And so it was a day of many cheeses....

Like sands through the hour glass.... much cheese was eaten this day of our lives. This will go down in history as Billy's cheesiest birthday yet. If there was one more laden with fromage I cannot remember it.

Since it IS STILL RAINING we pretty much stayed inside today and cooked. And ate. And developed tight waist bands. And looked forward to the next meal. Because why not? It's one day. One day of eating with blind indulgence in honor of Billy's life and time on the planet Earth.

We started the day out with Lemon Ricotta Pancakes with Sauteed Apples. They. Were. Great. For realz y'all.... if this sounds good to you then you neeeed to make them. Here you get a rare chance at a Billy's eye view of me cooking.... all that blurry Star Wars lookin' shit in the foreground are his daylight lamps that he uses to paint on dark rainy days. Please note the size of the space we cook in. I love this trailer but dammit I wish I had an actual foot of counter space. The space between my sink and the stove top is exactly six inches wide.



Behold the fruits of my morning labor..... and early afternoon belly bulge.



We had to make a run into town this afternoon to mail some stuff and get a few things at the store (wine) and we stopped off for a quick walk out on the headlands. We have a house guest for a week or two and his name is Stanley. He is visiting from his home at Keith Country Day School in Rockford, IL where he normally just chills with the second grade class. Stanley is easy to please and was thrilled to see the Pacific today even though it was a cold wet day. Little dude is always sporting a smile.



We are gonna show Stan around Mendocino and even take him with us to Carmel for the paint out. As long as he and Rudy get along I think he is going to have a kick ass vacation with us. At this point if any of you are utterly confused by what the Hell I am talking about or what this paper guy is all about I have this messge to you from Stan.... "Talk to the hand bitches."




I am sure there will be more Stanley updates as the week rolls on... but for now let's get back to the cheese. For dinner we had yet another pizza. Billy has truly mastered pizza crust and we have become addicted. He chops fresh herbs into the dough and it really makes for an outstanding pie crust.

Do not be fooled by the sight of one lonely piece on each plate here. There were many slices to follow.




And for the grand finale! Oohhhhh people it's good. I say it IS good (present tense) because there is more than half of it still in our fridge right now... and if you really hurry you could get a slice before it is gone. I made a chocolate caramel cheesecake. Let me stop right here and say some sort of a blessing for Deb at Smitten Kitchen. Deb... may you live long and prosper. May the sun shine on your face like a thousand gold dubloons. May you never have to wait in line for a public restroom or at the bank. You are the stuff of legend. This cheesecake is lethal. We love you. My head nearly popped off at the fact that I made this thing myself. It is the best dessert EVER!






I cannot express to you the state of my guts at this point in the night. Really... I should probably be in the hospital. This has gone beyond the self medicating with peppermint tea fix that I usually fall back on. I must now retreat to the bed where I may try alternating warm and cold compresses on my stomach. Billy of course... is fine. He has guts of steel. Or maybe it is the magical protection of birthdaydom. Who knows? Happy Birthday Kid. I love ya.

Two more days til our drive to Carmel! It is for real a count down now! Woo Hooo!