AGEING UPDATE

 April and May and June are big birthday months in our family.

The BRD's birthday was nearly a week ago.

My son's birthday was yesterday.

My birthday is coming up in less than a week.

SWMBO's birthday is next month.

Our younger daughter's birthday is in June.

Gadfrey!

After all that, plus our wedding anniversary, it's little wonder that we are exhausted.

Not only that.

I heard from my son late last night, saying that he had not done much on his birthday yesterday.

Just entertained the grandchildren in the afternoon.

The GRAND-children!

That means our GREAT-grandchildren.

Talk about making a guy feel old!

So we went out to a Mexican restaurant this afternoon . . . Judy and I and Gayle . . . to celebrate multiple trips around the sun.

It was good, actually great.

The Margaritas were fine.

The food was wonderful and much of it came home with us.

So how did we look afterward?

With apologies to the BRD, whose picture I neglected to take . . . first SWMBO, whom I know you all want to see.

And then your faithful scribe.

So now you know.

Older, wiser, battered by wind and sea, but standing athwart the years.

Bring 'em on!

MUFFIN, MUFFIN, WHO'S GOT THE MUFFIN?

 Last Friday morning I decided to try broiling a couple of eggs in our muffin tin.

The first time I opened the oven door I was met with a cloud of smoke.

SWMBO estimates that muffin tin had been with us for a few decades and maybe it's time to throw the relic out.

I gladly leaped at her suggestion and did a bit of searching on-line before suggesting that now they had ones made out of silicon that made baking and exiting the pan as easy as A, B, C.

She said she thought they might be difficult to get into the oven if they were loaded with something sort of liquid and suggested maybe to just get the silicon-coated non-stick metal pan.

So I went to the store before she could change her mind and came home with this.

Yup, it's flexible silicon but it has a metal framework that holds it steady when being put in or taken out of the oven.

SWMBO quickly agreed to my great wisdom in buying it, even though she noted it was the most expensive one in the store.

But then she sent me to the kitchen with instructions to inaugurate it, especially since we had some blueberries in the fridge that were getting close to going bad.

Well, I am never one to turn up my nose at homemade blueberry muffins.

Here's a couple of pictures of the result. (And, BTW, the new pan worked great!)

THE STAFF OF LIFE

 SWMBO, my wife, would probably tell you that nothing is better than homemade bread.

Nothing smells as good.

Nothing tastes as good.

So I try to keep her happy.

And because making bread is one of the easiest kitchen duties I can imagine.

Recently I tried one of Jacques Pépin's recipes.

It's for soda bread and he insisted that it was simple and fast.

In fact, it was.

Here's my first loaf ever.

Judy gave her approval and much of it disappeared as we munched on an inside picnic dinner Thursday evening.

Thanks, Jacques!

Or should I say "Merci beaucoup".

THE FRIDAY FUNNIES

 Oh, gosh, what a dark dreary day it was yesterday.

And the day before.

SWMBO said she was sure it was going to rain for two reasons.

The first was the way the sky looked.

The second was the way her joints felt.

But there came no rain, just wind and temperatures about 20 degrees cooler than a few days before.

Up and down, up and down.

As I said to someone today, "It's Arizona."

At any rate it has not caused my sense of humor to freeze up.

Which is why you're getting these:

Oh those guys!

Well even if we can't get away from them and their corny puns, try your dangdest to have a sparkling weekend.

And always remember to keep laughing!

Here, kitty-kitty . . .

( . . . oh, NOOOO . . .)

HERE, BIRDIE-BIRDIE

 

Finally got the bird bath installed in its new location off the side patio, joining the Monja and the Blue Cat.

SWMBO said the sealant on it wouldn't be ready until Tax Day but I guess she got as impatient as me and we cheated by a few days.

Now to get the birds interested in it.

THE SEASONS

 After waiting so long and so impatiently for Spring to finally come we launched this week into an early Summer.

The temperature climbed to 80 degrees here yesterday and nearly reached 100 down in Phoenix.

Today is expected to be much the same.

All of which made these flowering fruit trees all the more pleasant a couple of days ago.

Coincidentally a couple of white cars were passing just as I took the photograph.

EASTER DINNER

 'Twas a fine day at the Taylors' Table.

Salad Plate

Cucumbers, Plum Tomatoes, Jicama

Taíjin Clásico Seasoning

Bacon-topped Roast Pork

Mashed Potatoes & Pork Gravy

Roasted Sweet Potatoes & Apples

Asparagus

Blueberry Clafoutis