A Very Good Birthday
I had a very very good birthday, even though it began a little too early, as I had to be up by 7 to get to church early enough to make coffee. But John made waffles and bacon for breakfast, and the boys went with me while I made coffee.
The congregation went through NINE pots of regular and two of decaf. *laughs* That's a lot. Lots of people wished me a happy birthday, though, while I worked, which was fun. Church was good. Lucille's after church was even better. Not too crowded for lunch, so the service was fast and the food hot and good. My Cajun breakfast was wonderful as usual, a bed of red beans under perfectly poached eggs and Hollandaise. I ordered a side of their spicy sausage gravy for the biscuit and the lovely spiced ice tea. *happy sighs*
Although the weather was beautiful, we decided on doing something indoors. We all went *swimming* for my special thing, as the neighborhood pool's been closed for a few weeks. Really missed the swimming, so we went to the Rec Center, and we got time in the Lazy River, and I spent some time just doing laps in the lap pool. Much cooler water, which was actually really nice when I got going. Helped my hands a lot, I think, between the exercise and the temperature of the water helping with any inflammation.
Of course, I also spent time in the hot tub and steam room afterwards. I think the change in temperature sometimes helps the circulation in my hands and wrists as well.
When we got home, Jet and I played some video games together in the basement before he went to mow the lawn. I got a little time online to talk with Darkprism, as she had several birthday presents the present to me. One was a gorgeous commission portraying our next two characters in the novel we're working on right now. It was pretty fun to see them.
John made a lovely dinner with Yukon Gold mashed potatoes, fried chicken from the grocery store, and broccoli. He finished it off with the gorgeous pumpkin pie, which I had requested. Last year, he bought me a whipped cream maker, which I had filled. Accidentally, I left the nozzle in the canister when I filled it. It now rattles every time we pick it up in order to squirt whipped cream. Luckily, even without the nozzle, it dispenses neatly. There's nothing quite like a warm pumpkin pie with cold whipped cream on top.
So it has been a very good day. My sister Kathy bought me a book about the Momofuku restaurants in New York and the Korean-American chef who runs it. I love the guy's attitude and creativity. My mom and dad bought me Fresh Ink a study of modern Chinese brush artists who have taken traditional ink painting and made it their own. The directions they have taken the medium are astonishing in their variety, and there are some really inspiring pieces in the book. John bought me the Baking Illustrated book from the America's Test Kitchen crew, and I can see several recipes in there that are crying out to be made. He also bought me two of the double-walled Bodoun glass mugs, which should be very useful once the weather turns cold for keeping the coffee warm but we go to the bus stop.
Best of all, Jet bought me a bag of Reese's peanut butter cups!
He and I have seen the advertisements on Hulu nearly every time we watch One Piece. I kept saying that I wanted one, and he remembered it. I was pretty amazed by that. He was also very excited about my birthday today, and kept asking me what it was that I wanted to do next. I was very touched by that, and his enthusiasm really made the day far more fun than I think it would have been on my own.
I also got the usual avalanche of birthday wishes on Facebook. That was actually a lot of fun to answer, especially since I could use my dictation software. I could customize replies very quickly without worrying about my hands.
So it has been a very good day, with a lot of work from John and Jet to make it so throughout the day. Darkprism did a ton of work on her part as well, and I really appreciated all the folks she got to do things for me on Y!Gallery That was very cool. Thanks for the wishes, folks!
They came true. *grins*
Dictated using Dragon NaturallySpeaking version 11.5
The congregation went through NINE pots of regular and two of decaf. *laughs* That's a lot. Lots of people wished me a happy birthday, though, while I worked, which was fun. Church was good. Lucille's after church was even better. Not too crowded for lunch, so the service was fast and the food hot and good. My Cajun breakfast was wonderful as usual, a bed of red beans under perfectly poached eggs and Hollandaise. I ordered a side of their spicy sausage gravy for the biscuit and the lovely spiced ice tea. *happy sighs*
Although the weather was beautiful, we decided on doing something indoors. We all went *swimming* for my special thing, as the neighborhood pool's been closed for a few weeks. Really missed the swimming, so we went to the Rec Center, and we got time in the Lazy River, and I spent some time just doing laps in the lap pool. Much cooler water, which was actually really nice when I got going. Helped my hands a lot, I think, between the exercise and the temperature of the water helping with any inflammation.
Of course, I also spent time in the hot tub and steam room afterwards. I think the change in temperature sometimes helps the circulation in my hands and wrists as well.
When we got home, Jet and I played some video games together in the basement before he went to mow the lawn. I got a little time online to talk with Darkprism, as she had several birthday presents the present to me. One was a gorgeous commission portraying our next two characters in the novel we're working on right now. It was pretty fun to see them.
John made a lovely dinner with Yukon Gold mashed potatoes, fried chicken from the grocery store, and broccoli. He finished it off with the gorgeous pumpkin pie, which I had requested. Last year, he bought me a whipped cream maker, which I had filled. Accidentally, I left the nozzle in the canister when I filled it. It now rattles every time we pick it up in order to squirt whipped cream. Luckily, even without the nozzle, it dispenses neatly. There's nothing quite like a warm pumpkin pie with cold whipped cream on top.
So it has been a very good day. My sister Kathy bought me a book about the Momofuku restaurants in New York and the Korean-American chef who runs it. I love the guy's attitude and creativity. My mom and dad bought me Fresh Ink a study of modern Chinese brush artists who have taken traditional ink painting and made it their own. The directions they have taken the medium are astonishing in their variety, and there are some really inspiring pieces in the book. John bought me the Baking Illustrated book from the America's Test Kitchen crew, and I can see several recipes in there that are crying out to be made. He also bought me two of the double-walled Bodoun glass mugs, which should be very useful once the weather turns cold for keeping the coffee warm but we go to the bus stop.
Best of all, Jet bought me a bag of Reese's peanut butter cups!
He and I have seen the advertisements on Hulu nearly every time we watch One Piece. I kept saying that I wanted one, and he remembered it. I was pretty amazed by that. He was also very excited about my birthday today, and kept asking me what it was that I wanted to do next. I was very touched by that, and his enthusiasm really made the day far more fun than I think it would have been on my own.
I also got the usual avalanche of birthday wishes on Facebook. That was actually a lot of fun to answer, especially since I could use my dictation software. I could customize replies very quickly without worrying about my hands.
So it has been a very good day, with a lot of work from John and Jet to make it so throughout the day. Darkprism did a ton of work on her part as well, and I really appreciated all the folks she got to do things for me on Y!Gallery That was very cool. Thanks for the wishes, folks!
They came true. *grins*
Dictated using Dragon NaturallySpeaking version 11.5