So, yesterday Fred told me that Stephen King is working on another Dark Tower book, The Wind Through the Keyhole. And then I read (at that same link) that he’s also considering a sequel to The Shining.
Now, y’all know I love me some Stephen King. I love the HELL out of Stephen King, and I’ve read just about everything he’s written.
(Disclaimer: I have no fucking use for those graphic novels/ comic books he’s putting out, though.)
But can we agree that it’s well past fucking time for him to stop flogging the goddamn Dark Tower stuff? And what the fuck is up with The Shining requiring a sequel? IT DOESN’T.
I actually said to Fred yesterday, “You know, I think maybe it’s time for him to retire if he’s going to keep revisiting the same old shit over and over again.”
(Not seriously, Stephen King. Don’t retire, okay?)
So, happy birthday to me! (And thank you to those of you who wished me a happy birthday!) Yesterday I turned 43. I don’t feel a day over 43, but I’m sure I look it. Whatevs.
On Saturday, we went to our favorite feed store where we usually stop if we’re going up toward Tennessee, because we saw the owner in Walmart when we were buying groceries for the week and he informed us that they had a baby llama running around the store because they were bottle feeding it.
Around mid-morning, we headed up to the feed store, and that was one seriously adorable baby llama.
She (we think it’s a she) was four weeks old. She had the softest fur, and while she let us pet her, she wasn’t crazy about the petting, and didn’t come when we called or made kissy noises at her. In fact, she just went wherever she wanted, and if there were people there to pet her, she’d put up with it for a minute or two before wandering off.
She was all legs and ears and big ol’ eyes with lush, thick eyelashes. What a cutie. But there were other babies there, as well, outside with their mamas…
Baby pygmy goats all over the place – the one above was less than an hour old.
More babies, snuggled up against the big llama (who may or may not have been the mother to the baby llama who was in the store).
Also, there was a donkey or two there – adults, not babies. They were very soft and liked being petted.
After we left the feed store, we headed to Decatur for lunch. It being the day before my birthday, Fred told me we could go anywhere I wanted (with some limitations, that is – he didn’t want to go all the way to Huntsville for PF Chang’s because “We can get Chinese food closer to home!” Well, I’ve never been to PF Chang’s, which is why I wanted to give it a try, but I can see his point.) We discussed many different places, and finally I decided we’d go to Decatur to this little country cooking restaurant we’ve passed many times. It claims to be the “home” of the fried green tomato, and it’s always packed at breakfast time on the weekends, and I enjoy some good country cooking, so off we went.
In the end, though I’d decided beforehand that I wanted breakfast for lunch (they serve breakfast all day), I decided I was in the mood for a burger, and it ended up being pretty good. Nothing fancy, but certainly good, filling food. And we did get fried green tomatoes, and they were very good.
Then we came home, and Fred killed zombies on the Xbox, and I hung out with the kittens and puttered around the house. Then, around 2:00, Fred said “Oh, shit! I’m supposed to make your cake!” and I said “Oh, shit! You are! I forgot!” and he NOT ONLY made my birthday cake (a Black Forest Torte which is TO DIE FOR), but he ALSO cleaned up the kitchen afterward, which might be the best birthday present EVER.
(Once again, the torte recipe is hither.)
We hung around the house for the rest of the evening, settled down in front of the TV around 7, and watched a couple of shows on Netflix (World’s Most Dangerous Drug and World’s Most Dangerous Gang, both reported by Lisa Ling, whom I lurve.
(That woman either completely lacks the fear gene, or fakes it really well. She’s amazing.)
Sunday morning I got up before I really wanted to, because I had to pee, and after walking through the 64-degree upstairs, sitting on a cold toilet seat, and walking back to my not-warm-enough bed, I was wide awake.
We didn’t really do much except peer out the window every ten minutes to see if the snow had started. At noon I made Fred pick up Chinese food for me for lunch (“It’s my biiiiiiirthday!”) and I made a frittata for dinner, and yeah. Not an exciting birthday, but I kinda like it like that.
