I went out to lunch with my group of retired SCC friends today and enjoyed more birthday wishes at a new restaurant across the street from the college: the Mellow Mushroom (pizza). It was pretty good, and I would definitely go back.

The redbuds, dogwoods, and Bradford pear trees are all blooming now, so Ted and I planned to have my birthday dinner at Bentley’s tomorrow. When I got home from lunch, Ted mentioned that it’s supposed to rain tomorrow, but the weather and the blooming trees were perfect for a drive to Bentley’s at the Lake of the Ozarks today. We’re retired, so we changed our plans. Ted filled the car with gas and we set out on the 2.5-hour drive.

We had a beautiful drive and a delicious dinner, with a surprising conversational thread. When the waitress brought our entrées, she asked if we wanted extra butter for the baked potatoes. We said “yes” and I was remarking to Ted how much I enjoy lots of butter on a hot, baked potato when I overheard a man at the table on our right ask for more butter. The waitress’s response was, “You can never have too much butter.” Within moments, the people at the table on our left also asked for more butter. The man told the waitress to “just bring the cow.”

As Julie says in the movie Julie and Julia, “Is there anything better than butter?”

I think I’m almost finished celebrating my 2019 birthday.