As I mentioned in a previous post, Earth Day—Sunday, April 22—was my daughter Shannon’s birthday, and a while ago, I asked her if she and her husband, Mike, would like to spend that weekend with us for a little extended birthday celebration. The answer? Yes, indeed, they would like that very much.

So here was the itinerary. On Saturday, we went to the Red Barn in Augusta for some of their delectable seafood and fried chicken. I have often extolled the virtues of the Red Barn—the quality of their food, their prices, and their service. (A lobster roll, chock full of claw and tail meat, is $11.95.) The Red Barn also pays their help a decent wage, a rarity in the restaurant/retail world. Now, their food definitely falls into the treat category, but a healthy diet can include a once a week treat. I am a testament to this regime. (Over the past year, with a once a week treat day, I have lost 50 pounds.)

At the Red Barn, Shannon and I had lobster rolls, my husband, Clif, had mixed seafood, and Mike had chicken. Oh, how good it all was. After this feast, we headed to Waterville, to Railroad Square Cinema, to see Coriolanus, with Ralph Fiennes acting the lead role and also directing. While this fierce, intense movie was neither fun nor pleasant, it was certainly well done and worth seeing. I would count it as one of the best movie adaptations of a Shakespeare play. But be warned! The movie is bloody and violent.

On Sunday—Earth Day and Shannon’s birthday—we had a waffle brunch. In my humble opinion, Clif makes some of the best waffles in central Maine, and we had them with Kate’s Butter and Mike Smith’s maple syrup. A real Maine breakfast, as we also had bacon from Wholesome Holmstead. After brunch, we went on a walk, played a movie trivia game, and then settled in for the main event—fish on rice drizzled with a ginger-garlic marinade and baked in a foil packet in the oven. Unfortunately, the picture does not do justice to this elegant but easy meal. This fish dish is a Moosewood recipe, and it is one of our favorite celebratory meals. Clif and Mike had haddock, and Shannon and I had salmon.

Presents followed as well as cake and ice cream. All too soon the weekend was over, and it was time for Mike and Shannon to go back to South Portland.

It’s funny how the passage of time really does seem relative. When life or events are boring or, worse yet, hard, the minutes and hours just drag. However, when a weekend is filled with fun events, the time seems to rush by faster than it should.

That was the case with this weekend, a delight from beginning to end.

Happy birthday, Shannon!