p.s. if you feel like bawling your eyes out...and pound cake

....get your hands on the movie "p.s. I Love You"

It was the sole reason (besides the three cups of coffee I had after supper and an amazing pound cake with warm lemon sauce and ice cream dessert, but, more about that later....) I was up until nearly 2 a.m.  Ahem.  Yes, I said 2 a.m.  I've been mean and cranky all day.

If you need a good cry, watch this movie.  Oh, and it's different from the book, so try not to compare the endings.  Although, since I'm unable or unwilling (debatable) to take my own advice, I preferred the books' ending.  I knew you wanted to know.  (wink, wink!)

About that pound cake.  A good friend of mine recently asked me if I knew why "they" called pound cake, "Pound Cake".  And I told her that I thought it was because in the olden days, there was a pound of everything in it.  Butter, Eggs, and Flour, and...Sugar?  Anyway.  I got nosy about it and decided to investigate, and this is what I found.    

My cake, compliments of C&H Sugar,  didn't look anything like theirs, but here is what it did look like:

My photography, as usual, isn't as stunning as hers, or hers, but I managed to snap a photo before it was all gone and miraculously got it from my camera to the computer, so I'm pleased.  Besides, I hear "out of focus" is the new pink.  Or was that brown.  Can't remember.  Must be the lemon fumes.

The lemon sauce is what really slams the door on this cake.  It is nearly drinkable by itself.  I tried it.  Don't think I didn't.  Of course, as you might have noticed the blackberries are missing but when our blackcaps come around next summer you can bet I'll be putting some of them up for occasions such as these..  The mint IS from a pot in my kitchen, it's gotten a little leggy - but it'll come around in the spring and really added another dimension to the taste of the cake and sauce. 

Yum-my.

Oh-Kay.  I have to go now.  Not because it's past my bed-time but  because I've posted a ridiculous amount  of posts today on the blog frontier and now I have to go, er...uh - wash my hair.

Surprise!

When my husband left the house the morning of my birthday without saying "Happy Birthday" I must admit, I wasn't singing his praises.  So, after a day of a being chauffered (sp?) to a doctor's appointment with Papa Lou and Eddie, then lunch, and some grocery shopping,  when I came home there was a birthday card and a HUGE box of chocolates waiting for me.  From my husband. 

Bubba and Wendy had cooked an entire delicious supper and then came the beautiful german cake.  And coffee.  And the neighbor. 

And the other neighbor.

And the OTHER neighbors.  And their parents!  And then, Becky, and her kids. (missed you Steve!)  And let us not forget the chocolate cake she brought. (she called it the "I don't need a man cake" and, I gotta say - if, God Forbid, I was sans husband, it might suffice, at least temporarily...) (please, no comments about the sans husband thing...I was only kidding.  seriously.)  But really.  The cake was THAT good.  

Huh? Wha?  OH! THIS IS A SURPRISE!!!  (I'm fast, I tell you....really quick to catch on....it only took me an hour)

And it was.  It was great.  I had the best birthday in a long, long time.  Thank You Becky for calling my husband and saying, "what are you doing for your wife's birthday?" and when he said "nothing", for saying, "well, you have to do something! Call your friends and neighbors and I'll make a cake."  Thank you very much.

(an aside:  come to find out, in a later and very much animated conversation and after being with my husband for over five years I FINALLY found out WHY he doesn't make a big deal over birthdays...that story will have to come later, probably after the "shit has followed us here" story...stay tuned.) 

And while we're rolling credits, thank you very much Wendy and Bubba for the wonderfully tasty supper and for every little (and big!) thing.  Just thinking of me, and taking the time is really most special.  

And now my computer will most likely officially crash and end this post.  At least the fan is going like crazy and it sounds like it's...fallen and can't get up.

So, let's see if I can get some more pictures on here, just to push the envelope.  

(just to let you know how I am self taught with computers - I will at some point, in the future, figure out WHY I have underlined text.....but not right now.  I think it has something to do with the uploading and sequential typing after of photographs..., but I digress)

Here we go.  This is better.

Hi !

Oh what a night.

Surrounded by young and old (aka: wise).  What a gift.

Happy Birthday to me!

One Crazy Night

I made these strawberry shortcakes.  Oh. Goodness. Me.

I thought I had once made a shortcake biscuit called a "cream" biscuit, but alas, in my 27 cookbooks I could not find the recipe.  So I made one up.  I can't remember how much of what was in it, but they were really, really good.  No, scratch that, they weren't good, they were phenominal.  But who am I to say.  

I'm looking forward to doing that again.  And again.  And again.

Life is Good

And I have proof.  

You know that old saying, that people come into your life for a "Reason, Season, or Lifetime" ?  I say that there are rare instances when there are people in your life for all of the above.  A line between the three can't be found.  It's permanent.  Immovable.  Immeasurable.  And most of all, I'm convinced that life is so good ~ because of the influence of God.

Don't get me wrong.  There is such a thing as hard times.  Things we don't understand.  But if you can, look past all that, have as many dinner parties as you can.  Smile.  Laugh heartily.  Smile again.  Smile some more.  Invite your friends over regardless of fish or potatoes.  Enjoy every facet.  Each nook and cranny of your friendship.  

It's true what they say.  Life is good.