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May Birthdays
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I haven't read it, but I'll check it out. Thanks, R.!Oh, good, my library has it! I've got it on hold. Sounds like a wild ride!
Wilhelmina, I just read your GR profile and see that you're interested in African American fiction. By any chance, have you ever read George Schuyler's Black Empire? It's a novel written as a newspaper serial during the 1930's that I edited for book publication in 1991.
The answer, Wilhelmina, is that nothing is better than grandchildren. Our children were--and are--wonderful, but I mean it when I tell everyone that our grandchildren are uniformly cuter, brighter, sweeter, and more talented than our children ever were. And, best of all, we can send them home when we get tired of them. We have two grandchildren (soon to be 9 and 13) who live about 20 miles away and three (soon to number four) who live on the other side of the country. The only time we had all five of them in one place was two years ago, when my younger son got married.A few hours ago, I got an email message from that younger son announcing that he had arrived safely in "S.A." Huh? I didn't know he was going anywhere. Turns out that S.A. is Saudi Arabia. See what I mean about one's own children being disappointing? Shouldn't a dutiful son keep his parents informed about what country--or at least what continent--he's in?
However, I suppose I can forgive him. He's in the Secret Service and must be in S.A. preparing for President Obama's visit there.
My grandson is only 10 minutes away, also. We just finished a wild day of gardening, reading (sports stories, poetry, and King Midas), sharing fruit, playing knights (I'm Lady Grayhair), and Couch Football with a team of stuffed animals. What on earth could be better than grandchildren? (His birthday is June 3 - he'll turn 7!)
She is adorable, Kent. I am one of the lucky ones. My grand-daughter lives 10 minutes away, and I get to see her just about every day.
I'll add my felicitations to all those expressed here already and add a note about the most special May birthday of all. My granddaughter Miranda (my older son's daughter) turned three on May 31. Here's a picture of her from a few months ago, when my son's family vacationed in Costa Rica:
Today my wife, Kathy, and I connected with Miranda via my new video phone setup. It was the best video phone connection I've ever seen: reasonably sharp full-screen picture and pretty good sound--vastly better than the thumbnail-sized video-phone pictures I'm used to. It was a real thrill being able to see Miranda and her brother and watch their excitement about the video phone. The highlight of our call was watching Miranda open the presents we sent her. She even put on the tutu that Kathy had gotten for her and demonstrated some dancing moves (including a few tumbles). Great stuff.
If any of you are like us--with children or children on the other side of the country, I strongly recommend you look into hooking up video phones on your computers. The hardware isn't terribly expensive, and the great thing is that the calls themselves are free! We've come a long way from the days when my dad got out his stopwatch to make sure that we never exceeded three minutes on long-distance calls.
... who ain't really feeling all that grouchy today and from whom you may hear again when his Manhattan granddaughter turns three at the end of June
It may not be for another year, at least. Our son still lives in Chapel Hill, but we're going to fly him up here this summer as a birthday gift. I loved Chapel Hill and Asheville when we were there though.
Barb, thanks so much. I'm glad you liked Limone's; I thought you would. When do you think you might be back this way again?
And, belated happy birthday to Erin and Wanda! Both of you are great additions to our group here. I'm glad you found us.
Oh my gosh, Sherry, I missed your birthday while I was in my paperwork onslaught at work! I'm glad to hear that it was a happy one. Your friendship and capable coordination of Constant Reader are great gifts to me. And, Tom and I went to Limone's because of your recommendation when we came through Asheville last year. What an incredibly good restaurant it is!
Wanda and Erin, I hope that your birthdays were wonderful and that the coming year brings you all good things, especially books!
We bypassed Wanda. Happy birthday a week late.
Vija Celmins
Untitled (Web 4) , 2002 ( VC02-3335 )
1 color photogravure/aquatint/drypoint
20" x 24 1/2"
Edition of 65
Thank you so much for the birthday wishes! Ruth & Sherry, thanks for the pics, and thanks for adding me to the list, Jane - I feel like a true Constant Reader now!I did have a happy birthday - the day before, my mom and sister came to visit and we went to a Washington Nationals game, and on my birthday my husband took me out for a delicious steak dinner and later we gorged ourselves on cupcakes I found at this new, delightful little cupcake shop down the street from my work!
