April in... Maryland?

I've let my brother talk me into using my only and last probable travel voucher from Delta, first class no less, to head East for my Mother's 75th birthday. For the moment, I'm staying at Keri's and looking at lilacs (don't see much of those in California), wisterias, violets, pink dogwoods, lots of greening... ah, springtime. Any moment now I expect my old oak pollen allergy to swell me up like a balloon.

Kudos to Bank of America for actually agreeing to cash my UC Berkeley paycheck, since I didn't make it to Wells Fargo before the flight left. Of course, running around with that kind of cash on me isn't too smart, perhaps. Maybe I will go get those traveler's checks that Keri suggested.

The menu for Mom's birthday is done and not as frou-frou as I intended, since with her reflux and hiatal hernia, rich spicy food can be aggravating. And though my nieces and nephew have sophisticated palates, I doubt they would find my choices, along the upper end of things, quite as tasty. Also, one niece and sister-in-law insist they are vegetarian. Therefore we are making:

Bread Salad
Roasted Aspargus Bundles with Proscuitto
Wild Mushroom Medley
Couscous with Apricots, Currants, and Pistachios
Herb-roasted Chicken with Fried Sage
Pork Loin with Pomegranate Sauce

I don't have to worry about dessert, but I'm craving berries and/or a flourless chocolate cake (just heavenly when made with Scharffen Berger).

Then the rest of the famial juggling begins... my brother for one day, my dad for two days, back to Mom for a day, back to Dad for a day, then finally... home to California and the first break I'll have had in six weeks!