I cleared off my FlipCam disc over the weekend, so I’ll be sharing a couple of videos a day ’til they’ve all been shared. First, one from back in November, when Buster and Starsky were still here.
And the second is a very short one, up close and personal with Bobby Brady:
Jake loves to hang out with the babies.
Last night I could hear the sound of kittens running back and forth and back and forth upstairs. I went upstairs and went into the kitten room, and didn’t see a single one. I picked up a jingly toy and shook it back and forth, and the sound of galloping kittens came closer, until Jake ran into the room, all six Bradys surrounding him. It was seriously cute.
Previously
2010: I told them I loved ‘em and to stop being drama queens, and then left.
2009: No entry.
2008: No entry.
2007: And my Self said “Wow, that sounds like a pain in the ass.”
2006: “I had a double serving of beans last night/ and I’ve got some hard gas going on/ Pull my finger, baby.”
2005: Back from Maine!
2004: My parents’ Christmas decorations.
2003: And yet, show me a zit and I’m on it in two seconds flat.
2002: “IF YOU WERE THAT FUCKING INTERESTED IN HOW MUCH EVERYTHING COST, YOU SHOULD HAVE BEEN PAYING ATTENTION WHEN SHE WAS RINGING IT ALL UP!”
2001: My body gave me two birthday presents yesterday – my period (a day early) AND a mild return case of conjunctivitis.
2000: In his narcotic cough syrup-induced haze, he nodded sympathetically and hacked a big green chunk of lung onto his plate.
Next time, give PF Chang a try. They’re not your typical Chinese restaurant. More upscale, better flavors.
p.s. You should buy a herd of pygmy goats because that would be fun for us!
“because that would be fun for us”
I wholeheartedly agree with this sentiment! And in fact, I can think of a lot of other things you should do because they would be fun for us. Pygmy goats, sheep, peacocks, perhaps an ostrich or two… I’ll get back to you and let you know when I expect you to get started, okay?
LOL
Happy belated birthday – you and Juby and I should all get together one year; we could start with my birthday, by the time we recover from mine, it’s time for Juby’s, and by the time we recover from Juby’s it’s time for yours! It would be EPIC!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY MIZ ROBYN. REALLY ENJOYED THE ABOVE VIDEOS. THANKS FOR POSTING THEM.
I second the goats, they are too cute. And yea PF Changs is pretty good you should give it a try. The kittens are cute but I LOVE looney Jakes face.
HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY!!! Just be careful with the PF Chang’s food. Some of the calorie counts are waaaaaaaay scary.
Happy Birthday, Robyn. I have never had PF Chang’s but my uber picky brother-in-law and sister-in-law love it. They adopted thier daughter from the same region of China the cuisine is from. It is my neice’s favorite resturant but she was only a year old and didn’t eat well in the orphange so maybe loving it is genetic? Anyway glad you enjoyed your burger an d fried green tomatoes and next time you are in the area of PF Chang Fred has to take you there for being such a good low key undemanding wife. I am all for just hanging close by when in the mood but I always remember to get the special resturant dinner when the opportunity presents itself.
LOVE the baby llama pics. She is very cute but looks like a wild thing too. I love the donkey. I love Eyore so I guess I have a thing for cute stubborn animals. Basset hounds are the donkeys of the dog species.
Fred baked you a cake and cleaned the kitchen? What a man! Great gift!
I agree that the Shinning and The Dark Tower are finished. I especially do not want to read anymore about the Dark Tower. I don’t want to take on any more major projects. I am finally at the end of Under The Dome and while I’ve love it a little fast thriller looks good to me. I picked up my first Jack Reacher novel at BJ’s 61 and it is waiting next in line. It looked like the most exciting one and if I LOVE them I can go back and start from the beginning. I wish Stephen King would do more books like Cell. I really enjoyed it for a change-quick moving and fun.
