Grandmère and Grandpère took me out for dinner tonight, an early celebration of my natal festivity (since Jane R ratted me out - hey, everybody, Jane's birthday is at the end of this week too). It was very gracious and generous of them. We headed out to a section of town that I had not been in yet and we dined at Andrea's, a very nice northern Italian restaurant. We shared antipasto misto, then I had a spinach salad, shrimp risotto, and praline cheesecake. Mimi and I rattled on about our blog interests and GP patiently put up with both of us.Yes, there are photos, but I don't have means for download here.
Yes, we got just a little bit lost coming back, but with Mimi's navigation we found our way back and I am safely home. That is the "always an adventure" bit in the title above. I never count on following a path that is both known and intended here. Even when the streets are known there is the "turn here" or "try this" element as drivers and passengers negotiate the trip.
Guardian angels, watch over GM and GP as they journey back home tonight.
It was so nice of them to make the trip and a huge thank you! to both of them.
This morning I picked up a coworker and we headed to town to catch solemn high mass at St Anna's. Yes, Kirstin, I said hello and gave Fr. Bill a hug for you. I have photos to prove I went to church this morning also (same delay for downloading, however). The closing hymn was siyahamba and I carried on shamelessly (I hope they have stopped talking about me at the ordination in Utah by now), singing it lustily in English, Xhosa, and Spanish - clapping and bouncing about.
11 comments:
Haha, my birthday is Wednesday, the 7th of May. And yours, if my note to myself from three years ago is correct, is May 8, right? Which would be Thursday.
Wish I'd been bouncing about singing "Siyahamba" with you -- what a great combo, Siyahamba AND solemn high mass.
Sounds like you had a wonderful time together!
(((Paul and Grandmère Mimi and Grandpère)))
Love,
Jane, who is technically off blogging for a while but had to check in on a few folks because I am a little stir-crazy here in my writing marathon. Time to get back to something exciting, like reading term papers. What a choice - students' writing or mine! Oy!
Yes, Jane, your notes are correct. I was born on the first anniversary of V-E Day (a date marked on calendars when I was young). I was trying to remember if you were the day before or the day after - problem solved by your own gracious hand!
I'm glad you've given yourself a bit of a break. Good luck with it all and I hope you have a joyous season of natal festivities. Mine seems very well launched.
psst... I ratted you out too. :-)
Ginormous hugs to all of you! Lots of love.
Oh my - all this birthday business, yay!
Well this sounds like a wonderful evening and having met Mimi myself, I know the delight. I have yet to make the acquaintance of GP, but one day I will get myself down there.
And based on what Kirstin wrote and now you, I think I must just go ahead when there and get myself to St. Anna's.
Sounds like you are having a great time and I sure do love the try this or turn there bit.
Have a good work week. I am off to a training in Hartford (yes, the pending arrival of paying work slowly makes its way) from Tuesday afternoon to Thursday.
Pax my brother.
And Happy Birthday!
Thanks, Fran. Best wishes on your Hartford training (and prospects of gainful employment).
Paul, how sweet. It was lovely to meet you. Folks, he's TALL. Who knew? You can't tell that by his picture on the Gravatar, nor by the baby picture. And kind, and gentlemanly, and funny, too.
I'm afraid he's right about GP putting up with us, since he doesn't seem to get the whole blogging thing at all. He really doesn't get my meeting up with folks that I've only met through the blog dating services on the internet. After we were seated in the restaurant, I asked GP if he was afraid of Paul, and he said no. So, in the end, I think he was OK with it. He told me that I talked too much and that I should let other folks have a turn - GP, that is, not Paul.
Yes, yes, always an adventure. Paul, in your directions, you sent us to a locked gate out of the apartment complex, so we rode around lost in the maze of buildings inside, until we finally found the open gate.
I have kind of a busy day facing me, but I will try to get a picture up today. They're good of Paul, but I look dreadful. You shall see.
Happy Birthday! I just got back in the blogosphere! I'm glad you had a nice time.
Paul -- I suggested a "dining with Paul" club to Mimi.
We left Albuquerque today and it seems the Monzano fire is currently standing down. About 59 homes lost, however. And these are not trophy homes.
Much of the US does not realize that we have MANY pockets of "third world" living in our great and glorious country. The county in which I live in Colorado is one of those where female life span is DECREASING -- basically because of poverty and the resultant obesity, diabetes and because of lung problems from the coal-fired plants just to our south which supply electricity to LA. And -- surprise, surprise -- this is basically adjacent to Tom Cruize's Telluride and is adjacent to Durango which is full of trophy homes. And also full of people who are quite wonderful and have NO idea that poverty is so close.
And Happy Birthday!!! (implied balloons)
What a lovely picture Mimi put up over at her place.
Paul, Happy birthday, and to you, too, Jane. The celebration sounds as if a fine time was had by all, including the adventure of returning home.
Susankay, it doesn't surprise me that the beautiful people are oblivious to the poverty that is so close at hand. My beautiful great-niece lives in Bradenton, Florida, in a very lovely and over-privileged home. I tried to convince her that there were children in her school whose only meals were the breakfast and lunch served daily at school and they actually went to bed hungry every night. I pointed out they probably lived in such poverty and that they pretty much had nothing or very little to eat on the weekend when school was not in session or over the summer months. She would not believe me. I had seen their sad little faces getting off of the school buses when I was delivering her to school in the family van.
Thanks for the kind wishes, all. Fun to begin celebrating early this year (still two days away). I was not only born on the first anniversary of V-E Day (May 8) but this means I was conceived somewhere around the bombing of Nagasaki, August 9, 1945. I am thus rather quintessentially a product of the end of WWII and one of the early baby boomers. W and Bill Clinton were also born the same year, but I am their elder and I demand respect. (Yeah, right.) With Clinton I was finally older than the President, a rather shocking shift in perspective, given the years of Reagan and GHWB.
Boocat, the old truism remains that there are none so blind as those who will not see.
SK, yes, Mimi put up a nice photo. Perhaps this coming weekend I will be able to post one; we shall see.
Post a Comment