Sunday the 9th was my birthday, and it was a very happy one indeed, though thanks to some stupid legislation was one hour shorter than everyone else’s. I can’t complain, though; my grandma’s birthday is February 29th.
It started bright and early when I got a text message from Nick, then immediately after that from Carolyn. I replied to Nick that he had won and was the first to congratulate me, then found out later that they were actually competing with each other. I made it over to their house at 11 and brought the leftover cheesecake from the night before. We put it in the fridge for later, then Marina, Doug, and Naomi arrived shortly after. Marina and I followed the others to a short hiking trail about 25 minutes away called Twin Sisters at Wallula Gap. It was basically a pair of large rock pillars sticking up near the river. We wandered around and explored. As we walked by a fence, a man on the other side was walking towards us. I waved and said howdy, but he ignored us. Later, he got in his truck and moved it down his driveway to a vantage point where he sat in the truck and watched. At one point I got too close to the fence and was treated to a long blast from his horn until I moved, followed by some loud and indistinguishable yelling. He moved his truck again and we could see him watching from binoculars. What an odd and grumpy old man. Otherwise it was a pleasant hike, though more an exploration than any distance or difficulty.
We went back to town and stopped at Sonic for burgers and drinks, then went back to Nick and Carolyn’s for the cheesecake and to see the pictures. Afterwards I went home for a couple hours. I had intended to work, but ended up watching some shows online instead. I talked to one sister, then to my mom. I was supposed to arrive at my birthday party at 6:45 and dinner was to start at 7. I was watching the microwave clock and thought it was 5:30 when my mom called. She asked if I had to get ready, and I said I had plenty of time. Then I thought about it and realized the microwave was the only clock I hadn’t yet changed, and that there was no way I was going to be on time. I got off the phone and changed quickly, then bolted out the door. I talked to my mom again as I drove, watching the clock pass 6:45 and cursing every red light. Fortunately I found the place with little difficulty and walked in at 6:55, the last person to arrive.
The venue was the Blue Moon Restaurant, and it is only open for catered groups of 10 or more. They served a six course meal, and we were the only ones there. It was a total of 19 people, and it worked out great, even though there were people from a few different circles of friends. The first course was crostinis with Italian sausage. Second was a lobster bisque. After that was a salad with Dijon dressing, followed by a berry sorbet. For the entree, we chose between steak with Diane sauce, crusted chicken breast with Porcini sauce, sauteed pork loin, and salmon with fennel cream. I picked the salmon. After that was coffee, but I was able to get tea instead. Finally, dessert was a cheese souffle glace, which is like a combination of ice cream cake and cheesecake. It was all pretty good. The conversation was fun, and since I was towards the middle of the really long table I could listen to and participate in a few conversations at once. People were dressed nice, and despite all our efforts we still ended up with extra silverware at our places. I got a cookbook, a bottle of wine, and a nice card/scrapbook.
Afterwards I went home and talked to my other sister for a long time, then watched the first hour of a movie from 1919 called The Spiders by Fritz Lang before going to bed.
It was a really good day. I had fun with people I like, and throughout the day people were sending me text messages or calling me, or sending messages through Facebook or MySpace. I felt loved.