Last Tuesday, my dinner group went to Bangkok Garden, our favorite local Thai restaurant. I love the back room, with its beautiful wood-carved walls and life-size Buddha statues, as well as the elephant statues. But this time, we sat in the front room, which was bright and sunny from the large windows.

I love Thai food, but I always have difficulty determining what to order when I want to try something new. The menus don’t say anything about the seasonings included in any sauces, they just list the meat and vegetable ingredients, and the staff, most of whom are Thai immigrants, usually don’t communicate in English very well. Last week, though, our server, one who had served us before, spoke better English, so I thought it would work out better. She had advised me to ask for a teaspoon of spice, so the dish would be a little spicy but not overpowering. That evening, it didn’t work out, unfortunately. It was too hot for me to eat, so I took it home for Dan.

Luckily, Barbara had ordered Pad Thai, because her usual curried seafood special was not on the menu that night, so she shared it with me. It was quite good - so good, I printed out a recipe for Pad Thai from the Food Network. I’m going to try it tonight. We’ll see how it goes

My sister-in-law Barbara gave birth to Patrick on Friday, April 14. My dad’s birthday was yesterday, so he’s wishing Patrick had waited one more day Meet Patrick Hoffman of Chicago. Lots of love to Brad, Barbara and Patrick, and his big sister Katherine.

I’ve been remiss in posting about my weekly dinners with friends. Last week, we went to the No Frill Grill. During the entire month of April, they’re having a special where, for every appetizer and dessert ordered, they will donate $1 to the Children’s Hospital of The King’s Daughters.

So I went with four friends and we ordered five appetizers and two desserts. It was great, we all got plenty to eat, and did some good for the children’s hospital. The No Frill Grill is always a good value, but especially so this month. Dig in!

I’m really enjoying this Media Law and Ethics class (English 486) I’m taking at Old Dominion University … really I am … honest It just takes a *lot* of time. But it’s almost over now, just a couple more classes and then the final.

I’ll miss the classes themselves, though. The professor, Joyce Hoffmann, Ph.D., is an excellent teacher. This is the second class I’ve taken with her and I would recommend her to anyone.