happy birthday, Mom!

Today is my mother's birthday. I'm supposed to be prepping a rather complicated dinner for her, but she's decided to forgo a late-afternoon concert with Dad in favor of staying home... which means she's helping with the prep (in fact, she's doing the work right now while I blog this).

I went to church for the first time in ages today (I tended to favor Zen temples while in Korea-- long story) and told the congregation that today was Mom's 29th birthday. Apparently the joke was lost on some folks who, instead of focusing on the actual joke (i.e., once you're beyond 30, you're always 29), remarked that if Mom was 29, then she'd be younger than I am. Well, duh. Or maybe that was their way of protracting the joke. You know-- the way Tom Green beats a joke to death. All the same, it was good to see the congregation again. Many familiar faces, plus a few new ones. I also had the chance, very briefly, to meet our new pastor, who seems like a stand-up fellow.

Tonight's birthday meal is an appetizer of escargot-stuffed mushrooms, a main course of linguini with marinara (stuffed with frutti di mare), a fresh garden salad (well, not from our garden), and a dessert that is... to be announced.


UPDATE: Success! A slight change in plan with the appetizer: instead of stuffing the mushrooms, I minced them, mixed them with bread crumbs, onion, basil, and escargot butter, then baked the entire mess in a cupcake tin with the escargot, yielding twelve cups, and compliments from the parents. The pasta marinara went over even better, despite how ugly the sauce looked with shredded crab flecked all through it.


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