We are almost at the one-year anniversary of Monsieur Henri's successful bone marrow transplant.  YaHOO!!!!

 

In celebration of the whole procedure, we are going to have a bone marrow registration drive here on Saturday, February 12 from 10 am until 2pm.  We'll have cupcakes and coffee and punch and music and all sorts fo fun things. (Please take a look at the link below to find out what the qualifications are for being a donor.)

 

AND at 2 we're having a real live ROCK band (with a bunch of kid musicians).  Bring your kids for this.  We'll be dancing!

 

I won't name names here but there ARE people who do not know that Valentine's Day is on February 14th.  (Yes, every year!)

 

This year the big day is a Monday and if I were you I'd want to stay home with my love, sitting in front of the fire and enjoying dinner cooked by someone else!

 

Noel and Emily asked me to teach a class about how to decorate a cake.  Okey doke, I said!!!

 

Please join in the fun on Wednesday, February 16 from 6 until 8 pm.  This is a hands-on class (You get to play too!)  I'll show you how and then you get to try.

 

Here are our dinners for this coming week.

 

Monday, January 31

Chicken Milano with Pasta 7.95

 

Tuesday February 1

Cashew, Chickpea and Butternut Squash Curry 7.50

 

Wednesday February 2

* Roast Pork Loin with Apples 8.75

 

Thursday February 3

Grandmother-style Meatloaf and Mashed Potatoes 7.25

 

Friday February 4

Pan-fried Tilapia with Snow Peas 7.95

 

 

Order by noon and we'll have your dinner ready to pick up by 3. Our new winter hours are in effect so we're now closing at 7.

 

Salad and bread are now a la carte (not included.) Let us know if you'd like to add them. Salad is 3.25 and bread is 1.25 per person.

 

We make a special casserole and a special lasagna each week.

 

Order by noon or so. Order a half if you have around 4 folks. If you have a bigger group, or you just like leftovers, order a full-sized one.

 

Then come pick up between 3:00 and 7:00.

 

The casserole this week is:

 

Wednesday, February 2

 

Chardonnay Chicken

With Mushrooms and Rice

Whole: 35

Half: 17.50

 

 

The lasagna is:

 

Friday, February 4

Chevre, Artichoke and Spinach Lasagna

 

Whole: 39.95

Half: 19.95

 

No - this is NOT what is happening in my yard right now.  But this week, as the temperatures warmed up, I found myself in a number of conversations about spring.

 

It is coming. 

Soon.

I feel like I am emerging from the dark of winter. 

It is supposed to get into the high 50s later on today. 

My cold/cough is almost gone.

The phone is ringing steadily with future party requests.

We're getting a wonderful new building next door.

We're first on the list of Fodor's 21 places to visit in 2011.

I'm glad to be here.

Did I tell you I'm a spokesperson for The National Honey Board this year?  I am!  They needed a good picture so my friend Sandi Stambaugh obliged and did some snaps for me the other day.  This is NOT the one we're sending them, but, after all the serious ones were done, I asked her to do a tattoo shot.

 

Voila!

 

 

Hiya hiya,

 

There is a hint of spring in the air. After a couple of snows and a couple of frigid days, we are in the middle of a warm snap. It’s sunny here today and I am surrounded by happy people and happier times.

 

A quick check at the sunrise sunset calendar tells me that we gain a minute of two of light every day. A minute or two does not sound like much of anything but I can tell you that I am noticing. The other day, in an exercise class, the teacher pointed it out, noting that, though it was 6:45 at night, it was not yet dark. This morning, still in bed, I watched the sky lightening and noticed that it was not even time to get up! Hooray!

 

At the end of my work today I plan to go home, plan to haul out the rakes and shovels, and plan to get my hands dirty. I know it’s early still and I know we’re going to get snow again and cold again and I know that winter is far from over.

 

BUT a gal can be happy about warmth, right?

 

As I sit here typing this, Emily and Jeff, our web designer, are here putting the finishing touches on our new website. Jeff is about to make it “go live.” I’ve been writing and Emily’s been editing and Jeff’s been tweaking for a long time. I have redone all the illustrations, rewritten all the headlines, and reviewed all the written parts. But nothing really goes quickly in this world, especially when I am involved! We’ve wanted to be able to make changes ourselves and this new site will allow us to do so.

 

I suppose I should wait to announce this until I know the new site is working, but what kind of daring person (like me) does that? Leap and the net will appear, right? And if you DO check and it DOES work but you see a glitch, please let us know, okay? (And if it is not quite right immediately, please be patient, okay?)

 

Anyway – enjoy your day. Dig in the dirt if you can. Let the vitamins of the sun soak in. Come see us. Come see us often! That, more than anything else, makes us very happy!!!

 

My sisters and I are very close and I love that we live near enough to get to see each other regularly.  Next week we're taking a road trip.  We have a dance weekend planned in May and we'll put others on our family calendar too.