I also treated myself to a few new books :) As if I don't already have enough books to read!
Happy Birthday to all you May birthdays who had the temerity to be celebrating whilst I was away from computers. Hope each of your days (not sure about the grammar here) was great.
Happy birthday, Erin!
Sharka Hyland
c.v.9
2008
ink, watercolor on Strathmore Bristol
23 x 29 inches
Gallery Joe
Well, the churros and hot chocolate wouldn't have been quite so decadent if I hadn't started the whole meal off with a Margarita Caliente--described this way: Pepe Lopez Tequila, fresh lime juice, fresh orange juice, a hint of berry & habanero, hand shaken with a salt rim. Yum.
Oh, I loved Limone's, Sherry. My decadent indulgence would have been the bread pudding. I can think of only a couple of other desserts I've ever had that can top that.
Sherry -- one cannot pass churros and chocolate on one's birthday. there must be a written rule to that effect somewhere.
Thank you Robert for the birthday wishes. I had a long, and using Sherry's measure, an extremely decadent brunch including caramel cheesecake and accompanied throughout with live jazz music. We followed that up with an afternoon of strolling about town poking into shops and I had time for reading in the evening. A perfect kind of birthday/Mother's Day celebration though this year the emphasis was on the birthday as neither daughter could get away to join us and it was the truly BIG birthday -- Medicare and all that. Oh my!
Thanks, Robert and Lynn. I had a lazy birthday yesterday, but we went to one of my favorite restaurants last night, Limone's. You remember, Lynn, we went there for one of our meals at the Asheville convention. I ate way too much. I should have skipped the churros and hot chocolate, but I was being decadent.
Happy Birthday, Sherry! I hope you had a great day and that the coming year is a wonderful one.
Lynn
What a wonderful way to wake up to my 61st birthday! Thanks everyone. A while back Lily wanted to know if I was going to have another birthday party like the last one. She really had a good time. I told that was a once in a decade thing. I hope I'm here nine years from now to celebrate my 70th with you all, and so on and so on.....
Happy Birthday, Sherry! I hope that your day brings you all the happiness that you so deserve! Thanks for all that you do to make CR such a fine group.
Happy birthday, Sherry. Thanks for stepping into the breach and becoming our doyenne just when we needed one.
James Doolin
"Beach with High Cliff", 1970, oil on panel, 11 1/2" x 8"
Happy birthday, Sherry! I hope you have a fabulous day. Thanks always for everything you do for Constant Reader. I appreciate your perspective and friendship immensely. Love,
yulia
Wanda wrote: "Hello everyone. I am new to Constant Reader and I must say this is an excellent group. My birthday is coming up - May 14. I shall be older than dirt but still younger than the universe. Happy B..."Happy B-Day to my GR Friend!!! I wish you many good reads for your birthday, and a little cake too!
Dottie, Anne, and Sherry,
Happy Birthday and best wishes for many more birthdays, with good friends and family to share them.
Katy Higgins
Thank you all for the greetings.
I'm going to have to explore this artist, Ruth. You always come up with such fantastic works to post for our birthdays.
Barb, I've been thinking about Proust lately as his name comes up in the book I'm currently reading. In fact, both Proust and much on Anna Karenina -- which of course thanks to your encouragement I finally read recently.
Happy birthday, Anne! I still think back to our fun meeting in Ann Arbor. Hope you have a great day today!
Happy Birthday, Anne. And happy climbing.Toltec Gorge, Colorado
Thomas Moran
Cooper Hewitt, National Design Museum (United States)
circa 1881
Height: 31.91 cm (12.56 in.), Width: 24.13 cm (9.5 in.)
Medium: Painting -on paper -\
Happy birthday, dear Dottie.
Gregory Gillespie
(American, 1936-2000)
Godmother Shrine
1990
mixed media, oil and alkyd on board
107 x 56 x 5 1/2 inches
