HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

I was struck today by how many famous people are celebrating birthdays on the same day - November 19th.  These are just a few of them.

Broadcaster Larry King is 80.

Broadcaster and Writer Dick Cavett is 77.

The founder of CNN, Ted Turner, is 75.

Long-time broadcast newsman Garrick Utley is 74.

Fashion designer Calvin Klein is 71.

Actress Meg Ryan is 52.

Actress and Director Jodie Foster is 51.

All I can think is there must have been a lot of cold Februarys.

If today is your birthday, Happy Birthday!  You're in good company!

SUNDAY BRUNCH

The feast began with my (un-photographed) Butternut Squash Soup.

It continued with mini-muffins.  Green chili muffins.  Apple walnut muffins.

 Then there was a fruit salad.

The Beautiful Rich Daughter and She Who Must Be Obeyed gazed at what came out of the oven.

It was a bacon-cheese-potato frittata.

After all that and multiple Bloody Mary's and Mimosas, came the crowning touch.

Lemon and chocolate macarons!

We were well fed.

HANGING ON

This is one our cat Muggles' favorite positions, straddling the couch cushion with a leg or two on either side as if she knows something we don't: that there might be an earthquake at any minute.  As far as we know there never has been one but she's ready, anyway.

SATURDAY SPLENDOR

There are two ways to enter or leave the property which houses our residence.  One of them involves crossing 4 speed bumps, the other way involves crossing 13 speed bumps.  Quite obviously we prefer the first route even though the second takes one through the resort area of the property and is much more beautiful.  I took that route this morning on an errand run and discovered this splendiferous front yard display of bougainvillea.

Beautifully landscaped with the prickly pear and small barrel cactus. And no grass to mow!

The flowering plant is at its peak right now and can be seen all over the city in several colors.  The two plants in our back yard are the same color.

The tiny white flowers are overwhelmed by the brightly colored bracts.

But with the colors, which can range between magenta, purple, white, yellow, orange, pink, and red, it is a glorious addition to our desert winters.

FRIDAY FUNNIES

Enjoy your weekend, y'all.

ALAS AND ALACK

In spite of much clamour and fan worship, the Arizona Diamondbacks' Paul Goldschmidt did NOT win the National League Most Valuable Player Award today.  He WAS second but he was far behind the eventual winner, someone named Andrew McCutchen of the Pittsburgh Pirates.  But he was the highest ranked Diamondback so far.  Matt Williams and Luis Gonzalez each finished third in their careers.  So it goes.

In other news, we went to Food City today and found green onions (scallions) at 3 bunches for a dollar.  Our nearest big market store sells them at about a dollar apiece.  Food City is a chain of grocery stores aimed at the Mexican community.  The announcements over the store loudspeaker are in very rapid (to my untrained ear) Spanish. The specials are Hispanic-oriented.  The selection of spices is beyond compare.  And the prices are great.  We are fortunate to have a couple of their stores nearby.

SWMBO is fixing us burgers right now as we take a break from a great movie "Ladies in Lavender", starring Judy Dench and Maggie Smith.  

This is a great Thursday night.

DAT'S A BIG BURGER

Now I like cheeseburgers.  No, I LOVE cheeseburgers, especially the kind SWMBO creates.  But this is ridiculous.

That sucker is 10 feet in diameter and weighs more than a ton (2,014 pounds).

It was created Sunday at the Black Bear Casino Resort near Carlton, Minnesota.

The big burger included 60 pounds of bacon, 40 pounds of cheese, 50 pounds of sliced onions, 50 pounds of lettuce and 40 pounds of pickles.

It took about four hours to cook and it was flipped with the use of a crane.

A Guinness Records representative was on hand to verify it as the biggest burger ever and said it tasted "really good."