Notes to Self...and whoever's listening

37...not a threatening number, right?   According to Wikipedia, the following things are related to such a harmless number: *The number of plays William Shakespeare i s thought to have written (counting Henry IV as three parts). * 37 is the only two digit number in base 10 whose product, when multiplied by two, subtracted by one, and then read backwards, equals the original two digit number: 37×2=74, 74-1=73, 73 backwards is 37. * The normal human body temperature in degrees Celsius. Harmless, right?  But, tonight, as I'm on the cusp of turning that number, it is causing me to reflect... This week I prayed with a dying woman...celebrated the joy of the birth of a family friend's baby...mourned the death of a dear friend's grandmother...and celebrated the birthdays of my sister, two of my nephews, my brother and soon my sister-in-law's birthday.  Kinda a lot to digest. The greatest conclusion I came to tonight:  It is unfair to measure a person...

Red Velvet Cake.....Never has been a favorite of mine......but it taught me a lesson this week. My sister LOVES Red Velvet.  She would give her right arm for it, I think. So, I told her I would attempt it for her birthday.  And, that I did.  I'm usually the type of person that follows recipes as "suggestions" and not "science", but this time I wanted everything to be perfect, so I followed everything exactly.  When it came out of the oven, I looked at it and wasn't sure.  It looked kind of sponge-y, but she said it is supposed to look like that.  I believed her.  Then she bit into it.  She smiled and said it was good.  Well, to a perfectionist like me, good wasn't the right answer.  I asked for clarification.  She looked at me, realizing her mistake.  What?, she asked.  I said it was good.  I asked if it was just good.  She wrinkled her forehead and slowly said it was good, but not the best she had ever had....