57 AND COUNTING

Yep. It's my birthday. Hard to believe another year has come and gone. Although I do enjoy the occasional "senior" cup of coffee at Mickey D's, and the senior discount on movie tickets, I'm not nearly as appreciative of the aches and pains that have cropped up in recent years. But, I have to admit that ticking off another birthday is better than not.

It's been a wild week. Tuesday I finally mustered up enough nerve to go to a new dentist to have a tooth looked at. I lost a large molar filling while in Alabama last month. After the visit Tuesday, I went back Thursday to have the tooth extracted. The dentist was going to do it on Friday, but I told him that Saturday (today) was my birthday and we always went out to dinner as family for my birthday. He was nice enough to move my appt to Thursday to allow some time to heal before Saturday night.

Wednesday I assembled our Christmas tree. Then P&J and kids came over. While Major Dad helped me move some furniture, Patti and the kids decorated the tree. I made beef stew for dinner and I think everyone enjoyed it.

Thursday noon our team at work went to Pascale's Manale for lunch as a Christmas
outing. I must say, oysters bienville, barbecued shrimp po-boys, and bread pudding make for a great pre-tooth extraction experience. Everything was outstanding and the company was most pleasant and enjoyable.

Linda came home last night!! It is really wonderful to have her back again. This split household cannot end too soon for me, I tell you! KenEllie fetched Chinese take-out for everyone and we had a nice dinner and watched Talladega Nights on DVD.


Today started with a nice quiet cup of coffee for both Linda and I. Then we met Patti and the kids for breakfast at Common Grounds in Gretna. Very nice. Tonight it looks like Outback for dinner, then a movie, probably Eragon, with Ian.

All in all, it's not a bad start to the Christmas season (well, actually Advent). Next comes the arrival of H1/DIL1 next weekend. DIL1 has to work the week between Christmas and New Years. I hope she mentions to her boss that it would really be nice if she could work out of the New Orleans office for a week. We would love to have them stay over until New Years.

Prayers, please, for H2. He goes in for back surgery to fix a herniated disk (L5 of course!!).

We wish you a very Merry Christmas!! May the joy of God's merciful love, made manifest in the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ, bring you peace and happiness throughout the coming year.