Turning 49

Pretty much at the last moment it was decided we would travel to NYC for my birthday. I missed Amy & Arron so much and they were pleased to share their time off with us.

Friday night before we traveled, I thought I would meet with some friends at Otto's but none of them showed up until just as I was leaving. One fellow was ill, another was swamped with prior commitments and the final entourage dwindled down to one. She gave me this extremely humorous gift just as I finished my desert.

We packed our bags that night and planned a leisurely drive into NYC the next morning. This , of course, put us right in the middle of when everyone else travels. We got stuck in some traffic but my spirits were good as I listened to a Dr. Hook cd Jim gave to me that morning.

Backing up to earlier that morning, I had opened a huge pile of gifts that Jim had stacked on my pillow. He made a donation in my name to This American Life, designed me 2 different t-shirts, gave me a bunch of temporary tattoo material to test and see if I want to get a tattoo when I turn 50 and the above mentioned cd.

The Essential Dr. Hook was a real blast from the past and I was enjoying it until Jim made me realize that many of the oldest and most memorable lyrics were written by Shel Silverstein. I really did not like his books, Where the Sidewalk Ends and A Light in the Attic. Even the good story of The Giving Tree depresses me when I think of how someone could use and use something to it's demise. I gleefully ranted in mock outrage that the knowledge of his hand on those songs had spoiled them forever.

Trying to keep my spirits up as we are stuck in traffic in New Jersey. It helps that our new car doesn't overheat.

After a little letterboxing, I paused in Central Park near the reservoir.

The time spent in the city that day was very nice. Amy met us and we traveled down town for some lunch and met Arron on his lunch break. Saturday is his last working day of the week.

We parted ways for a short time but surprisingly bumped into with Amy in a corner grocery store. We waited for Arron and all went out to a nice meal at Candle Cafe. Nothing beats a menu of veggie food when I don't have to worry about which items might have meat in them. The company made it a perfect birthday meal.

We returned to their apartment for more celebration and visiting. It really was all I could ever ask for.

Just before I blew the candles out on 2 delicious Crumbs cupcakes.

The sweet gift my family gave to me, an iPod Touch!

A photo I took of all of us on Sunday morning!

The next morning we were treated to fresh coffee, shopping for a protective iPod case and a great breakfast. We were on the road soon after noon and had a hard time saying goodbye.

Out for breakfast at Midnight Express Diner.

It was hard to say goodbye to Arron & Amy. They opened their hearts and home so that I could have the most enjoyable birthday celebration imaginable.

The cats were glad to see us and it was nice getting home while there was still light in the sky. We don't get the channel the Academy Awards were on so, after playing with iPod Apps, we turned in. It was a very pleasant birthday weekend.