HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!

Today is my 62nd birthday and since I had an appointment with the state retirement system at 3:30pm, Jeff and I spent the afternoon in Utica. We went to Harbor Point and got some more small spring-clips to hold plastic sheeting to the garden frames and a heat gun to make a strawberry planter out of a 5 gal plastic pail...he didn't think my hair dryer would produce enough heat to soften the plastic. Then we went to Five Guys...Burgers & Fries for lunch. Good thing I had been warned about the french fries there and we ordered only 1 serving...more than enough for the two of us!! Besides being more than generous servings, the burgers and fries were delicious! Next time we're going to try the Cajun fries. Then a quick trip to a dollar store before we went to the hydroponics store (... where Jeff spied a pH tester that he'd like...in fact several, but they start at $39...and go up and up! He did not buy one.) and we made it to my appointment only a few minutes late. We actually found a parking place in front to the state office building on Genesse St! but it took a few minutes to check in at the front desk, show picture proof and be issued temporary visitor passes. The meeting didn't last long...about 20 minutes...and I learned how much I'll be getting each month (about $40 less than I was first told but since my SS will be about $50 more than I was first told the grand total is basically the same.) Then we went to Chanatry's and stocked up on boneless skinless chicken breast at $1.77/lb, Italian sausage @$2.09/lb, ground beef @$3.59/lb and a sirloin tip that we split. We stopped at a free rummage sale on the way home and I got 2 on-the-rocks glasses and a long stemmed wine glass in a white winter scene that matches several others pieces I have. The wine glass makes a great candle holder and the glasses are perfect for every day use. I started collecting this pattern years ago when Burger King gave them away. A couple of other pieces...including a covered candy jar from The Christmas Tree Store, are all that's left. ( We're hard on glass ware around here.) Jeff got a Ronco rotisserie that works...with most of the accessories still there. He's wanted for a long time (and if it ends up costing him $25 to replace what's missing remember a new rotisserie costs a lot more than that!) and a hand meat grinder. We were both still full from lunch so we had just coffee while Mom had her supper. I had made the dough for pasticottes...my traditional birthday dessert... yesterday but never got around to baking them so I bought Hemstrough's half-moons for my birthday dessert. Not bad but our recipe is better. A pretty good birthday.