Sunshine

I was busy during the past week and really did not keep up with my going and comings here, so this is the summery of each day. I know I learned things because I learn every single day, either by design or through mistakes or failings on my part, but I did not keep up with anything on a daily basis.

We were having company from Switzerland (DIL3's high school friend, his girlfriend, and his parents) and of course I wanted the house to look nice. 

I also am having a party for my childhood friends in early December, so I thought a true deep cleaning now would put me a little ahead of the game when that party rolls around.

And that meant the super deep cleaning happened, including cleaning every drawer, cabinet, surface, floor, ceiling, on each room on the main level, with the exception of our bedroom, the butler's pantry and the rest of the laundry room (which was already a work in progress but is still not totally done). Those three spaces could have their respective doors closed and no one would be any wiser.

Also, the first song on my Discover Weekly playlist from Spotify this week was "Walkin in the Sunshine". I was not familiar with it, but honestly the word sunshine made it pretty easy to come up with song titles.

 

 

Monday: I sat down early and made a detailed list of everything I needed to do to get the house in shape for guests, with the focus on deep cleaning. I love a paper list and get this thrill when I am able to cross items off of it. Once it was made (paying attention to the smallest detail) I headed into the dining room and began. 

Every item was removed from the buffet, the insides of the cabinets and drawers were cleaned, the tablecloths were refolded and replaced, all the napkins were re-laundered and ironed), the silverware and other sets of flatware (not the everyday set that lives in the kitchen drawer) were sorted by pattern (a few pieces were misplaced)and placed in their appropriate storage bags, dining room table decor was sorted by season and reloaded in the cabinet where it lives, and candle sticks were washed, dried and put away, along with the candles that are used with them.

Next the corned cabinets were emptied.  The one holding china was cleaned inside,  the regular china was replaced,  and the holiday dishes were moved to the lower cabinet.

Moving to the other corner cabinet, everything was taken out, all the silver service pieces* were straightened and put away, and all the glass serving containers were wiped down and put back neatly (it was a mess).

After that it was just a matter of sweeping the ceiling,  knocking down any spider housing, dusting  and decorating the chandelier for Halloween, vacuuming the rug, cleaning the woodwork, sweeping, mopping and making the hardwoods glow, (Thank you Quick Shine floor luster) polishing the furniture, washing the windows, and cleaning the glass on the artwork.

It should not have taken me all day, but it did.

Listened to: You Are The Sunshine Of My Life 

Tuesday: I had a boatload of laundry to do, then moved to the foyer, to get everything done which meant, washing the woodwork and the front door. polishing the door handle, cleaning the chandelier, sweeping the ceiling and getting rid of any spider webs. sweeping mopping and shining the hardwood, dusting and polishing the furniture, cleaning the glass on the artwork.

After that I gave myself a little time to read before getting ready to go to trivia. 

Listened to: Sunshine Go Away Today

Wednesday: I woke got dressed and went to an event at our church. I got there at 10 and was home by 1:15. I did not feel like putting on my work clothes and starting any project so I didn't.  I ran a few errands  before heading back home.

I did get the powder room cleaned, hardwoods shined, and some Halloween decor put out. This makes me smile every time I see it when I walk in there.

stock photo, not my powder room

Listened to: Walking on Sunshine

Thursday: Then on to the living room. This was a wash, rinse, and repeat of the dining room's list, expect for the fact that instead of things used specifically for dining, it meant cleaning and sorting a cabinet filled with games and music, polishing end tables, coffee table, cleaning the instruments in the room along with dusting the inside of the piano and shining it's exterior. 

It should not have taken me as long to clean as it did, but while I was sorting through and straightening the music, I stopped and played some. I couldn't help myself!

Listened to: Wait till the Sun Shines, Nellie. 

I admit to taking some liberties with this song but my mom's name was Nell and my dad used to sing this to her sometimes.

Friday: All the work moved to the den and kitchen. Though I hate having carpet in the den (having hardwoods put in after Christmas) It made tending to the floor much easier.  We do most of our living in the den and I am pretty good about keeping it tidy, I really only had to do a general tidying, dusting (I keep the furniture in there polished regularly) 

The kitchen just got its regular cleaning with a little bit more attention to the fronts of the appliances, and I did mop the floor twice. 

DIL3 and Son3 got to the house by late afternoon and we visited with them until bedtime.

