I took my dad (well, my parents) out to dinner at Longhorn Steakhouse on Saturday night, yum yum. On Sunday morning I made them lemon poppyseed scones with an almond-flavored glaze. For dinner I made them shrimp cocktail, clam chowder, and sourdough bread with cheeses - not very summery but my dad’s request. For dessert I made my dad’s favorite pie, a cherry-almond-pecan cheesecake. For a present I gave him a 2-hour papermaking class where he will get to make 20 pieces of paper from all sorts of fiber (he’s a hardcore professional artist - formerly an architect - and loves calligraphy). I’m not sure that he can actually stand up long enough to take that class so he might just buy handmade paper from the teacher instead. I also wrote him a really nice, long card because I’m at that age where every week I have 1-2 friends my age losing a parent, which has been very sad and sobering. My parents are 75. My dad is in horrible shape so I’m already surprised he’s lived this long. I think he’ll probably have a heart attack any day now. So I figured that even though he’s been verbally and emotionally abusive my whole life, I’d look on the bright side of the things he taught me and write a nice card, saying things I can’t say out loud, while he’s still alive.