I just took a pie out of the oven. Earlier this afternoon, I made a chocolate cake. We’re having some friends over, later tonight, to play some killer euchre and have some supper. It’s not anything formal; it will just be laid-back and fun.

I hope the smell from the spilled-over and burned apple juice all over the oven floor will be gone by then.

We’re just having sloppy joes, baked beans, chips, apple pie, and chocolate cake. Kind of like a Guinness Book fart contest an indoor picnic. We can’t have it outdoors because the weather finally remembered that it was winter and is making up for all those lost summer-like weeks. The sun finally did come back out, after two days of torrential rain and snow-threats-that-never-materialized, and some incredible wind that blew our lawn chairs, charcoal grill, and trash can off the deck and all over the yard. Oh, and did I mention the big tree that blew over and fell on the basketball court right smack on top of all those weird slabs of sheet metal balanced on two sawhorses Hub was storing there some supplies and the big ladder?

The last of my blooming flowers fell victim to the cold snap, too. No more flowers.

Bright sunshine when it’s this cold makes me feel as though Mother Nature were playing some kind of cat/mouse game with me, and I think I’m the mouse.

Anyway, tonight will be fun. Good friends, good company, lots of food, several decks of cards. . .

Oh, and the picture up there? That’s not me, but that’s what I used to look like before all the sloppy joes, baked beans, and chocolate cake back in the seventies. I have never cared for pie, although I do love to make them. If I liked pie, I’d look even worse.

Have a great Saturday night, all. If you’re in the neighborhood, drop in. We’ll have plenty of food. The house is easy to find. Just follow your nose.