The maple kind ... yeah

But who's counting

I've got this "thing" going on for Welch's Light Grape Juice mixed half and half with Canada Dry Diet Ginger Ale.

It's my hooch of choice, as it were.

In the event I'm not chugging a frosty mugful of A&W Diet Root Beer made with Aged Vanilla, that is.

Whatever's in my glass, I take it straight up! No ice.

And actually, I sip it slowly. Except when I gulp it.

But picture my surprise when, upon plucking bottles of grape juice from the supermarket shelf a few months ago, I noticed something.

At first I thought I was imagining things.

Can you find what it is?

Yes, I know one is empty and one is full!

That's not what I mean.

One bottle claims to have 50 calories per 8-ounce serving while the other will only cop to 45.

Who knew a juice beverage's calorie count could be tweaked -- calibrated, as it were -- to such a close tolerance?

I mean, what is that, one grape per serving? What marketing genius thought that was a good idea?

Talk about your control freaks.

The amazing thing is, I can't even taste the difference!

But I'd better pour another glassful just to make sure.

Right after I finish this ice-cold root beer.

Friday's child

I hate to open with a statement as hackneyed as this but I really cannot believe Erica Jean is twenty-five years old.

Our third baby girl was born at 2:04 a.m. on the Friday after Memorial Day in 1986.

Her twenty-fifth was the fourth time in Erica's life that her birthday fell on Memorial Day.

The other years were 1988, 1994, and 2005.

According to the well-known nursery rhyme, Friday's child is loving and giving.

Have you ever been curious enough to check the weekday of your birth against the poem?

Here's the poem:

Monday's child is fair of face;
Tuesday's child is full of grace.
Wednesday's child is full of woe;
Thursday's child has far to go.
Friday's child is loving and giving;
Saturday's child works hard for his living.
And the child that is born on the Sabbath day
Is bonny and blithe and good and gay.*

*Meaning, happy and carefree. Sad I have to clarify, but that's where we are.

And here's a link to a nifty perpetual calendar. If you don't already know the weekday of your birth, take a mo and look it up.

Then, please tell me in the comments the day of the week you were born, and whether the qualities for that day correspond to your character traits.

Be truthful! I will know if you're trying to put one over on me.

I don't know how I'll know, but I'll know.

Because see, I have far to go! And so did my father (although he died at 37), and so does Henry (my mother's husband, who will be 79 in August).

We three were born on Thursdays.

Of TG's and my parents, our children, our son-in-law, and our grandchildren -- a grand total of fourteen souls -- six were born on Tuesdays.

They would be my mother-in-law, my late father-in-law, our daughters Stephanie and Audrey, and Stephanie's daughters Melanie and Allissa.

Full of grace, all. So far so good.

Andrew is our lone Wednesday-born. Full of woe? Sort of, but in a non-woeful way. It's difficult to explain; you'll have to take my word for it. But everyone who knows him and is reading this, is nodding and smiling.

My son-in-law Joel, the only one of us to appear in the world on a Monday, is definitely fair of face. He's quite lovely in character, personality, integrity, and Christian charity as well.

My mother, TG, and Erica represent Fridays. If you are acquainted with three more loving and giving people, I hope you will introduce me because it would be a privilege to know them.

No weekenders amongst us! But I do feel I should point out that Johnny Depp was born on a Sunday.

Enough said on that subject.

Naturally we feted Erica on Memorial Day -- her birthday indeed! -- and I made the executive decision that although we're all very appreciative of the military, our decorations would celebrate the birthday rather than the holiday.

No disrespect intended but I wanted springtime colors. There will be a purposeful patriotic profusion of red, white, and blue on Independence Day.

So the table was set in muted greens and purples -- Erica's favorite colors and thank you, Waverly, for the tableware -- plus a pink sparkly wicker bunny and pale green bird candles from the clearance table at TJ Maxx, plus glass-flower tealight holders from Dollar General.

I made barbecue. Rustic potato salad and a new recipe, Patriotic Frozen Delight, rounded out the menu.

We bought Ty Nant spring water in those stylish bottles, just because.

My mother brought an antique vase crammed with creamy gardenias from her garden.

TG had given me roses.

My two favorite flowers in one room. I was heady with the sight and smell of them.

It was a gorgeously warm summery day complete with azure sky and the fluffiest clouds.

The cake was from another new recipe, one I cadged from Robin Sue at Big Red Kitchen.

It looked like a giant teapot and yes, the handle and spout were hand-drawn by yours truly.

And yes! I am aware that Robin Sue's cake looked a whole lot better than mine. Step off! It was my first time to attempt anything so ambitious cake-decorating-wise.

It tasted delicious. How can you go wrong with angel food cake, whipped cream, and strawberries?

Just so you know, I couldn't find Whip It. I used cornstarch (one tablespoon per cup of heavy cream) to stabilize my whipped cream. Worked like a charm.

Among other things, for her birthday Erica received a Kodak Easy Share digital camera, a leather purse I bought for her in Chinatown when I was in New York, two framed pictures, a summer top, some nesting boxes, and a beautiful bracelet.

She appeared very pleased with all the loot thrown her way to celebrate her life at the quarter-century mark.

As it should be for one so dear.

Many more, much-loved little Boo!