Earlier yesterday Mom and I planted our boatload of tulips purchased late last week in the garden. I can’t wait for the blanket of color in our happy little plot come spring. We were surprised to see the garlic doing so well in this cold weather. While the ground has not frozen solid yet, every night dips below freezing. We also picked some perky leeks, which are also unfazed by the cold.

Yesterday night was also game night. Mom, Mark and I started with a nice game of Yahtzee- one of my Mom's favorite games. Matt and Kathleen joined us for Queen's Necklace and Torres. While Mark and I played Torres once before with just the two of us- it was definitely more complicated with four players. Our "quick" last game for the night ended up taking almost two hours and we were all mentally fatigued by the end.

Dad arrived today, so we spent the morning decorating the apartment with streamers and creating a festive vanilla birthday cake with apricot and strawberry filling topped with a nice whipped frosting. For dinner we all enjoyed baked potatoes, steak, and lots of varieties of mushrooms (purchased in a Whole Foods extravaganza they included chanterelles, shitake, and crimini). To go with the cake we had some homemade strawberry ice cream. With very full stomachs we all sat down to watch The Terminal.