A Few Pictures

 Ok, So I'm just going to try to describe these pictures without moving them around.  I just totally muck things up when I do that.  These are only a few of the pictures from our trip.  Not sure how many I'll end up putting here, but this will do for now.

Came home from our trip and the next day our across-the-street neighbor appeared with these gorgeous roses for me.  For my birthday.  So, so, so, pretty.

Then, the shrimp.  Blackened shrimp salad.  I loved it.  Bar Harbor, Maine, on my birthday.

And here, I've already mucked things up again.  The cupcake with frosting birthday greetings were in our ship's cabin on return from our day ashore - ostensibly from the ship's captain.  Such a fun and unexpected surprise.

The next picture is of the Charles River in Boston.  We spent a lovely hour walking a path alongside the river.  It was beautiful and peaceful.  We somehow always seem to gravitate toward water.  My soul responds to very agreeably to large natural water sources.  Hard to verbalize, easy to feel.

Those very cute flowers?  Handmade for me by our daughter.  However it happened, our daughters are both extremely talented, creative, generous, lovely and we are grateful for them both.  The picture of the flowers most likely should be retaken and perhaps I will at some point.  I'm so technically challenged it's pathetic.  But it is better to have a poor picture here than none at all.

My feet on the marker?  That's one end of the Freedom Trail in Boston.  I am so grateful for this country and my citizenship in it.  Does the U.S. have some troubles and problems?  Absolutely.  There's nowhere else in the world I would rather live.  I let go of tension that I didn't realize I was carrying when we returned to the land of our birth.  

This one?  Poutine.  Potatoes (more traditionally french fries, but here potato chunks) with cheese curd, covered in gravy.  The Husband really liked it.  Not my favorite, but at this restaurant in Quebec I had the very best chocolate shake of my life.  I often say the chocolate shakes aren't near enough chocolatey.  I was certain that would be the case with the shake we shared here.  It was such a light color.  One slurp through the straw and The Husband had to practically fight me for his share.  Given the opportunity, I'd return for a shake there in a heartbeat.

Smoked salmon bagel and lobster roll in Peggy's Cove, Hallifax.  Lobster is ok.  But just (in my opinion) ok - I don't love it enough to want to spend the big bucks for some.  I'd rather have salmon or shrimp or basically any other fish.  Not worth it for me.  I respect the opinion of others who adore lobster.  

And the lighthouse is there on Peggy's Cove.  That was one of my favorite places.  I love the look of the rugged granite coastline.  There were brightly colored adirondack chairs all over the granite, just waiting for someone to sit and enjoy the beauty.  We heard a woman singing along with her accordion and a guy playing the alphorn.  I loved the addition of the music to the peace of the area.

Today was treated to lunch for my birthday (belatedly - because we were gone on the actual day).  My (free) birthday pumpkin cheesecake slice is in the fridge waiting for me to be hungry again.  That might actually take a day or two.  Monte Cristo sandwich was delightful, and what's left of that is also in the fridge waiting for me to not be so miserably full.

Dinner tonight with both our daughters and their menfolk.  I'll go along just for the company.  But likely won't be eating anything.  But that's ok, right?

I'm so grateful today for hope that this dang cold will abate and disappear in the very near future.  I'm grateful for lots of books to read.  And I'm grateful for friends who don't mind that we're old and losing our marbles, who still act like it's fun to get together.  We need those friends in our lives.