Happy Birthday, Dan

It was one year ago, yesterday, when Sherry and I threw the 110th birthday party for Dan and Keith. And, as of today, which is DAN’S BIRTHDAY, their cumulative age has grown to 112.

Here’s wishing you, Dan, a day full of happy moments and, for the year ahead, showers of great blessings.

Death Cookies

We went to a Greek cafe last Wednesday evening, before church. This particular little cafe opened recently, although the owner (he's Greek, of course) has operated, for a long time, some non-Greek delis around town. This cafe, though, must be his and his family's favorite. We've eaten there twice now, and each time it was as if we were invited guests at a family get-together. On Wednesday, for example, there must have been 12 or 15 family members there, some working, others sitting at tables and talking or eating. Greek music was playing, and we felt as if we were in a scene straight out of My Big Fat Greek Wedding.

So we ate our gyros, and then decided to try a dessert. Dan went with baklava, but I wanted to be adventurous. I talked with the owner about the selections he had in his display case. He recommended one made, of all things, from cream of wheat. He said it was his mother's own recipe and was "to die for." I asked about another tray of desserts. They were little round balls, and very white. He told me that his mother makes them for the shop, and that they are a citrus flavored cookie with LOTS of powdered sugar on the outside (called Kourabiethes). He said most people who eat them for the first time accidentally inhale the powdered sugar and have a choking fit. For that reason, he has nicknamed them "Death Cookies." I decided to pass on the Death Cookies, and try the dessert made from cream of wheat. I had to ask him to pronounce it several times (mostly because it sounded so beautiful, rolling off his tongue), but by the time I got home, I had forgotten the name again. I searched the Internet to find it: Galaktoboureko! (You have to go to the link and look at it. It's just a beautiful dessert. I notice this recipe uses semolina flour instead of cream of wheat, but it looks the same to me.) It was a custardy, lemon flavored dessert, with a top and bottom crust of phyllo. I had to agree, it was "to die for." I think I may have to try to make some, myself, sometime.

As we were savoring our baklava and galaktoboureko, the owner came to our table with a small plate of some of his Death Cookies. He wanted us to try them. Knowing their reputation, we were very careful not to inhale as we tasted. They were lovely cookies, sort of like a Mexican wedding cookie, but with a hint of citrus and a melt-in-the-mouth delicacy.

The food was good, but the warm hospitality is what won me over. I'm sure we'll be returning customers.

Fourth of July

We had a very nice Independence Day, this year. It started out with an afternoon barbecue/picnic at some friends' home, and ended with a BANG! There were about 80 people at the picnic, and it was just a lazy, relaxing summer afternoon. We talked with friends, ate more food than we should have, and enjoyed watching the children have fun as only children can do.

A nice canopy for shade.

The barbecue chefs.

An abundance of good food and good friends.

A little guy tries his hand at croquet.

More croquet.

Chess -- a game that crosses the generations.

This little girl gave us an amazing performance, singing "Tomorrow" from Annie. I may be able to say, "I knew her when . . ."

And these girlfriends were just hanging out on the swing.

In the evening, I struck out on my own to the city fireworks show, which is held at the Balloon Fiesta Park. (Dan didn't care to go, and I was fine with that, since I knew I'd be glued to my camera the entire time anyway.) Knowing that traffic and parking would be a problem, I opted to take advantage of the Park 'n' Ride program sponsored by the city. A mere $1.00 per adult provided entrance into the park as well as bus transportation to and from.

The trip to the park was problem-free. I only waited about three or four minutes to get onto one of the comfortable air conditioned buses, and was at the park, picking out my space, in about a half hour. I was surprised at how many people were there. The park, which is the size of 54 football fields (78 acres), was just a sea of people, as far as the eye could see.

I got there well before the start of the fireworks. The sun was about to set, and the air was cool, with a light breeze. After the sun set, I saw a little sliver of a moon, toward the west.


The band, Blood, Sweat and Tears, were performing at the north end of the park, but I was not very close, so only heard the music drifting softly across the field. I got my camera set up on a tripod, made all the settings that I wanted to use for the evening, and spent an hour-and-a-half people-watching. It seemed every child had one type or another of those glow sticks, some in the shape of light sabers, others in rings or ropes. As the sky grew steadily darker, these glow sticks, spread across the acres, were a light show in themselves.

And then, what I had come for . . . the fireworks show! The pictures came out pretty good. Next time I might go for a slightly longer shutter speed, but this was my best fireworks photography to date, so I was pleased with my progress. I'll put a couple of them here, in this post; and additional ones can be seen HERE. (f8, ss 1 sec, ISO 100, manual focus at infinity, white balance = daylight)



Although the trip to the park went smoothly, the return trip was crazy. Since there had been activities going on all afternoon, people had arrived at the park at different times. But once the fireworks were over, everyone exited at once. I stood in line for a bus for almost an hour-and-a-half! It was 11:45 p.m. by the time I got home. Dan was still up, waiting for me, and wanting to see my pictures.

All in all, the day, for us, was spectacular . . . a fitting celebration for our nation's birthday.

Locked Out

My car has those chimes that warn me, when I open the door, if I’ve left the keys in the ignition. But there are no such chimes to warn me that I’ve left the keys lying on the passenger seat … which I did yesterday. At the very moment that I pushed the lock button and slammed the door shut, I realized my foolish mistake.

I tried reaching Dan on my cell phone. He should have been on his way home from work at that time, so it wouldn’t be too much out of his way to stop and unlock my car. But he had his cell phone turned off (dead battery, he told me later).

I waited until I thought he might be home, and then began calling our home phone. After a couple of unanswered calls, I left a message. It worked. He called me, a few minutes later, and said he’d be there soon.

Although there wasn’t anywhere to get inside, out of the sun, I was thankful that there was a place with some shade and a little bench; and thankful, too, for my knight in shining armor (or, more accurately, in his shining Ford Taurus), who came to my rescue.