V's Version

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Current Mood: grateful
Current Music: Tori Amos, Little Earthquakes
It was such a great birthday. I turned 39 and, although he was with his other parent not celebrating any of it, Pk turned 7 and 1/2.
On Wednesday night my dear friend Brook and I taught YRUU (our church youth group.) It was good fun. We came home and drank cocoa made from scratch. And then proceeded to stay up way too late due to all the caffeine.

Brook had promised to treat me on my birthday and what a day it was! Thursday morning was spent lazily until we got our acts together and had a photo shoot for Friendster pix. That was a blast. Because I really love film instead of digital, I have to deal with the consequences of not-so-immediate gratification. But, luckily, there is a one hour photo place nearby. While waiting for photos we went to a great little lunch place & ate delicious salads (no boric acid - I mean dressing, please) and spoke of how to avoid the draft. Or more to the point, how to help the boys and men in our lives avoid the draft. a perfect Veteren's Day conversation. I, of course, honored the beloved veterens in my life too. It's just that not everyone wants to be a veteren.

Politics was mixed with sweet decadence. We split a banana and nutella crepe. O my gosh! Yeee-um. We were both so aware of how lucky we are to be so far away from the chaos of war and acknowledged all those people who couldn't dream of sharing a crepe in a cafe with a friend.

Back home to load up the new pictures and then off for a walk in the most amazing place. Neighbors (who must have more money than god) have 20 acres and are hortoculturists AND people sho like to share their space. There are acres of secret gardens and pathways and lakes and terraces and stonework and mountain vistas in the redwoods. It's outrageous. The day - as most of my birthdays are - was a beautiful shade of grey. We walked in the mist and discovered the Baroness Garden and the Butterfly garden and the crazy woodworking shop that is built around a grove of redwoods. We watched the sun set in the clearing sky behind a long ridge of a nearby mountain range. Glorious.

Back home for a little down time before we left for a play: The Complete Works of Shakespeare: Abridged. It was hysterical. Especially since I have seen almost all of the plays between one and half a dozen times (except the histories - and they made those very funny too!) I laughed and laughed as they rolled all the comedies into one skit and then did Hamlet in 15 minutes, only to get up off the floor (they all die in Hamlet, if you remember) and say "Let's do it again - only faster!" The shorter version is even funnier than the first. They pop up from the dead and shout "Again! Faster!" to which they each shout out just one key word and hurl themselves to the ground. My sides hurt and I wasn't sure my bladder would make it when they decided to do it all again - backwards. Oh - oh - rich laughter.

The day was made more special by the emails and posts that I got from friends and family. And the day after brought cards from even more friends. I am so blessed. Truly blessed.