First to Last

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It turned into a great birthday, beginning and ending just where the SconeLady wanted to be.

Any birthday that begins at a Mimi's Cafe has probably already reached its pinnacle. Mimi's has everything that is delicious, and for me (and my sister) the delicious thing this day was their Egg White and Veggie Omelet with lots of goodies inside, plus fresh fruit. You really cannot go wrong with anything you order at a Mimi's. But it could have been, and perhaps it should have been their Pain Perdu breakfast. Would you like to know what a Pan Perdu breakfast is, exactly? It is so good that for years it was all that I could ever bear to order there. Pain Perdu consists of:

• French toast stuffed with cream cheese and orange marmalade (wow) served with butter and maple syrup
• 2 eggs cooked any style
• 2 slices of bacon, or sausage links, or sausage patties
• fresh ranch potatoes
• orange juice

The reason this was not ordered this time was that there would be more food later on, and not enough time in between! But I have promised myself: next time. Oh yes, next time it will be different.

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For the afternoon, the SconeLady walked round and round inside the Mall, getting in her mileage where it was cool, rather than out-of-doors where it was hot. This is the way it works now for us in SoCal. There were already lots of walkers in there when I arrived, enjoying the cool air and the camaraderie. At the walk's end I found my way to the theatre where awaited the SconeLady's husband, ready to see a blockbuster movie. Especially the movie starring our erstwhile Govern-ator, Arnold Schwarzenegger. Blockbuster indeed! 

He was great, he really was, but how many body blows can the Govern-ator/Terminator take, one might wonder. There is apparently no limit because poor Arnold was blasted on and hacked at and crashed into, but just kept giving back as good as he got - over and over again. He was amazing. (And you should just see his young self at the beginning. That was interesting, and I don't know exactly how it was done..)

No spoilers here, but there was a creepy policeman in it who wasn't really a policeman. He was a 'machine' (hey - wasn't that a plot point before?). I intensely disliked the creepy policeman, but liked the ending. And I liked the characters. And most of all, I liked Arnold. It had gotten terribly boring around here after he quit being Governor and started being an actor again. We missed him dreadfully. There was always something interesting going on when he was in office, and people always seemed to be getting offended. Mostly now, though, it is just more and more austerity with less and less hope. Hardly anyone ever gets offended anymore (I think it's hard for people to be offended when they're depressed).

After the movie was over we dashed to B.J.'s., where they plied me with the Tomatoe Bisque Soup in a Sourdough Bread Bowl. And then the Warm Chocolate Chip Cookie with Ice Cream (on the house! Birthday).

The reason the SconeLady did not order Pain Perdu at Mimi's

Throughout the day, I was showered by happy wishes from people near and far through social media, and emails, and text messages, and phone calls, as well as  real live hugs and kisses right here at home. It was a smashing birthday, first to last. I fell asleep not worrying one little bit about another year gained. Instead, the following words lulled me into a dreamless sleep:

16 Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 17 For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 18 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, for what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

-2 Corinthians 4:16 - 18

See you along the Way!
the SconeLady


photo credit: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/12549219@N00/3142426205">Hanabi</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/">(license)</a>