Some things seem interminable...

Why is it that every project that should take x amount of time always takes x-plus time?!? The dining room was supposed to be finished in time for this weekend, but it is not to be. The smallest room is taking the longest time. And, that means the goal to have everything completed by July 4 is going to be a week or so off.

This weekend is the official beginning of summer - if only the weather forecast would think the same thing. On the other hand, the cool weather does make it much easier to bake without heating up the entire house.

The Cubbies could come back....

The beauty of being retired (well, sort of) is that you have no defined schedule. That means you can have a Friday that allows you to watch Cubbies Baseball at 10:00 am and have your world revolve for that day around that. And that's exactly what this Friday meant to me...Cubbies Baseball, and nothing else! Kerry Wood's retirement was moving, but even he couldn't help them win.

The dining room is being 'resurfaced' Monday, which means the only thing left to our interior redecorating is the painting of the living room, dining room, and hallway. What a relief that will be!?!

The youngest Hinkelgruber graduates from the University next month, and has a job already. One more relief for all of us (him most of all!).

I baked brioche last week, and I think I'll try it again this week - I'm thinking a nice brioche bread for toast sounds terrific.

Happy Mother's Day - and it's spring at last!

Eighty-two degrees signals one thing: spring is here! On Mother's Day Eve, the weather is perfect, and the same is scheduled for Mother's Day.

Mr. Hinkelgruber and I bought tomato plants for the year, and tomorrow he will plant them. If they all bear fruit, there will be more tomatoes than we've ever had before: nine plants. Let's also hope the grapes come to fruition this year. The younger Hinkelgruber's pruning job last year severely hampered last year's harvest. He wasn't quite as severe this year.

I made Pecan Sticky Buns for my Tuesdays with Dorie blogging group and I can honestly say, they are the best things ever! Thank goodness I was able to give all but two (one for Mr. Hinkelgruber and myself) away to neighbors and friends.

So far, no ideas for dessert for Mother's Day, but never fear - I'll think of something.

Happy Cinco de Mayo! oh, yeah, and Derby Day!

Derby Day and Cinco de Mayo on one day! What's a drinking girl to do? Mix mint juleps and Margaritas, of course! Mr. Hinkelgruber spent an hour looking for the "right" guacamole recipe last night (right being the one that Mrs. Hinkelgruber wanted...) and then Mrs. Hinkelgruber found it in the second place she looked. (No, that wasn't a passive aggressive move on her part, merely blind-a--ed luck!)

Our local farmer's market opens today (I can hardly wait) and the weather forecast says no rain for the next seven days...Hallelujah! Brioche dough for pecan sticky buns will be prepared this week for my baking blog friends and then I have to box up the two built ins in preparation for the rehab of the dining room. What a week!

Oh, by the way... a piece of trivia I failed to share last week... If you're entered in a trivia contest and the question is, "What did the Montgolfier brothers invent?" The answer is not golf clubs (goof-balls), but the hot air balloon.  Mr. Hinkelgruber was the big star of our previously mentioned vacation's trivia contest. That answer got our team into the finals! (Oh, and if the tie-breaker has a biblical theme, "How many people were on Noah's Ark?" The answer is eight. We didn't have any good bible readers on our team!)