Listened to: Sunshine of Your Love

Saturday: Ball game day! DIL's friends and parents came over for a little Southern hospitality and a typical Southern meal. BBQ of course!  We enjoyed meeting  and hosting them. Both the father and son are journalists and the son (DIL3's friend) wanted to go to a football game and write about it later. I think the experience might have been a little overwhelming for him. 

So after lunch the younger generation headed to Tuscaloosa and we drove the parents downtown. They wanted to explore on their own and though we left them our phone numbers to call and pick them up when they were finished doing whatever they wanted to do, they opted to Uber back to their Air b&b.

We came home, put on soft clothes and watched ball games for the rest of the day.

Listened to: Sunshine Lollipops and Rainbows

,

Sunday: Son3 and DIL3 left mid morning to head back to Nashville so we missed our regular Sunday church routine. It was OK with me. I was tired and committed the day to reading and rest. Oh yes, and making a list of everything I need to do to finish the laundry room and to get our bedroom in proper order.

Listened to: You Are My Sunshine

Read: Judge Stone

Have a great week.

May all your weeds be wildflowers.

Anne

* Because of time restraints I did not polish the silver. It can wait until another day, but I do have a hard and fast first week of November deadline to have it done.

Food For The Taking (Out)

This is a week of what didn't happen or "How can two people dine out or take out so many times in one week"

What was planned and what didn't happen

1. Out to eat (Heading to Georgia for a quick trip)

2. Out to eat (Trivia Tuesday)

3. Crack chicken, Waldorf salad, broccoli

4. Steak, baked potato, tossed salad

5. Taco night

6. Out to eat (Greek Food Festival)

7. Baked stuffed sweet potato

We did pretty well on the eating out part of the plan. In fact we did so well that we managed to extend the eating out to 3 more meals. 

I think I am going to change up the menu planning page next week, and start posting our meals on this rather than my on Monday weekday post. It makes more sense to me, and honestly will be easier for me.

Plan for Wednesday - Tuesday

1. Bbq dinner, pulled pork, smoked chicken, baked beans, coleslaw

2. Ball game or hurricane meal (whichever happens) Burgers

3. Spaghetti, tossed salad

4. Taco with all the fixings

5. Out to eat (You know that is going to happen at least once)

6. Leaving two days unplanned because we might head to the 

7. beach. If not, we will eat whatever is easiest. I have tons to            choose from in the freezer

The Week's Recount

At Last! Spotify and I Are Working Together! The first song on Monday's Discover Weekly play list was Lets Stick Together. I had never heard of this artist before but I was familiar with the song itself, and I could work with the word "together" pretty easily.

And I apologize for not commenting on a lot of your blogs. I have been reading them but when I try to post after commenting it seems to be lost in the ether, and it times out before going through. Weirdly it only happens sometimes and not others. I have given up trying to figure how Blogger works (or doesn't work). 

Monday: I try and plan nothing on Mondays. I like to be at home and get all the ducks that flew the coop over the weekend in order for the week. Didn't work this week though. 

We made some changes regarding our estate planning and put everything in a trust. That included the house and because our house was in my name, I was the one who had to go to the satellite courthouse office and legally re-title it for tax exemptions. (I have no idea why they call it an exemption, when you still have to pay, but just a tad less than we used to)

Anyway thankfully there was no line and the woman who helped me could not have been nicer, which is a rarity there. It took less the 15 minutes to complete the task, and I figured as long as I was already in "going out and about" clothes and makeup, I might as well run a few errands then go ahead and hit the sale items I had on my grocery list from ThePig. 

Just about every Monday they have a special free or reduced price item, in addition to the weekly free one. Woo hoo! Red Solo cups and a package of Martha White Muffin mix at zero cost. Of course I also bought 7 pounds of ground chuck (sale priced) and 10 pounds of chicken quarters (also sale priced)
Just as I was pulling in the driveway after shopping, our new neighbor and her 3 year old daughter came over to chit chat for a minute, but her daughter wanted to come into the house. She took a little tour of the main level and found the toys I keep on the den hearth, then agreed one day in the next couple of weeks she and her mom will come here for a tea party. 

She is an adorable child with flame on orange hair. I told her mom I always wanted one of mine to be a ginger, but I guess basic genetics worked against that ever happening.

Once they left I began processing the chicken quarters for the freezer. After cooking and boning them I have enough cooked chicken for a couple of casseroles, chicken salad, and Korean lettuce wraps twice. Additionally I had the beginnings of a couple of quarts of broth in the crockpot.

