Ruthie is doing fine! Lonely in San Diego; a bake sale

Okay, the important news first: Suzanne's mom, Ruth, is doing fine. Thanks to everyone who sent their love and  prayers "up the chain of command"; they obviously worked. Ruth's surgery went very well, she is spending a night at the hospital doing crossword puzzles, and Suzanne is providing moral support. Suzanne doesn't play bridge or mahjong, so "Ruthie" will have to wait a few days to get back into her heavy gambling. I think they play for four bits a game...

By the way, who remembers why they are called "bits"? Back in colonial America, the most common coin was the Spanish dollar, which was worth eight reales; one eighth of a dollar or one silver reale was one bit. With the adoption of decimal currency in 1794, there was no longer a coin worth one-eighth of a dollar, but two bits remained in our language to mean one-quarter dollar.

This is an admin day for me: catching up on email, paperwork, etc. After breakfast, I got in a quick run... okay, a sorta slow run, but after all, it's hilly here. After PT and a shower, I ran some errands. When I finished my paperwork, I turned on my trusty car GPS and was about to key in... what? Let's see, it was 1145... it's only been one day since Suzanne went home to visit her Mom, but I'm missing her, so what does a guy do when his lady is out of town? Yes, we eat! Go to Hooters for wings? NO! Lo and behold, what was on my GPS screen but Bud's Louisiana Cafe, just a mile away. Now I have to tell you, "Bud" does not actually sound too promising a name, especially when you're in competition with names like "Emeril", "Arnaud", "Prudhomme" and "Antoine". What was the guy thinking? Oh, well, it's the only one around, so I decided to risk it.

I found Bud's in a business park, along with several high tech companies; most of the other diners were in blue jeans and sweatshirts (those were the geeks) or business suits (those were "the suits", otherwise known as "management"). I was lucky to get an outside table under a big umbrella, since the weather was beautiful (have I mentioned how great the weather is here? 75F and sunny). The menu looked very promising, as long as the chef wasn't from Timbuktu or Wichita... (my apologies to residents of those two fine cities for any undeserved culinary insinuations). Well, I ordered three appetizers (why clutter your plate with vegetables?): oysters en brochette (Gulf oysters wrapped with bacon, lightly breaded and fried, served with a remoulade sauce), red beans and rice with Andouille sausage; seafood gumbo (not shown in this picture... I couldn't wait to start eating); and an Abita Amber (we had even visited their original brewery while visiting my sister in Covington, Louisiana). The food was excellent, and I emailed Suzanne to gloat about my lunch. I may have to take her there for dinner when she returns.

Okay, another bit of trivia: red beans and rice are a New Orleans staple, of Creole, not Cajun, origin. Traditionally, we would have ham for dinner on Sunday. Monday was wash day, and ladies would put the leftover ham in the pot with red beans and let them cook for hours while they washed and ironed. I've tried getting Suzanne to adopt this tradition, but all I get in reply is, "What's an iron?"

But wait... I forgot about dessert! I thought about Bud's bread pudding with Frangelico sauce and topped with roasted pecans, but decided that it would undo any exercise I have done for the past two days. However, Fate intervened in the form of this group of young Navy wives conducting a bake sale for the Spouses' Club of their husbands' ship, USS PINCKNEY. I chose the cookies-and-cream cupcakes (two) topped with icing and a whole Oreo. That, along with a cup of home-brewed Starbucks on the patio, was a real treat.

USS PINCKNEY (DDG-91) is named for a cook (first class) awarded the Navy Cross for his courageous rescue of a fellow crewmember aboard USS ENTERPRISE (CV-6) in WWII. Here she is off San Diego, probably on sea trials, exercising her engines at flank speed.