Birthday celebrations

I had my birthday off, which was very kind of the family. I woke up to some lovely happy birthdays from the family which made me feel good to be remembered. I then Skyped with Cailin and the rest of my family after. They were headed out for a meal at an Italian with George and Barbara, family friends. This made me miss being able to celebrate with them, but I knew I was going out later anyway. Then I Skyped my gorgeous friend Jenny. This was a new phenomenon for Jenny which was amusing, but she got the hang of it quickly. It was so lovely to see her beautiful face and chat to someone I love so dearly.

Then I practiced driving before going to Stanford Shopping Centre. I am so glad I went there as the sales were fabulous. Normally I can’t afford a thing! I bought some delightful hand soap (Frozen Blackberries) and some hand cream. Then I was excited to go into Bloomingdales since it’s so famous. I found some beautiful Ralph Lauren earrings for $30. I had needed to get some earrings since I didn’t bring any with me and I was afraid my holes would close. The shopping centre is outdoors and it was lovely walking in the glorious sunshine looking at beautiful things. I went into Abercrombie and Fitch where I bought a gorgeous new jumper. It’s a soft white, woollen jumper, slightly on the big side and so comfortable. And it was a bargain! I was so happy with my purchases. I quickly had lunch and drove home.

We went to a fondue restaurant, but they could not accommodate us. Anya’s negotiating skills got her a $125 gift certificate, so we will go back another day. We instead went to a steak restaurant called The Sea. They gave me a birthday card which was a nice touch. I had mini crab cakes to start. They were slightly spicy but quite tasty. I was sat between Elizabeth and Ira. The family’s friends had joined us and everyone spoke Russian but me so I did not have much conversation. But I enjoyed myself just the same. Ira and I had the same starter and the same main. We had New York steak. It was huge and came with cuboids of potato-like things with a tomato sauce. It wasn’t the best meal I’ve ever had but I did enjoy it. For dessert I had 4 ice-creams – pistachio, peppermint, honey and coconut. The coconut was the best: so creamy and fresh. They also brought me a dish saying happy birthday from the restaurant with a raspberry mousse and a chocolate and vanilla mousse. From the kids I got a nice card and from Anya and Ilya I received a card containing $100. They are very generous towards me and they did what they could to make my birthday special and memorable. I am very grateful.