The cupcakes look yummy!! Baking them yourself assures that you get the flavor you want. Happy Birthday to you.

I want to thank each and every one of you for the good wishes on 'my' day. I really do appreciate them. I'm going to save Phyllis' and claim the promises each and every day this upcoming year. lol It's been quiet here. I stopped doing birthdays a long time ago, but my family always calls, sends cards or ecards to let me know they remember and care. That's all I need. I fixed myself a hamburger on Ezekiel bread w/sauteed mushrooms, added a bowl of soup, and finished it off with a clementine. I just found those things this year, and I'm going to hate when they're out of season. Shirley

So glad you all enjoyed this thread! RHome, we have a space above the island facing the cooktop....I was thinking about doing some word art there (a phrase or saying), but photos could be fun! Kate, happy anniversary! I *love* the scene you've described and agree with Caroline that this is a great movie to see with your DH/DW. I went with a girlfriend becaue DH was out of town but I am definitely going again with him! BTW, I haven't read Julie and Julia either but I can strongly recommend My Life in France. Judy, ah yes, the butter. I couldn't believe how much we used too, for the entire meal. The chicken alone is sauteed in one stick of butter, and when you make the sauce from the drippings (which of course has rich and lovely egg yolks), Julia suggests you add two to three tablepsoons of additional butter to the sauce! LOVE the fact that Julia and Paul both lived to a ripe old age. I also love some of her thoughts on food: "Eat well and drink well," says Julia Child, "everything in moderation -- and never snack." And this on butter: "If you're afraid of butter, as many people are nowadays," she said in one of her more recent television shows, "Just put in cream!" she proclaimed, with a twinkle in her eye. Apprently she believd that the secret to a long and happy lfe, along with the moderation, was red meat and gin. My kind of gal! :-) Regardless of what and how you eat, it really does make you realise that the act of sharing good food is really one of life's great pleasures. As she said..."Dining with one's friends and beloved family is certainly one of life's primal and most innocent delights, one that is both soul-satisfying and eternal." Bon appetit to that! Eliz

Hope that you had a really lovely birthday, Monica ... ... one of the several KT folks that I've had the privilege of meeting. ole joyful