Belated Happy Birthday!
I also belatedly wish you a Very Happy Birthday
happy belated birthday and tell Fred that PF Chang’s is totally not like regular Chinese food. The Hot & Sour soup will totally rock his world – it has a nice back end kick & a real meaty flavor. I love the Mongolian Beef and the Kung Pao Shrimp.
Take the spicy warning seriously – I like hot foods but with your taste buds you need to watch out.
Happy Birthday have a great year.
Any birthday where someone else bakes the cake and doesn’t sing “Happy Birthday” is a great one in my book. Glad you had a great day.
I thought for sure you and Fred were going to bring home that baby llama. If she had been friendlier, do you think you would have?
Love the photo of all the Brady’s on the green mat. Looks like they’re hanging out on some bright, magical grass.
I thought that too!
~Juby
I’ve been re-reading The Dark Tower for the last month or so. I’m now in the final stages of the last book. As much as I love them I too believe he’s done and shouldn’t be doing anything new with them. Although I can not wait to see them made into the tv series/movies that are being planned per his website. As I’ve been reading them I’ve been trying to figure out who would be good in each part and then finally decided everyone should be either a totally new actor/actress or at the very least someone we haven’t seen much of.
But I do know if it’s a new book he’s working on then I won’t be able to resist reading it even though he’s done with it all. And that goes for both The Dark Tower and The Shining.
Happy Birthday! I am glad you celebrated it the way you wanted (and had a seriously great sounding cake besides).
I’m totally disagreeing with everyone. PF Changs is horrible. The sauces are way too heavy and they wouldn’t know a subtle flavor if it smacked them on the head, kicked them in the crotch, and cut off their left foot. It’s how I imagine Chinese food would taste if it was made by people who had never had actually eaten Chinese food and only had it described. I say, skip it.
Happy Belated Birthday Robyn. Sounds like a perfect birthday to me. I thought for sure the Llama was coming home with you. In my dreams I have an alpaca farm. Love them. Have you ever heard the Llama song? Here it is:
http://www.webworksllc.com/Llamasong.cfm
The clip is on a loop so it keeps repeating forever. It gives me the giggles.
We decided on two terms for our furbabies this weekend. Like a flock of birds… we have a Nap of Tabbies and a Fluff of Birman(s).
Hope you are keeping warm. Weather looks foul down your way.
I forgot. You can try P.F.Changs at home as they have frozen meals out now. I know Target carries them. They are pricy, supposed to feed 2, we get coupons in the weekly flyer for $1 off and Target has them on sale from time to time. My fave is the Sweet and Sour Chicken. I like it but I am easy to please.
happy birthday!
if you ever read pearl by tabitha king, pearl is the niece of dick halloran from the shining. sometimes i wonder if both tabitha and stephen write the books together and publish them under his name.
OOOH… this sounds interesting
~Juby
I’m not with you on the Stephen King, Robyn… from the sounds of things, they’re not necessarily a continuation of the stories per se, but rather stories set in the same worlds, which I love. I’d eat up both of the books.
~Juby
Happy Belated Birthday, Robyn!
Happy, Happy Birthday!!! Remember, it’s your birthday MONTH, and you are within your rights to go to P.F. Chang’s or anywhere else of your choosing to celebrate. (I’m biased towards Capricorns…my birthday & my son’s were both this week, too.)
Happy Birthday Robyn!
I think you should send me a pygmy goat, please.
what better way to spend your birthday then with the man you love and a zillion cats :] happy birthday, mum!
Happy Belated Birthday, Robyn! That torte sounds so good.
Happy Day after your birthday!
I love that baby llama! I don’t think I’ve ever seen bigger eyes on a mammal. On the drive to my mom’s there’s a couple of farms with llamas on them and I always hoot “Llamas!!!” when we pass. I also exclaim about cows (“Moooos!”), elk, goat and sheep.