The birthday celebrations continued this week on Sunday with a delicious dinner at Cortney's parents' house with Patty and Curtis. Dad H provided the smoked ribs and Mom H provided the chocolate/whipped cream cake roll. 
Jon thanked them for the special menu and for the gifts: a one-of-a-kind safari-themed shower curtain and—at last—a replacement for the garage door opener we lost awhile back. On Monday, just the two of us marked the occasion yet again with a dinner out at Red Lobster, where the waiter revealed the secret of their cheesy biscuits: just Bisquik, cheddar, and Italian herbs.
On Thursday, we got tickets to see soprano Renee Fleming at Hill Auditorium, which we preceded with dinner at Cottage Inn. Fleming was performing the title role in a concert presentation of Richard Strauss' Daphne. We were especially interested in this performance because we were in the middle of reading her autobiography. Indeed, we were very glad to hear the beauty and finesse of her voice.