Another Birthday, come and gone

I started this blog right after my birthday in 2006 recounting our bike trip along the Weser from Porta Wesfalica to Verden.  And here it is another birthday, one we intended to spend biking as well.  Oh well.

But birthdays come regardless of broken bones or altered plans.  And it was just fine.

The day was filled with phone calls from family and friends, visits from a few folks close by and one not so close by - Amina!  That was a treat.  Her gift was a paint-by-number work of a horse.  I do think Michelle did the very same one a long time ago.  Where is it now??

And though we couldn't go out, Werner made a dinner that of course rivaled any we could get at a fine restaurant:  oxen filet (tenderly mouth watering), baked potato with home-made green sauce (wonderfully savory), salad (crisp and moist).  And wine.  A special one.

Werner splurged.  An Italian red from Tuscany.  Lovely bottle.  Pretty label.  Served with style.

Totally forgettable wine!!  How is it that our vintner can bring his own wine to our door for one quarter the price and beat this one under the table? 

Who knows? But it didn't mess up my day.

Happy Birthdays

May 21, a double birthday in the family.  Lee is 40 today.  Quite a milestone.  

Mother is 90 today.  That's a milestone, too.

Lee's in Orlando.  Mother's in Atlanta.  I'm in Germany.   No chance of getting together.

But my thoughts are there and tons of wishes for a happy day for each of them.

Birthdays

It's hard to have a big celebration after a big celebration, but sometimes you just have to! Joey's 50th birthday, close on the heels of Christmas, was one of those occasions. (Lest we forget, also Michelle's birthday, but at 42 this year, hers didn't qualify for a special "0" birthday.)

Michelle had done all the planning and lots of work beforehand. We all pitched in at the end - there's always a lot to do at the last minute - getting the house ready, final cooking, putting the goodies on the table. The guests were mostly friends from the neighborhood and a few others from around PC. And the foreign guests -- me and Werner.

Joey seems to have weathered the transition to the next half century pretty well, don't you think?

A Special Bouquet

As beautiful as this is to look at, it's even better to smell. These are dwarf strawberries presented as a bouquet. You can eat them and they're incredibly sweet, though of course it's a bit of a bother. Each berry is smaller than your little fingernail.

But the aroma! It's as big as the room! When you walk by it brushes your senses and all of a sudden, it's sunshine and summer. How wonderful.

When Vera came this week to talk English with Werner, she brought this along as a belated birthday greeting. Better than cake!