May 24

A happy Memorial Day to all! I haven't posted in a few weeks for a number of reasons. First...I knew Traci was going to be a little busy this month, but more accurately, the cost of stamps went up and the commissary ran out of the $.02 stamps! They now have the new stamped envelopes so I'm back in business. Although I am thinking of writing just a couple of times a week as I really don't have that much news to report on a weekly basis.

It was reported that Matthew and Maddie had a nice birthday party. My parents came from El Paso and spent the remainder of time with the kids. I'm certain all had a good time. I certainly enjoyed our two weekends of visits.

The weather has been a pleasant surprise this past week. Nice days and very pleasant nights. Unseasonably cool! Too bad that won't last.

Well, I think my time here is coming to an end! Last week I saw several guys who arrived a month or so before I did leave. I'm predicting that I will move on from here in the next month or so. So if any of you are planning a visit, now is your chance. Who knows where I will end up. Stay posted to this page and you will find out.

I'm back to working full time. The guy they hired to replace me was moved to another position so I'm back to working in the same job that I got when I arrived here in 2007. It sure will make the remainder of my time here go more quickly. I also completed another six months at my job, so I received another certificate to add to my collection. I think I'm now done with my certificates!

I saw a recipe in the May issue of Bon Appetit that someone should try and tell me how good it tastes. It is the cover recipe, which is Beef Shank & Sausage Ragu with whole grain spaghetti. I think regular spaghetti will be just as good. As well, short ribs instead of beef shank! Recipe is on page 92.

The recent issue of Saveur magazine had a recipe for Caramel Tart with Chocolate Ganache which sounded great. You sprinkle Grey Sea Salt on top of the chocolate ganache before serving. I wrote down the recipes for both so I can try them someday.

I just finished reading Angels and Demons last night. It was very good--a lot of action. All that was missing was eating a piece of pizza in the Piazza NAVONA. Buon appetito!

Until next time--

Tom