funfetti

Last night for supper Mary made Hamburger Helper, the cheesy ranch burger style.

It was good. I wasn't too sure about the ranch dressing flavor but it was better than I had expected. You see, I am one of those very few people who actually likes the Hamburger Helper meals. We also had Italian style deli bread with it. The bread is uncut and so Mary has to slice it with a knife (nice and thick). There are all kinds of seasonings and different types of seeds on the top of the loaf of bread. With some butter (margarine) on it, it makes a great compliment to the hamburger helper meal.

Yesterday we went looking for a new tea kettle and found one at K-mart. The old tea kettle was too difficult to pour water from without the water dribbling onto the table. It just wasn’t a very good design. I am sure that out new tea kettle will do much better. We stopped at the Aldi's grocery store nearby and we got some canned cat food. I got some there once before and the cat loved it. She even ate the cat food after the can had been open for a while. This is a problem that we are having with the cat, she will eat the canned cat food when we first open it up. After a few hours she won't eat what's left in the can, even if we try giving it to her the next day. The cat food must be losing it's scent once it is opened. Open another can of cat food and she eats like crazy for about a third of a can, then nothing more from the can.

Halloween and fall is approaching and Mary is going to bake a Halloween funfetti cake today. It should be fun to eat with the confetti-like decorations that have a Halloween theme to them of bats and pumpkins.

It should be tasty and moist with pudding in the mix. Many, many years ago my mother would make my brother his favorite cake for his birthday. A mayonnaise cake. My mom would actually add mayonnaise to the cake batter. The cake was also a dark chocolate cake. I always thought that the dark chocolate cake was a little bitter but my brother just loved it. The only good thing that I found with the mayonnaise cake was the white icing that my mom would put on top of the cake and all around the sides, and in between the two layers of cake (a round cake). For my birthday she always made my favorite cake which was a yellow cake with milk chocolate frosting. Lots of milk chocolate frosting, Enough frosting to satisfy the sweet tooths of both my mom and I. So I am looking forward to the Halloween funfetti cake.

Yesterday I made reservations for Mary and I to go on a cruise on the Rivership Roamnce for her birthday. I scheduled it for next Friday which is two days after her birthday.

Her birthday is Wednesday, October 13. The cruises for Monday and Tuesday were sold out. Mary wanted to keep Wednesday open in case her children wanted to do something for her birthday like take her out to lunch. Thursday was a special cruise so that left Friday. The meal on the ship is strictly gourmet and the appetizer buffet bar is a lot of fun. The dining takes place in an elegant surrounding. The whole experience is very pleasant plus a nice relaxing river cruise with a nature talk on the bow of the ship as it plies through the water and live music in the lounge. And to make things even better, Mary gets to go for free because it is her birthday. She doesn't pay so much as a penny for anything. Of course I have to pay for my cruise which isn't much, $ 43. Isn't that great?

The weather here is great for working outside, which I will be doing this morning. This afternoon I will be going to Wal-Mart to get a black ink cartridge for my printer. I have been having a lot of trouble trying to refill a cartridge when it runs out of ink. I fill the cartridge with ink but it just doesn't last very long at all. I am not sure what the problem is but a new ink cartridge seems to take care of it. I saw my printer on sale at Wal-Mart for $ 29, about the same price as a new black ink cartridge. Have a nice day wherever you may be and enjoy this fantastic cooler fall weather that we are having. Lew