Thursday, August 07, 2014

My Birthday

Yes, another birthday crept up on me. They sure come quickly! My first celebration was last Friday night in Rochester with my brother, sister and cousin Pat. Jerry took us out to eat at a nice restaurant. Following our dinner, the waitress brought a birthday dessert to our table (on the house). It was 3 large, warmed brownies, topped with a huge scoop of vanilla ice cream and real whipped cream. Thankfully, this was served with four spoons. It was very yummy. 
On Sunday, my birthday, my friends and I traveled out to Waconia—a small town 30 miles west of downtown Minneapolis—to Lola's, which is on Lake Waconia. It was a gorgeous day, and we had a nice view of the lake. Our food was very good, and it was fun to get together again. It had been quite a while since we had had a birthday gathering—last November!

No, this isn't my car. It was parked outside the restaurant, so – why not? A little photo of me standing next to it won't harm anyone.


L to R: Laurey, yours truly, Nancy, Bonnie, and Debra. These are some of my dear friends.

On Monday, my co-workers gave me a nice party, complete with home-made chocolate cake and home-made fudge icing, plus ice cream. They gave me a beautiful arrangement of fresh flowers, too. It was a fun time, reminiscing of my first week at our company. That was over 13 and a half years ago.

When I got home from work, I had a package in my mail box. I could tell from the mailing label it had come from Hans' family in Japan. I opened the box to find greeting cards—one from each of them, and then I opened this beautiful Kokeshi doll. [Double click on the photos to enlarge them.]


She has the image of Hans' destroyer engraved just under the torii gate. On the back is an engraved Japanese and American flag. I will treasure her!

Nels thought the box was for him!

Over the weekend, I heard from all of my kids, and even got "Happy Birthday" sung to me by Marshall and my Aunt Ginny. I'm grateful for another year!





1 comment:

Ardy said...

I'm so glad you got it...I was starting to wonder if she had made it. She is definitely unique, I'm glad you found a space for her!