What I learned: I am a sucker for a 10 pound bag of chicken quarters, even if I don't really need them.

Dinner: Sloppy Joe's, green beans

What I listened to: Come together

Tuesday: I woke, had coffee the dressed for the day. My Beloved Sister picked me up and we headed to Leeds (a community that is a bit of a haul from ours) to meet our cousin and her 2 darling grandsons at The Burrow Bookstore

It's a 2nd hand bookstore that is absolutely adorable. In addition to books and a "through the wardrobe" kids reading nook with pillows and a Narniaesque scene on the back wall, they sell book accessories, reading glasses, (good thing because I forgot mine and had to buy a pair to add to my collection of a dozen or so that I already have) jewelry, totes, teas and tees. It was wonderful seeing them, but best of all I walked out of there with 3 Christmas presents.

What I learned: Downtown Leeds is having a resurgence with several new places that have opened recently.

Dinner: We had a club minimum we had to use.

Tomato caprese salads, tuna melt, sweet potato wedges

Listened to: Together Let's Find Love

Wednesday: I had my usual Wednesday class, came home for a quick lunch, then TheHub and I headed out for Gainesville, Ga. TheHub's sister lives there and had invited him to come speak to a women's group she belongs to. Since it would be a 10 Thursday morning it made sense to spend the night at her house. 

Once there, after sitting in afternoon drive time traffic through Atlanta, we made it to her place a little later than we had hoped for, but we made it.

And for the second time during the week, I forgot to bring glasses, so before I could go out to eat dinner, I had to run by Dollar Tree and pick up a pair. (I actually bought 3 while I was there so I can have a couple to leave in the both mine and TheHub's car glove boxes.

What I learned: When driving all the way through Atlanta either plan on doing that leg of the trip at either 2 pm or am. I would hate to fight that drive time chaos daily.

Dinner: We all went to Mellow Mushroom along with our nephew for dinner.

Greek Salad, bruschetta

Listened to: We go together 

Thursday: We woke, downed a cup or two of coffee, (though TheHub and SIL both eat real food in the morning) got dressed and took off for SIL's club meeting. TheHub gave his talk about Parkinson's and what their association does both in funding research and patient resources.

Lots of questions were asked and answered if he knew the answer, researched and answered if he didn't. According to TheHub, I am his biggest critic and I thought he did a great job.

After his talk those who could make it met at The Puzzle Piece www.puzzlepiecepastries.org, a restaurant/bakery/ice cream shop, run primarily by adults with special needs. They do have some volunteer moms who are there to offer help when needed but they do most of it themselves. If you are ever in Gainesville Georgia please stop in!

Our drive home was uneventful with only 2 major traffic snarls in Atlanta. I am considering taking 30 minutes to go 2 miles a significant win vs. the drive time afternoon traffic we had Wednesday.

Once home we unloaded then I froze the chicken broth I had kept simmering on low in the crockpot when we left Wednesday afternoon. The broth was so rich and delicious, especially since the bones, once removed could be crushed with just the fingertips. I managed to get every bit of goodness out of those leg quarters.

What I learned: While I probably should not have gone out of town with the crockpot on low, the initial simmering, refrigerating it, then letting it simmer again (bones and all) for another day and a half turned traditional broth into something so much denser. I will do it again but not when I am going out of town.

Dinner: The Greek Food Festival was happening so we drove down to

grab a couple of dinners to bring home. Though we ordered 2 vegetarian plates it is not what we got, even though they both were labeled V. One was and the other was pastichio. I wanted the vegetarian plate, but TheHub wanted it more. It was fine, and the pastichio was delicious but it was just not what I truly wanted. I am pretty sure this was a first world problem.

Pastichio, green beans, spanakopita, tiropita

Listened to: Together, Where Ever We Go

Friday: This was a pretty uneventful day. I had a little bit of running around to do, but nothing noteworthy or particularly interesting. 

What I learned: I learned the definitions of the subtle differences humans use when judging both things and other people.

Dinner: The Greek Festival was so delicious Thursday night we decided to go back Friday night and pick up some takeout.

Chicken, leftover caprese salad, rice pilaf

Listened to: Together you and I*

Saturday: Ball game day! The Bama game was in Starkville Mississippi, and TheHub only has tickets for the Vandy away game. We had a day of washing clothes and watching ball games. Though I went outside a couple of times that day, I did not leave our property even once.

