sixteen!

happy sixteenth birthday, ella (a.k.a. oldie, mo-mo, mink, bones, stinky, shmoe, ellie, mini mo, ol' lady)!!!

happy birth-month to me.

it seems that the universe has so graciously gifted me a category 3, threat-level-orange cold virus for my birthday. i have spent much of the last three days in a recuperative hibernation, thinking often of the evolutionary perfection of viruses.
alas, i do seem to be coming around. today i have the glorious feeling that only comes after being sick for some time; the faint glow of "normal". it's startling how easily we forget the gift of good health!

oh, hi there.

happy july to you all. it's hard to believe that summer has only just begun. it seems that the vegetable garden and the flowers are so much further along than usual. it also seems that every spare moment of time has been filled with some task or activity.
here is an abbreviated list of some recent happenings:
   •we put new floor in the kitchen and pantry.
   •we celebrated adam's 35th birthday at one of our local favorite restaurants, bistro tallulah.
   •a gloriously uneventful day was spent on lake george.
   •i unexpectedly learned of the death of a client of more than seven years in a sudden and unexplained way.
   •i made a small effort to restart written correspondence.
   •two new recipes made it into the repertoire: honey habanero tofu and carrot cake cookies.
   •i updated my illustration website a wee bit.
   •we spent a relaxed day catching up with friends, being charmed by their children, and floating around glen lake.
   •and finally, we're getting our packs ready for the first backpacking trip in quite some time. we have four days in the backcountry lined up with the goal of hiking both allen mountain and mt skylight.

(whew, no wonder i'm tired.)

15 years.

happy 15th birthday ella!
there's been times in the last few years we didn't think you would make it to this day. you have certainly kept the veterinarian's salaries paid at adirondack animal hospital. most times you're juiced up on 'roids but still turn up your nose at food. it's always fun to play hunt-for-the-puke on your bad days. it's much more fun to see you pretend to be a kitten on your good days.
we have never met another cat like you and we are thankful for every day that you choose to stick around.

thirty sixth year.

yesterday was my thirty sixth birthday.
i do not feel any different and i certainly don't feel any wiser.
i do, however feel extremely grateful.
i am surrounded by amazing and sincere people, both family and friends.
i have a humble, yet comfortable home.
i have a rewarding job and am making strides at building a more art focused career.
i am able to save a little money and may someday pay off my student loans.
i have an extraordinarily awesome husband who cooks, cleans and takes me out for fancy dinners.
my wish for my thirty sixth year is to explore life with curiosity, allowing everything to have value and to not lose sight of how the simplest things have the greatest impact on my personal evolution.

honestly, every night is date night.

adam and i have an established tradition of not exchanging gifts at holidays. despite this, we do take each other to a rare dinner out alone for our respective birthdays. nearing his 34th year, adam's choice of sushi luckily led us to the fantastic place right in downtown glens falls, siam thai sushi restaurant.
adam successfully experimented with a captain crunch roll in addition to his usual sushi platter. i took his word that it was the best roll he's ever had because while there are vegetarian sushi rolls, the captain crunch was certainly not one of them.
i filled up on edamame and tofu with cashew nut sauce. despite what i always say about ordering sushi, i can never resist the thai dishes, especially the ones that threaten you from the menu with their multiple red chili pepper warnings. admittedly, i have quite a taste for spicy food, but i have never found those dishes with the pepper icons to be as hot as they are advertised.
would it be foolish that next time i ask for my dish "thai hot"?