A Little Sunshine on a Rainy Day

Last Thursday was a rainy day and these flowers arrived from my friend Lanier.  What a treat!  Aren't they gorgeous?  Today was pretty rainy too and we got some good news - Pat had a PET scan this morning which showed the chemo is working.  It did not show any cancer in him!  He will have to continue on with his infusions (4 more months), but luckily we don't have to switch to a stronger/more toxic "cocktail" for Pat's infusions.  This is a HUGE relief. 

Don't worry, your eyes aren't failing you, the table runner got switched. 

Thanks Lanier! And also thanks Kate for my cute bunny and new green table runner.

Cicadas

I think the last emergence was when I was back in high school; I was "lucky" enough to be home in TN to witness the current cicada emergence. They were everywhere and you could really hear the buzz of them in the air. On our stroller walks, we saw tons of them run over all over the street and they'd often be hiding on our back when we returned inside (and we'd notice them a few minutes later). But they are pretty harmless, so they don't bother me much.

And since I was already out in my parents' yard taking pictures, I had to take a few of their flowers.

Isn't nature neat? :-)

Recent Happenings

1. Having friends over.  We love having visitors. Here are some pictures that I never posted of Warren and Alyssa from when they came over for a sushi dinner the other week.

And Ginny came to meet Charlie on Sunday!  It was so great having her out for the afternoon.  ***Speaking of visitors, we can't wait for Grandma Kate and Grandpa Paul to arrive today!! They'll be here for a week.

2.  Pat using his Big Green Egg smoker.  He made some delicious spare ribs on Sunday.

3.  Enjoying some beautiful flowers.  Ginny brought out these gorgeous hydrangeas. (thanks!)

4.  Having a tasty breakfast.  I love the Peppridge Farm cinnamon swirl bread toasted up with some butter.

5.  Trying out new recipes.  This chicken casserole is from the Cooking for Real show with Sunny Anderson on Food Network.  It's made with boiled chicken, thyme, rosemary, onions, mushrooms, cream, cinnamon, brown sugar, wild rice (made with chicken stock), gruyere cheese, and breadcrumbs.  I had to leave off the cranberries that are part of the recipe because I couldn't find them canned, frozen, or fresh at the grocery.  Picture doesn't look too good, but it was delicious.

And it has now come to my attention that my life revolves around Charlie and food.  :o)

Weekend Ahead

TGIF!

This weekend I have to survive on my own without Pat.  The lucky guy headed off to a bachelor party in Vegas yesterday. 

• Seeing Tennessee Williams' The Glass Menagerie play with Miss Molly tonight ($20 hiptix)
• Dinner before the play at Lily's (menu has me sold on fresh ricotta gnocchi with arugula and walnut pesto, fresh shaved parmesan).  We'll be using a Restaurant.com gift certificate.
• Make up for lost TV time during the storm.
• Hanging out in the city with Laurisa tomorrow afternoon, a little late brunch and shopping action.
• Run outside.  It's going to be beautiful!
• Pick up Pat from Newark airport on Sunday :)

Mini daffodils make me and the kitchen very happy.

Enjoy this great weather!!

Found Photos

I have a lot of photos that I took before the blog and I'd like to share some of them with you every once in a while.

These were all taken Labor Day weekend.

Cape Cod - 2006.

Definitely makes me ache for some nice warm weather, green grass, and blooming flowers. :)