It usually is but this week I seem to have had a surfeit of very pleasurable things happening in my life.
First the big birthday which threatened to overwhelm me somewhat but got off to a brilliant start with the delivery of a beautiful bunch of very fragrant flowers - stock and Christmas lilies - by good friend Carolyn M who dropped them oh so early in the front porch to surprise and touch me when I discovered them a little later. Relished some quiet time at home instead of rushing to the gym as usual, being home to getting in the mail, receiving some phone calls and E mails, seeing Eli for lunch and old school friend Pat M from yesteryear (or so it seems) round afternoon tea time.
Marked the occasion with a meal at a little French restaurant, La Cantine du Torchon which had gypsy jazz music playing, just the right atmosphere for a celebratory meal. Started with a kir royale (black currant liqueur and bubbles), progressed to the onion soup, boeuf bougignon and crepes with apple and icecream, all very delicious.
Off to Waiheke then for the long weekend. Brilliant weather as it often is at Labour Weekend. Visited the art gallery and another smaller exhibition in an old corrugated iron bach, now a studio, browsed the shops and generally had a very agreeable leisurely weekend. Bowled across the road for a roast dinner on the Sunday night, went to the Waiheke historical museum, a collection of several old beaches and a couple of larger buildings, full of memorabilia of the kind familiar to those of my vintage and older too! This was on the Monday which happened to be our wedding anniversary so had a celebratory lunch of seafood chowder at a nice fish restaurant overlooking Oneroa Beach. Delayed the return home another day returning to the mainland Tuesday afternoon after spring cleaning the bach for some early Summer guests.