As an aside, our lunch was the leftover Greek salads and pita bread that came with our take out Friday night, for the second meal from that order.

And finally the best part of the day (other than the Bama win) was some much needed rain. It had been so hot and dry and the rain came a little later than I would have liked, but it finally got here.

What I learned: Thanks to the various ball game announcers, I learned details about more college football player's off the field lives than I ever needed to know. 

Dinner: Game days always require a game day meal.

Burgers with all the fixings, Sun chips

Listened to: Let's stay Together 

Sunday: Our Sunday adventures can practically write themselves, since we so rarely change what we do. Our church routine does not vary unless we are sick or have overnight guests. 

We picked up lunch on our way back to the house. We have found if we go to Zaxby's get one 6 piece tender plate and substitute an extra coleslaw for the fries, it is more than enough for both of us for a meal.

Once home, after eating, we both did our own thing.

And did I forget to mention the lovely rain we had? It was a perfect day to stay inside.

What I learned: We watched a video of the Teton National park and started a log of sites we want to visit when we are visiting there

Dinner: We finished up food we had saved from the Friday night Greek Festival plate.

Pastichio, spanakopita, tiropita, tossed salad

Listened to:   Love Will Keep Us Together

What I read: I did not finish a book this week (juggling 3) so I have nothing to add.

Have a great week!

May all your weeds be wildflowrs.

Anne

* I have no clue why I remembered this song.

Pride Before A Fall

Last week I was so full of myself for making a meal plan and actually sticking to it. Nothing like a little comeuppance to put me back in my place. This would be the week that wasn't! That is not totally true, I was pretty successful going out to eat but that was about it. So successful in fact, that we managed to have 3 additional meals of take out food. (Of course one of those days was eating the leftover pizza and salad from the night before, so it really doesn't even count, does it?)

It's too late to do anything about it now.

The past 7 days plan

1. Smoked sausage w/ kraut, potatoes, green beans

2. Sloppy Joes, coleslaw

3, Out to eat (formal benefit)

4. Out to eat (Trivia night)

5. Crack chicken, broccoli, Waldorf salad

6. Grilled steak, baked potato, tossed salad

7. Korean lettuce wraps, sliced cucumbers, tomatoes, roll

Potential meals for the next 7 days

1. Out to eat (Heading to Georgia for a quick trip)

2. Out to eat (Trivia Tuesday)

3. Crack chicken, Waldorf salad, broccoli

4. Steak, baked potato, tossed salad

5. Taco night

6. Out to eat (Greek Food Festival)

7. Baked stuffed sweet potato

And there is one possible additional out to eat night I did not include because the jury is still out whether we will go to Cullman for Octoberfest or not.

The Week That Was

Another Spotify Discover Weekly mystery. This time I was blessed with Rhapsody in the Rain as the first song on the list. So I guessed I would be obligated to try and think of songs with either the word rhapsody in the title or the lyrics. If I am being honest, once I saw the song title, I could only think of 3 options, which turned out to be Monday's, Tuesday's, and Wednesday's songs,

 The rest of the week proved to be a  challenge, but eventually I remembered some more. 

This is where having years of listening to a gozillion CD's in every genre came in handy.

Monday: I try and keep Mondays unencumbered to use as a catch up day tidying up after the weekend. This was one of those perfect Monday's that required nothing but shorts, flip flops, and no makeup.

Household chores are non-demanding like that.

What I learned: When cooking crayfish let them sit in the spicy water they were boiled in for 30 minutes after turning the heat off.

Dinner: Tuna steaks with lemon caper sauce, mashed potatoes, broccoli, tomato slices

Listened to: Bohemian Rhapsody

Tuesday: I had a little running around to do, as well as cherry picking 2 grocery stores before their weekly ads expired.  In the evening we headed to trivia and met up with a couple of our neighbors.

What I learned: The trivia host this time was an under 30 years old young man whose trivia speciality was pop culture. I learned how unarmed we were to answer his questions since none of us were up on current music, the Marvel Universe, or current adult animation.

Dinner: TheHub and I had our typical shared dinner at trivia.

Shared flatbread, coleslaw

Listened to:Rhapsody in Blue

Wednesday: I went to my Wednesday morning class and did a little running around afterward. I had a few errands to run and returned home later in the day.

