence is I've been wrapped up in an intense work schedule and burning the candle at both ends. I'm on Day Six of a ten-day stretch on my job without a day off, which means pretty intense 10-hour days. On top if that, I turned in the revisions to my last Harlequin romance on Monday, and today the proposal (synopsis + three chapters) for the next one is due.
I've been wrestling the plot to his book from here to eternity and back, and (after numerous consultations with Don) it's finally gelled. But a gelled plot for a proposal is pretty useless unless the synopsis and three chapters are written. So here it is, 2:45 a.m. as I type this, and guess what I'm doing?
Such is life. I just hope I won't be too tired today to wish my dear husband a happy birthday.
Holy cow, today is my 60th birthday.
We don't celebrate birthdays in our family, so we're not doing anything special: pouring concrete footings for Older Daughter's porch, more organizing in the barn as we select which items will get sold at a yard sale, and cleaning house. Hey, it's all gotta get done.
But you know what? I don't feel 60. I feel much younger.
Still, at this age I've acquired what could best be described as "history." The other day I got an early-birthday phone call from one of my dear friends from college, Kelly. She and her husband are retired and living in Arizona, and her children are far-flung and living their own lives. We caught up with each other and marveled over the fact that we've known each other since we were eighteen. Over four decades of friendship! We both agreed (since she's the same age) that this is a pretty nice age to be.
So I'm off to finish drinking my tea. Then we'll take the dog for a walk, and I'll help Don pour some concrete footings. Ta ta!
Okay, make that happy belated birthday, Older Daughter. It's ironic I should put up an update on Younger Daughter yesterday, on Older Daughter's birthday, but I simply had a brain fart.
Anyway, yesterday was Older Daughter's 26th birthday.
She's our Christmas baby, a blessed gift.
For her birthday, we framed a pretty photo of her cat Frumpkin and sent it to her. She hung the picture right above Frumpkin's cat tree. The juxtaposition was great.
Happy Birthday, honey!
Consider these lyrics from the Beatles' iconic song "When I'm Sixty-Four":
Don is 64 years old today! And every word of this song is true. I love the man even more than the day I married him back in 1990. Happy birthday honey!
Do you remember the 26-foot box truck we bought to help us move?
In mid-July, we sent the box truck away with some friends. It needed some repairs, and the husband (a brilliant mechanic) is just the guy to do it. He had some delays before he could get started on it, but no one is in a rush and the truck is in good hands.
Which is why we howled with laughter when we got an email from these friends yesterday. It seems their daughter was turning 16, and the family decided on a socially distanced outdoor movie party ... using the side of the box truck as a movie screen!
What a perfect venue!
