Happy 25th Birthday to Kalen!!

Celebrating early at La Grande Orange! Kalen started his birthday off with a breakfast with his mother. He has lunch and dinner plans with coworkers and friends. What fun!

Yes, those are the tacky number candles used for every birthday. I dug through the "candle bag" to find the numbers. Matching ones would have been great, but it is more fun to see the multiple styles.

The cake is a yummy 8 layer red velvet cake from Tammie Coe Cakes. One slice is so rich and velvety. I can't imagine a whole cake.

Many "Happy Birthday" wishes to Kalen. I can't believe that he is 25. So grown, such a great guy.

Phoenix - Musical Instrument Museum - Visit #2

I managed another visit to MIM and talked K into visiting with me. We met at 11AM and toured Europe for about an hour then took a lunch break in the Cafe . I had the grilled sausage and K had a roast beef sandwich. Both were accompanied by a nice chilled Heineken. We returned to the second flour to tour Asia for two hours. I needed another break, so we went to the coffee shop for coffee and a cookie snack. We spent the "last hour" on a fast walking tour through the US and Canada, and then through Africa. Exhausted, we returned to the service desk to turn in our headset. The woman at the desk told us that we had to walk just down the hall to see the Hands On room and the "Visiting Artists" room. Promising that we would only quickly look, we took our headsets and journeyed down the hall.

What a wonderful surprise. String instruments, drums, things to shake and plink...all for our enjoyment.

Each section is nicely hidden, so as you move past a wall, your are delighted by the opportunity to play something else.

The guest artist room was filled with many delights. Here are a few photos of what was in the room. George Benson...

R. Carlos Nakai

Paul Simon...

And the guest musician of the day!

Matcha

I purchased a Matcha bowl, whisk and tea today from Teavana. I found it online at their store but decided to go to the Biltmore store to save shipping costs.

Matcha is the tea used in the Japanese tea ceremony.

The water is heated to 170-180 degrees, less than boiling. I put a little of the powdery green tea in the bowl and filled with water. Oops. Mistake 1 and 2. I think that you need to wet the powder first with cool water and then add the hot. A full bowl (mistake #2) doesn't allow enough room to whisk a foam. At the suggestion of G, poured out half and made two servings.

End result? Very tasty deep green tea. I'll repost back on the "mental clarity" claims? (Note: I changed the "repot" to "repost". Maybe I have mental clarity already once I read the posting.)

Have you tried this? Share your experiences online.