thanks for the good thoughts, folks! I had a great day with hummingbirds visiting til sundown. had a close encounter in the yard with the juvenile. it stopped poking at petunias and beebalm to hover near me at chest level to have a look. my friends bought me an elegant desk globe with a wooden base and took me out to a great restaurant. a really fine day, and you all made it that much better, thank you! thanks for the beautiful flowers, mimidi! and ellery, if you remember local geography from your vandy days, I live near the corner of west end ave. and bowling ave. :-)

Thank you, thank you, everyone. I went to Amanda's on Saturday, the kids and I played on the Slip N Slide while Elery fried a turkey and Amanda and mother made fruit salad and potatoes. Makayla and I planted 6 strawberry plants in her raised garden bed and Madi splashed in the water. We had lemon cake with cream cheese frosting for dessert. Of course, first I had to walk that mile of fence because I had a short where the deer had run through. Darned things, they can jump 8 feet or something, but they never jump the fence, they go through, no matter how many markers I put on the wire so they can see it. Grrr. Rats on hooves, I need to eat more of them. I finished planting the garden, putting in two dozen sweet potato plants, so that fills up my half acre of tilled soil. It was a good day, doing lots of things I like! Annie

Thank you again, everyone. I've had a great day, and you guys helped make it that way. Terri, here's the recipe for the pancakes. It's from the King Arthur Flour Baker's Companion cookbook. I'm including their recipe for the sauce, although we've never made it. We've just heated some blueberries and made a sort of syrup out of the blueberries. This morning DH mixed some applesauce in with a blueberry sauce I threw together the other day for another dish. I'm sorry, I don't know what I did for the sauce, other than a little bit of sugar, a couple of cups of blueberries, and a big splash of rum. (That was a mistake, it tasted way too rummy, but by this morning, it was a lot better.) Anyway, I'll present the recipe as it is in the book. That vanilla sauce does look good. Lemon Ricotta Puff-Pancakes with Vanilla Scented Sauce Batter 3 large eggs, separated 1 1/2 cups (12 ounces) buttermilk 3 tablespoons (1 1/4 ounces) sugar 1 cup (8 ounces) ricotta cheese 1 1/2 cups (6 1/4 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon baking powder 2 tablespoons lemon zest (from 2 large lemons), or 1/2 teaspoon lemon oil 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg 1/2 teaspoon salt Sauce 1 cup (8 ounces) ricotta cheese 1/2 cup (2 ounces) confectioner's sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1/4 teaspoon salt Batter: In a medium-sized mixing bowl, beat together the egg yolks, buttermilk, sugar, and ricotta cheese. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, lemon zest, nutmeg and salt. In a third bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff but not dry. Mix the dry ingredients into the buttermilk mixture with a few quick strokes. A few lumps remaining are okay. Fold in the egg whites. Heat a lightly greased griddle or skillet over medium heat until hot enough to evaporate a drop of water immediately. Drop the batter by 1/4 cupfuls onto the heated griddle. Cook for about 2 1/2 minutes on the first side; bubbles should rise and burst on the first side before you flip the pancakes. Cook for about 1 minute on the second side. They should be a very light golden brown when finished. Serve with sauce. Sauce: Mix all of the ingredients until smooth in a small mixing bowl. For an ultra-smooth sauce, blend in a blender or food processor. Refrigerate until needed. Thin with 1 tablespoon milk or cream is sauce is too thick. Note: The pancakes may be made a day ahead, cooled on a wired rack, then wralpped tightly and refrigerated. To reheat, preheat the oven to 375 degrees F, place the pancakes on a lightly greased baking sheet, and heat for 5 minutes. Thanks again, Sally

Thank you for the good wishes. This just makes it an extra day for celebration. Had a nice family party with luscious food and great presents, so who could ask for anything more? Wait...maybe to subtract a year instead of adding one..lol, but then eventually my kids would catch up to me. Thanks everyone.