Elisabeth, what wonderful news. Your day was better than all the rest put together. I am very happy for you. Really, really happy for you and your family. Today was kind of crazy here. First I had the air conditioner tuned up. I bought a Groupon for $34 to pay for it. He showed up an hour early, so that was the end of my lazy morning. Of course, he discovered that the motor needs to be replaced for $1200! He said it can wait for awhile, and it will. I started cleaning the carport when the phone rang and the roofer was calling to say the dumpster was on its way. Yikes. Now I have a big dumpster sitting in the driveway. Work starts Monday. I am dreading it. My son came over and cut the grass for me, bless his heart. I called the dermatologist and changed my appointment. Too much going on at once here. Then I finished cleaning the carport and it looks pretty good for the moment. Now I am going to go read my book in bed and fall asleep!

Walnut Creek, your request for a recipe led me to the box with the recipes written on scraps of paper bags, fancy embossed stationery, and notebook paper, all in the beautiful handwriting of long gone family....my mother, her mother, her mother's mother, and aunts from two generations. On the top of my mother's recipe is the phone number of the butcher whom she had "trained" to select and grind the meats for her. Thank you! Grandmother's Ham Loaf 1 lb. Coarsely ground ham 1 lb. Ground pork, not too fatty 1/2 lb. (or more) Ground chuck 2 large eggs 1 cup milk 1 cup cracker crumbs (crushed white crackers) 1/2 tsp chopped parsley S&P Baste with: 1/2 cup each brown sugar, white vinegar, and water 1 T dry mustard. Simmer the baste ingredients for five minutes. Baste the loaf several times while baking. [One large loaf or two smalls. Grease the pans.] Bake for 60 minutes @ 350. My Mother's Hamloaf 1 egg 1 lb coarsely ground ham 1 lb coarsley ground pork, lean 1 cup tomato juice 1 cup cracker crumbs 1/2 cup chopped onion 1/2 cup chopped green pepper Same mustard sauce as a baste. Short cut: buy the cuts of ham and pork (and beef) and let the butcher grind them together. Coarse grind is a must. I'm sure that there are lots of recipes on line, too. P.S. MAKES THE BEST SANDWICHES, EVER.

Just made my own. Trader Joe's Tomato and Roasted Red Bell Pepper soup that I always keep on hand in my pantry. Unfortunately, the "grilled cheese" on my homemade oat tortilla just didn't have that same awesome, old fashion cheese flavor that it would have with 2 slices of "regular" bread.

I've never heard of the game, but I took trains all over Mexico in the 1970s and early 1980s. When AMTRAK took over passenger trains in the U.S., Mexico bought a lot of the old passenger trains that were built in the U.S. in the 1940s with stainless steel interiors that were very nice and comfortable - much better than what AMTRAK replaced them with. If I got an overnight train from Mexico City to Oaxaca, I would get a dormitorio (sleeper) that had its own bathroom, and it was about the same price as an inexpensive hotel room. I preferred traveling during the day, however, as I enjoyed the scenery and the lively events that took place on the Mexican trains. In Second Class, you could buy food from the windows from people who would come up to the train every time it stopped, but in first class, the windows would not open, and so second class was more fun, although it could get more crowded. On the train from Guadalajara to Tepic, we went through a major tequila producing area, and people came on the train selling quarts of tequila for 60¢, and everyone got pretty drunk. Then minstrels came on and serenaded everyone and collected tips. Is this what the game is like?