What I learned: Learned about the loneliest town in Alaska, Chicken. In the 2020 census, it had a population of 12.

Dinner: Conecuh sausage w/ kraut, leftover mashed potatoes, green beans, tomato slices

Listened to: Baby Love

Thursday: This was the day of the Parkinson's Gala. It is a huge formal fundraising event for The Alabama Parkinson's Association. Because TheHub had to be there much earlier than the event's start time I had to start getting ready before 3, so my morning was nothing more than reading and doing those things that are more spa like in nature.

It was a very successful evening, with Tim Tebow* as the keynote speaker, silent and live auctions, and great company at our table**

What I learned: We learned a good bit about current Parkinson's research that is happening right here in town.

Dinner: Tossed salad, steak, crab cake, green beans, mashed potatoes, lemon blueberry cake.

Listened to: Liszt's  Hungarian Rhapsody #2

Friday: This was mainly a recovery day. TheHub was exhausted from all he had been doing prior to the event and on the day and night itself, and just needed to take it a little easier. 

I had a few things I needed to do, before we declared Friday night a do nothing night.

What I learned: We watched a video about a vacation spot we "won" in the live auction at the Thursday gala. Learned about Victor Idaho and the surrounding areas. I see a family vacation coming up in the spring or early summer.

Dinner: I had not taken anything out of the freezer to cook for dinner and we opted to do take out from Luna Pizza, a new pizza place not far from our house. We are not big pizza fans, but we will order this meal again.

Blanco pizza, greek salad.***

Listened to: Just My Imagination

Saturday: Ball game day! Our usual Saturdays begin with coffee and ESPN game day playing in the background.  Games are on the tv all day and though we do not sit and watch them all, we do keep up with them while wandering in and out of the den. I will admit we stop and watch the last few minutes of a close game.

TheHub and Son2 headed to Tuscaloosa for the Alabama game while DIL2 came over to the house to watch it with me. I do actively watch the Alabama game.

What I learned: I'm not sure I learned anything other than Johnny Knoxville is a Tennessee fan. I could have easily done without knowing that.

Dinner: DIL2 and I had leftover pizza and greek salad

Listened to: Stand Alone

Sunday: We woke early and did our usual Sunday church routine, including attending a small reception honoring our minister who is pursuing a career in counseling other ministers. We came home in time to grab a quick sandwich before heading downtown to watch the Broadway tour of Hamilton. 

We have seen the play before, and seeing it again did not disappoint us at all, but we agreed we do not need to see it again.

What I learned: Reserved parking at the BJCC is the no hassle way to go.

Dinner: We met Son2 and DIL2 after the play at Taziki's for an early dinner.

Chicken salad, tomato onion cucumber salad, mixed fruit

Listened to: Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini

Read this past week: Yesteryear

                                  The Mad Wife

Have a great week!

May all your weeds be wildflowers.

Anne

*Tebow's father recently passed away from Parkinson's. Research and patient support is very near and dear to him. He is an excellent speaker.

** Son's 2 and 3,  DIL's 2 and 3, and My Beloved Sister were sitting at our table, along with a young teen (Jr. Ambassador) who champions Parkinson's as her personal philanthropy, her parents, and our friend who is a current Parkinson's patient.

*** The Greek salad from Luna is gigantic with possibly the best dressing I have ever eaten. They should bottle and sell it!

Finally!

Finally, with just a few minor adjustments to the meal side dishes I followed the 7 day plan from last Wednesday through Tuesday.  Not to pat myself on the back or anything but . . .

Of course I know it will be a short lived victory because 7 more days begin today, and the likelihood of doing it again are pretty slim.

1. Leftover tomato pie, tossed salad

2. Leftover baked ziti (take out meal) tossed salad, green beans

3. Stuffed bell pepper, mashed potatoes, coleslaw

4. Veggie meal TBD

5. Ball game meal (most likely hot dogs, coleslaw)

6. Grilled tuna steaks, roasted vegetables, baked potato

7. Out to eat

Possibilities for Wednesday - Tuesday

1. Smoked sausage w/ kraut, potatoes, green beans

2. Sloppy Joes, coleslaw

3, Out to eat (formal benefit)

4. Out to eat (Trivia night)

5. Crack chicken, broccoli, Waldorf salad

6. Grilled steak, baked potato, tossed salad

7. Korean lettuce wraps, sliced cucumbers, tomatoes, roll

Have a great one staying on plan, going off plan, or with no plan at all.

