Wishing you the very best, Sue! I think I last saw you posting on either kitchens or decorating! I'll peek over there again to see if there is anything new with your name on it :) Have you had any crap cakes lately???

Yikes, I could have sworn I posted a birthday wish to this thread days ago! Sorry, Sue! I hope you had a great day and that this entire year is good to you! Linda

Thanks, everyone, for the good wishes! I've been enjoying the day, working on my family history scrapbook and ID'ing old photos. (Retirement means you still work all day, and you don't get paid for it, but *sometimes* you can do what you really enjoy, and that makes it all worthwhile!) Lars, the derivation is: MT = empty (i.e., empty nester). I chose that moniker when I first joined the forums because everybody seemed to have "Mom" names in those days, but my kids were all grown up and out on their own. Tricia, it's sunny here today but much colder than it has been--I was getting spoiled, thinking of 40's as "normal" for January. Today it's back to reality, highs in the mid-20's. I hope to get out for a walk while the sun is still shining. Nothing special is planned for tonight's dinner, except the turkey soup I made yesterday. Thanks again! Sue

Oh, thanks so much to all of you! I know I've been MIA from the Cooking Forum lately (actually, I'm still here but mostly lurking these days). It's nice to know I'm still remembered. This b'day is a big one; I am officially "over the hill" now, enrolled in Medicare and starting to draw my pension. But life today seems pretty much the same as yesterday, so I'm not troubled by it (much). Celebrating all weekend sounds good, but I expect to be working (freelancing is always feast or famine, so I usually don't turn down assignments, even if it means working through a weekend). My DS is coming over for dinner. I'll cook (it won't be fancy, just turkeyburgers with gravy left over from the Thanksgiving turkey, Spanish rice with added green pepper and diced tomatoes, and some kind of green veggie). Maybe, if I'm lucky, there will be a surprise for dessert. Sue