Happy late Birthday, little Benbear!! Looks like he is one happy little dude! I love his cake, so cute! I can so relate to the Thomas the Train obsession, my son,(who is now 20) would watch it over and over and over!! Thank goodness they had come out with the recordable VHS tapes so we could tape them. He would even start to tear up when he knew they were about to end. He saw the Barnum and Bailey circus train pass in front of us at a trainstop one time and he about climbed outta his carseat, he wanted to get on that train so bad. He done his "shadowing " in High School for the railroad company here in town for two years, he wanted to become a conductor. They recently moved the school to another state and you have to relocate and then be placed there, so he went into computer networking and (sob) there went his lifelong dream. He is such a homebody, he couldn't see moving that far away with slim chance of coming back. So, be careful with Ben, his love of trains may be around for awhile! Glad he had a wonderful birthday with his family! blessings-sherri

Hi all - Thanks for all the wonderful birthday wishes! My Aaron " 8 mos.> has started to crawl and pull up on things. He is a real handful weighing 22 lbs. He was 8.5 at birth. He is a big boy and doesn't realize his strength. When he grabs , he can almost pull us down. Wow, the boy is strong.... Thank you. tina_2 Here is a link that might be useful:

Riesling Poached Pear Frangipane Pie Directions: Crust 1 9-inch Hannaford pie crust Poached Pears 4 cups water 1 Tbsp. lemon juice 6 pears, ripe but not soft 2 1/2 cups late Riesling wine 1 1/2 cups Hannaford sugar 1 lemon slice Frangipane Filling 1 cup blanched almonds 1/2 cup Hannaford sugar, divided 1/4 cup Hannaford flour 6 Tbsp. Hannaford unsalted butter, softened 2 large Hannaford eggs 1 tsp. Hannaford vanilla extract 1/2 tsp. Hannaford imitation almond extract 1 Tbsp. reduced poaching syrup 1. Bake pie crust according to package instructions for pre-baking an empty crust. Cool. 2. Prepare poached pears. In a large bowl, combine water and lemon juice. Peel, core, and halve pears, and place halves in lemon water. Set aside. 3. Combine wine, sugar, and lemon slice in a heavy saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat, stirring to dissolve sugar. Once this syrup mixture boils, reduce heat and keep it simmering. 4. Drain pears and discard lemon water. Add pears to syrup. Poach for 5 minutes, turn pears over, and continue poaching for an additional 5 minutes, or until pears are tender when pierced with a knife. Remove pears from syrup and place on paper towels to drain. Continue simmering syrup until reduced to 1 cup, about 20 minutes. 5. While syrup simmers, prepare frangipane. Combine almonds with 1/4 cup of the sugar in a food processor and process until finely ground. Add flour and pulse until combined. 6. In a large bowl, use an electric mixer on medium high to beat butter and remaining 1/4 cup of the sugar until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating until well incorporated after each one. Beat in vanilla and almond extracts and poaching syrup. Reduce speed to low, add ground nut mixture, and mix until just combined. 7. Preheat oven to 350°F. Spread frangipane in pre-baked pie shell. 8. Slice 1 pear half into slices 3/8 to 1/4 inch wide without separating slices. Slide a spatula under pears to transfer without separating. Fan pear half by pressing on stem end. Slide fanned pear half on to frangipane slowly so you can place it correctly. Repeat with additional pear halves until frangipane has pear fans evenly spaced over it, with space in between. Place pie on a baking sheet and bake at 350°F for 45 to 50 minutes, until frangipane is puffed, golden, and solid to the touch. If crust edges start to brown too much, cover them with foil. Cool on a wire rack. 9. To serve, slice remaining pear halves in half. Place a quarter pear on a plate, drizzle with poaching syrup, and place a slice of pie beside pear. Extra poached pears may be refrigerated in an airtight container for three to four days, covered with any remaining poaching syrup. APPROXIMATE NUTRITIONAL VALUES PER SERVING: 450 CALORIES, 62G CARBOHYDRATES, 6G PROTEIN, 19G FAT (7G SATURATED), 60MG CHOLESTEROL, 100MG SODIUM, 6G FIBER

THANK YOU my KT friends! What a nice surprise to get on here this forenoon & find your well wishes! I did have a lovely day & evening. I 'power shopped' for about 5 hours with gift cards, received phone calls from my 3 kids in WI,PA & NC and got to hear my 7yr old precious grandaughter sing to me! Then last evening a dear friend took me out for dinner and dancing. We must have danced the night away as my feet & body ache all over today...tee hee. Now-if only my 47 yr old brain would catch up to this 67 yr old body!!!!! ((( hugs to all)))