y birthday is officially today but the celebration began yesterday because there was just so much I wanted to do.

The day began with my finishing the prep work for painting upstairs in the barn.  I’m going to paint the rafters, roof deck and end walls white just to brighten things up a bit.

Note: Click on the images for a larger view!

I also spent some time having some fun making a self portrait.  I got the roller work done on the roof deck and I was satisfied with that for the day.  As I was cleaning up the roller and paint bucket it began to pour and I got completely soaked.  It was nice because it was one of those times when you get so drenched you just don’t care.

After lunch I made myself a birthday cake.  I used Betty Crocker Super Moist Devil’s Food mix for the cake but, I made the chocolate filling and white icing from scratch using this recipe.  I’ve never split cake layers before so that was fun.  I inserted 8 toothpicks around the layer then rested dental floss on the toothpicks.  When I pulled the floss tight it split the layer quite nicely. Thank you, Wiki-How.  Once the cake was done Lynda and I sat together in the living room and enjoyed a couple of glasses of a nice Chateauneuf du Pape while watching the rain.  Then it was time to cook dinner.

I broiled lobster tails for the first time ever.  Splitting the shell and pulling up the meat was a lot easier than I expected.  Thank you, E-How.  I’ve never before gone to the trouble of clarifying butter before so that was a new experience as well.  The pretty little side presentation in the photo is a teepee made from a hash brown patty housing sautéed Brussels sprouts with Roma tomato and baby spinach leaves.  I really enjoy presentation.

The champagne was 2006 Raventós I Blanc.  Very nice!

We sat in the living room and talked some more while finishing up the champagne.

Lynda was SO nice to do the kitchen cleanup.  That is something I rarely ask of her since it is I who made the mess but, it’s muh birthday!  We then went upstairs and watched the Daily Show and Futurama which I missed most of because I fell asleep in my chair.

The pool holds 300 gallons.  I bought some rock slabs and used the river rock we salvaged from our old dam in the creek.

Lynda has a nice little water garden next to the gazebo. These blooms only last one day.

Yesterday’s morning walk to get the paper was nice due to the fog. Added to that was the pleasure of eating a satsuma, freshly picked from the tree as I walked our road.

ometimes I really miss having cold cereal after a good workout.  I had to give it up entirely because I was unable to stop at just one bowl.  I was more likely to down a third of a box.  I never could get the milk/cereal ratio right so I kept adding one or the other.

I liked the bad cereals, too.  Sugar Pops were a favorite, even though they tore up the roof of my mouth.  I like Frosted Flakes and Sugar Smacks. I ate a lot of Trix but stopped that probably about the time I got married because, as you know, Trix are for kids.

When I started getting concerned about how much cereal I was eating I switched to a healthier lot like Whole Wheat Cheerios, Grape Nuts, Raisin Bran and Uncle Sam’s.  I even tried Shredded Wheat for a while but that was just wrong for a cereal.  I finally just gave up and quit entirely.  I’m sure I am better off but I have fond memories of reading comic books while consuming two or three bowls of cold cereal.