Birthday gifts

Gifts one and two and three...

Gift four...

And Gift five.

My birthday was this past weekend and it was just lovely.  I had lots of lovin' and lots of gifts.

Gifts one and two are our dear friends, Edgar and Dora.  They took the RD (gift three) and me out for dinner to an institution in Denver, The Buckhorn Exchange.  The restaurant was established in 1893 and proudly displays liquor license Number One in Denver, CO.  Theodore Roosevelt's train stopped there and the walls are lined with memorabilia from the famous who have come through the doors, as well as a very large number of game heads from back in the day.  The Buckhorn specializes in exotic meat and so for my dinner I selected grilled Yak at the suggestion of Edgar.  Edgar, who is a chef at the establishment, has a beautiful way of describing food and by the time he was finished, I was sold!  It was great to have him guide me through the differences in the various types of meat.  But I did have to laugh when he said some people come in and ask for a vegetarian platter.  No offense to vegetarians, but the Buckhorn is the very last place on the planet you would go for veggies-:). 

Dora and Edgar are two gifts brought to us through the network of our boys.  They play, go to school, go to religious ed. and do scouts together.  So we are all TOGETHER a lot.  It's so nice to find people you enjoy being with, especially when your kids like each other.

Gift four is my new puppy!!!!  His name is Mercer, named after Johnny Mercer, lyricist extraordinaire.  He is part Dachschund and part Shepherd or Collie.  Just beeeutiful and sweet as can be.  At five months old he is such a tiny puppy who sleeps a lot.  Gershwin (that would be our 13 lb. Doxie/Chihuahua) just wants to play with him.  But I must admit, Gersh.  is just a tad jealous of the little one.  Today they had some sort of break through while we were away.  Must have had a conversation in the mud room and agreed to be pals, because Mercer happily trotted after Gershwin most of the afternoon.  Ella (our 9 yr. old Shepherd/Collie) is still young at heart and enjoys running after them.  So I'm quite happy that they all get along!

And of course, my best and last present was the CO Boy.  He did his best on Saturday to honor the idea of my birthday and kept telling me that we could do whatever I wanted to do because today was my special day.  It's so funny to watch him be deliberate about stuff like that.

Now I'm off to bed - that is if I can find room in the bed with three dogs, one boy and the RD!

Friends

Drawing by Cecil Aldin

I don't have many "real live in-person" kind of friends, but of those few, I have some good ones.

Last night, I had a great meeting with the Nerd Club.  The Nerd Club is made up of my neice and nephew and moi.  We all write in one form or another and so our meetings surround the writing process, our goals, our frustrations, etc.  I used to babysit these two (they're cousins, not siblilngs, btw) and it's a real pleasure to know them as adults.  The photo above is of lazy puppies - a non-activity we have elevated to an artform!

Regarding the artwork, I LUV Cecil Aldin's work.  He was an illustrator known for his animal drawings, particularly dogs and horses.  I draw animals and can only dream to do work as beautiful as this.  But I keep trying-:)

(Gene and friends)

And then this afternoon I had a lovely visit with two girlfriends.  We met through our boys but have our own friendships which are a treasure  This was our first outing sans boys and we've decided on a monthly visit because it was glorious to sit there without boys!  Now we didn't sing and dance ala Gene, Debbie and Donald, but a great time was had nonetheless.

Of course you knew it wouldn't be too long before I posted a Gene photo.  For you newer readers, I adore him.  I could watch Gene Kelly movies 24/7 and be quite happy, thank you.  His dance sequences are mesmerizing and I could rewind over and over to see them. This particular shot is from Singing in the Rain. 

I've often read of the importance of being with friends.  You live longer, you're happier, etc.  But with this HP Life, it becomes so difficult to find the time.  But I can say I came home last night feeling cheered about life, and then today as well.  I must remember this.

Work day tomorrow and the CO Boy is after me to crawl in bed and draw. 

So that's what we shall do.