Tuesday, April 4, 2023

Papa Crunk turns 69!

My dad turned 69 on Monday, but I celebrated with my parents a little early on Friday. Severe weather was predicted for both Memphis and their small North Arkansas town, and the storm system was supposed to go right through my route to their house. I left Memphis earlier in the day than I normally would to beat the storms. I arrived in time, and we had a nice dinner of Spaghetti with Mushrooms and home-baked Garlic Toast (made by my dad) before the storms hit.


My mom also made a big salad.

After dinner, we started hearing about tornadoes in Little Rock, just a couple hours south and where my best friend Sheridan lives. And another tornado hit tiny Wynne, Arkansas, just an hour from Memphis. We nervously watched the weather, but thankfully, the tornadoes missed Cherokee Village and Memphis. One did hit my BFF Sheridan's neighborhood in Little Rock though, but her house and cats were okay! So thankful for that.

After dinner, my dad opened his gifts — Blue Note whiskey (made in Memphis) and a Harley Davidson license plate for his new truck.

And then once the storm threat had passed, we relaxed with some dessert. My mom made my Chocolate Puddin Cake from Cookin Crunk, and we topped it with vegan ice cream, almond whip, and a cherry on top.

On Saturday morning, I got up super early to run 18 miles in the hills (they live in the Ozarks). Since my May 50-mile race is in the Osage Hills, I figured this was opportune hill training. After that run, I was famished. And my mom had brunch ready! She made a Vegan Breakfast Casserole with biscuits, gravy, and Just Egg and served it with hash browns and mimosas. 

I always eat so good when I go home! Happy birthday, daddy!

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I had been worried about how you and yours made out in the tornadoes. Whew. And so glad that you were still able to enjoy your dad’s bday. - Sri.

Jenny said...

Happy Birthday to your dad!!! Sounds like an eventful celebration- I'm glad the storms missed you.
I'm excited to hear about this 50 mile race you have coming up. How did you like your hilly run- do you have hills to train on where you live? IF I run 18 miles Garmin will tell me i had something like 100 feet of elevation gain, ha ha. I'm surprised it's even that much!

Susan said...

Happy birthday to your dad!
I didn't know about the tornadoes. Glad they missed you, and grateful that Sheridan is OK!