The Present

I figured I'd better write about my exciting birthday present now since Alexandra just called me in a panic wanting to know if I got a baby Basset hound. No, no, that would be more of a stress-inducing gift. I was going to wait until I took a picture, but my camera/Internet connection is a bit bockety at the moment, so just use your imagination.

I returned home from a day at the spa (oh, what a life I lead!) (actually, I got a gift certificate last year and I had to use it before it expired) and there was a big, white box on my doorstep with a Halloween plate on top. I lifted the box up and got a whiff. No. It couldn't be, could it? It was! It was THE Chocolate Cake!

Sweet, wonderful June baked me a miniature version of the cake and left it for me. It even has Indian corn on top! How awesome is that? I'm going to go cut a piece in exactly eight minutes.

While I was on the phone with Alexandra, she asked if it was Indian corn or American corn on top. American corn! Hee hee. That led me to ponder out loud why they call it "corn"-- it doesn't look like corn at all. And then all of a sudden, for the first time in my entire life, I realized that it's supposed to be a corn kernel with the pointy end sticking into the cob and the round end being the actual corn. Wow. I never knew.

And speaking of candy corn, the Baron finally reared his head today after a long silence. He had this very poignant story to tell:

Candy Corns are sacred in my house. It is really the only candy that brings a smile to my face. I remember being really young and Mom telling me if you want good luck you have to bite exactly between the two color lines. If you get one color on both sides of the bite, you win great luck for the day. I have tried this for 38 years and not one successful bite. But I will keep trying until my high sugar kicks in and I stroke out.

Isn't that sweet? Although don't believe him: wave some salted licorice fish in front of his face and you're sure to get a grin.