Spotify Has It In For Me

Ok, now I officially believe the gods of Spotify's algorithm have figured out what I am doing each week and have decided to mess with me. Bob Hope's Thanks for the Memories was the first song? Really!?!

So, I decided the songs I listened to had to either have memory in the title or lyrics. By Friday I was having a hard time thinking of them.

Monday: I truly like Monday's to be unplanned. This day worked perfectly with that. I was able to get some things in the house done and still have some time for reading.

What I learned: We watched a video about the topography of New Zealand and why it was the perfect place to film Lord of the Rings.

Dinner: A lot of overripe tomatoes set the tone for this meal. I was just glad I had a pie shell in the fridge.

Tomato Pie, coleslaw

Listened to: Memory

Tuesday: The day was, for the most part, a regular day. I did a little tidying and dusting and got the dining room ready for company. Normally on Tuesday nights we go to trivia, but booted it for a planned dinner here.

When others come to eat with us, I truly like using the dining room and the "good" stuff. Even if I don't bring out the china we still use nicer plates, the silverware, and some sort of table decoration.

Dinner: We had a birthday dinner here, but there was no cooking involved.

Take out ziti, garlic rolls, tossed salad, Italian cream cake, Italian cream cake baby bites, half moon cookies*

What I learned: If you tell people you don't want/need a birthday cake, you'll get treats anyway

Listened to: In Memory of Elizabeth Reed

Wednesday: I had my Wednesday class than went to lunch with 2 of my friends who are in the same class. We tried a restaurant, Local, that is under new ownership. It was pretty good, and the new owner told us there would be live music Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights. TheHub and I will have to try it one night before too long.

What I learned: I actually learned to plan leftovers in my weekly meal plan. And it only took me this long to learn.

Dinner: Planned overs to the rescue. A heat, toss and eat meal was pretty nice.

Leftover tomato pie, tossed salad

Listened to: The Way We Were

Thursday: My Beloved Sister came to my house and we went together to meet our book club for lunch. I had never been to Slice before. (We got lost. Who knew it was in something that looked like a house?)

I am not a huge pizza fan and did not want any, but, their wedge salad with green goddess dressing was fantastic.

What I learned: We watched a video about Wales. It might have moved to one of the top spots on my bucket list.

Dinner: Leftover ziti, tossed salad

Listened to: Memories

Friday: I had another at home day, with massive work taking out and rearranging everything in the freezer.** It worked for not only creating additional freezer space, but also to visually inventory what I have. (Too much!)

What I learned: I learned there was a huge cholera epidemic in Birmingham sometime in 1873, which wiped out nearly half of the population. Thanks to the "ladies of the evening" who acted as nurses to many of the survivors.

Dinner: Stuffed bell pepper, leftover speckled butter beans, coleslaw

Listened to: In My Life

Saturday: Ball Game Day!!!  We began with ESPN Game Day on TV at 8 a.m. , and ended with the final play of the Ole Miss/LSU game.

What I learned: Ole Miss now does their version of Rammer Jammer

Dinner: Ball Game days require ball game meals.

Hot dogs with fixings, coleslaw, Sun Chips

Listened to: Gentle on my mind

Sunday: We woke and did our usual Sunday morning church activities, came home for lunch and hung around the house for the rest of the day. It was kind of nice to have a slow/low day at home. My only productive thing was to work in the laundry room refrigerator and freezer.

What I learned: The Atchafalaya River in Louisiana is home to both fresh and salt water critters, including alligators, shrimp, crabs, and bull sharks.

Dinner: Veggie night

Lady peas, corn on the cob, tossed salad, tomato slices, cornbread

Listened to: Memories ***

Read: The First Time I Saw Him

Have a great week.

May all your weeds be wildflowers.

Anne

* I love Italian cream cake, but making one is not in TheHub's playbook. There is a bakery near here that makes a delicious one but it is huge and we just didn't need that much cake around, so TheHub went to Pastry Arts to pick up a few baby bites. 

Meanwhile Son2 and DIL2 went to the Dutch Oven Bakery in Faulkville to pick up a one layer Italian cream cake. 

Not to be outdone My Beloved Sister headed to Full Moon to grab a dozen half moon cookies.

 

**Handy tip for working in the freezer is to wear ski gloves. They repel any dampness and keep the hands from freeing.

** *I think I vaguely remember this from Lawrence Welk or some similar variety show.