And so it begins… my last year in the 30s has started! I sit and write this on what would have been my dad’s 80th birthday. Wow, hard to believe. What a nice weekend it was, even though it started off a little rocky. Friday evening, my niece Taylor was sent to the emergency room. She has been suffering with a strange absess of a tooth that had migrated into her jaw and she needed emergency surgery. We’ve been thoroughly impressed with the care given by her surgeon, Jason Kennedy.

Mandee was going to cook a big dinner for friends and family on Saturday, but given that my sister and Taylor would have booth been exhausted, we decided to put it off until Sunday. As a backup, we joined Brian and Jerry for dinner and then cigars, drinks, and a great new local band, Taboo, at Baker Peters Jazz Club.

It was a great, but too expensive evening. Sunday, pre-Superbowl, we were joined by friends and family and Mandee made Beef bourguignon, Celeriac Root Puree, a fab salad… to top it off, she made a Tira Misu to die for! Yum!!! What a great birthday… and now the countdown to 4-0!