Tuesday, June 11, 2013

Hawaiian Decor, Polish Food

I snitched this photo from Daughter #1 because I think it's funny--obviously Daughter #1 thought it was funny, too.

Saturday we held hubby's big birthday party. I hosed away the grime on the back porch. Daughters #1 and #3 were the decorating committee. The food was catered. We had pierogis, stuffed cabbage, kielbasi and sauerkraut (kapusta). Green beans, pasta primavera, salad, rolls, and chicken marsala were also on the menu--along with a huge birthday cake. (The diet starts today.)

Everyone seemed to enjoy the party. Hubby loved being the center of attention.

I spent Sunday being exhausted and putting away all the stuff we took out for the party. (Daughters #1 and #3 helped--along with Daughter #3's hunny.)

Fortunately, I had sent off the completed edits for Daddy Wanted on Friday night. That had been a good day for writing since we had 4 1/2 inches of rain.

Yesterday, hubby and I accompanied my father and his friend on a bus trip to Atlantic City. I am not a gambler. (Although, writing books is rather like gambling, I suppose.) But Dad's friend wanted to go to Atlantic City and none of her other friends would go with her. Dad felt sorry for her and signed up for the ride--which meant I signed up, too. (Would you allow your 91 year-old father who is deaf and uses a Rollator to get around go traveling without you?) Hubby thought it would be nice to walk along the boardwalk in the sunshine, so he opted to join us.

It turned out to be a very rainy day. There was one break in the clouds for a while and we ventured out of the casino. I took some photos of gulls and enjoyed looking at the ocean for a while, but the rain returned.

We tried several slot machines. I didn't know how to work the machines, but after asking a few questions I got the hang of it. Neither Dad nor his friend could do it by themselves. Dad didn't really care. He is not a gambler either and neither is hubby. (The slot machines are not designed for elderly people with aging eyes, poor eye/hand coordination and no computer skills.)

Maybe if we had won a significant amount of money, it would be different and we would be hooked. But I won about $8. The bus fare was $22. My lunch was about $6.

To be sure, that was not an expensive adventure. However, the casino part was the part I did not enjoy. Pushing the button on the slot machine gets old fast. There's no skill involved. (Writing takes a lot more skill.)

Aside from meeting the gulls, I enjoyed the bus ride because I could read. I read a book of Polish Fairy tales--lots of magic in each one of them. The hero has to go through three impossible trials which he could not complete without magical help. He always gets a princess in the end.

I guess getting the princess is the old world equivalent of winning a million bucks. Pierogis, stuffed cabbage, kielbasi and kapusta are never mentioned--though there's a lot of feasting once the prince is married.

Now I have to do the edits for The Pirate's Wraith. I will have TWO, new books up for sale this year--one a sweet, contemporary and the other a time travel. To me, that's better than hitting the jackpot.

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