A birthday month

It is quite amazing how quickly April has flown by, and this weekend we were greeted with May! And it was quite a delightful surprise to not have April showers for a short while. However, looking back at April, it was such a wonderful month, filled with plenty of cheer. One of the many sources of cheer, was the many, many birthdays of so many friends and family; including Jill's and my birthdays!

Flowers that brightened the rainiest of days

The final birthday of the month, was miss Mara's birthday on Friday, which chimed in a weekend full of festivities. Perhaps I have not mentioned Mara's name so frequently in my previous posts, but Mara is one of my dearest friends. And as with the previous birthdays throughout April, what is a birthday without a cake?

Photo courtesy of Closet Cooking

Mara and I have, for quite some time, considered Guinness to be our spirit drink. That is, when sharing a drink, we often turn to Guinness. Besides the fact that it is quite delicious, this is also the drink that we shared in the airport, for our first airport drink (perhaps this seems as silly as could be, but it is wonderful to have a spirit drink!) together. None-the-less, when I stumbled upon this recipe for Guinness Chocolate Cheesecake, I simply could not pass it up; and thank goodness I didn't! It turned out quite delectable, to say the least.

Bridget enjoying the cheesecake!

Beyond birthdays, Jill and I gardened plenty. On Saturday, after visiting the Washington Park Senior Center's rummage sale, Jill and I stopped by the garden to plant some bulbs from Jill's friend Dolores. We also planted some lovely flower seeds in our perennial bed! It was so wonderful to get outside for the day, and it is always a delight to garden. Our efforts were also appreciated by a woman from the neighboring church (the community of which we are becoming friends with, as they are often there while we are in the garden!), and she gifted two dinners from the barbeque they were having, to Jill and I! What a delightful surprise. 

Jill and the garden

So far, we have planted hostas, chives, hollyhocks and elephant ears. The hostas and hollyhocks were gifted from Jill's grandpa and the chives are from mine! The elephant ears are from Dolores. The rest is seeded with lovely flowers, which surely have enjoyed the rain and sun as of late. 

A well earned dinner!

Happy growing, celebrating and eating!