We (Cliff and I) celebrated 49 years of marriage. Most of you know that. Yesterday I celebrated my birthday. We are happy to have the opportunity –we had a lovely couple of days. We did a few things we don’t usually do; however, for the most part, it was the typical daily routine. For our 25th anniversary, Cliff gave me diamond earrings–studs with a screw back. He knew how paranoid I would have been with just regular backed earrings. One morning (probably fifteen years ago almost) I woke up to find one of the two had lost its back. We never found it. I stored both earrings thinking we would get it fixed. Today, Cliff took me to get it fixed. I want to say a special thanks to Mr. Coy who took time out to personally check the earrings and replace the lost back. We appreciate the personalized care and the immediate service. Who does that kind of thing?

We dined out more than usual. It was spectacular. Thank you, Cliff Nielsen. My very special friend, Becki, who is also my hairdresser spoiled me. There was no party–it just was not a good time for anyone. I am perfectly okay with forgoing a party. Cliff and I did indulge in a large serving of ice cream midday.

The garden is cucumber rich. We have two areas planted with the cucumbers–the round trellis and a large pot. Both are producing more than I could ever imagine. The round has both pickling and lemon cucumbers. The other is the burpless slicing type. We are getting a few slicing tomatoes, but Cliff prefers the pear tomatoes. Ashley is too ill to come and pick this morning. I will get after it as quickly as possible. It is a muggy warm morning.