the three day birthday

I was happy to turn 70. It meant I was alive.

Usually I don't pay much attention to birthdays, but decided this year to throw myself a party.

Sunday night there was a knock on the door. I opened it. In the tiny hallway was a black bag. Could it be for my neighbours?

Then a hand came around the corner followed by my Geneva housemate who decided I wasn't to celebrate my birthday without her along. The bag? Champagne, shrimp and Season two of The Good Wife. The party began.

Monday, I was slated to take a friend of more than three decades to the eye doctor. We seldom use the car (it has  taken since Feb. to use less than a half tank of gas) so the question was, "Where did we leave it?" seem totally normally.

As we walked by Barteveille, our favourite local restaurant my friend said, "Oh there's your housemate." She opened the door and my housemate was there and two other good friends. No choice for my surprise lunch...no problem...

• tapanade
• amuse bouche of gaspacho
• foix gras and salad
• fish on a bed of roasted vegetables
• Chocolate cake, icecream with happy birthday Donna written in chocolate frosting around the edge of the plate. I wish I could write as beautiful in ink
• Coffee

Then morning of my birthday a breakfast with a candle at the local hotel where my housemate was hiding out.

A trip to the beach to the see the photo exhibition but the most exciting was seeing the water planes land and pick up water for the fires in Port Bou and across the border in Spain. Our wishes went with them.

Then my party at La Noisette with about 30 friends.

Patricia the cook had put out a buffet that included gambas, salmon, chicken, cole claw, tabuli and mozarella and tomatoes. This went with sangria, a soft watermelon punch.

She'd done a beautiful cake and we added champagne.

The room has a divider and when I changed to the other side my Swiss friend and my long-time friend were sitting with their cellos. The music stand had a Swiss flag on it. They had arranged to play a combination of the Swiss national anthem along with happy birthday.

The nationalities present were

• Trinidian
• Canadian
• American
• Swiss 
• French
• Italian
• English
• German
• Danish
• Swedish

I have one more present coming in September. My daughter for eight days.

Those there were people I've known for decades, for years and recently. As I said in my toast to those present La richesse dans ma vie est les copains, les copines, life amis. The richness of my life is my friends.

Turning 70 is fun.

Grey hair

I've said I wanted to have grey hair. I don't have the patience to let it grow. After saying it to a friend he fiddled with my photo and sent me this.  If only it were that easy.

haiku

A yorkie basket
Pulled on an Argeles street
On a summer day

I ain't moving any more

The list was generated for a friend as we discussed our past lives  and I was curious how many times I'd moved. Move is a four letter word carrying with it all the obscenities of words that start with F, S, C etc. and I don't intend to do it again. If forced it will be my daughter's problem if she wants anything.

As I generated the list I kept thinking of the Phil Ochs song, I ain't marching any more.

ttp://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=i+ain%27t+marching+anymore+phil+ochs&oq=I+ain%27t+march&gs_l=youtube.1.0.0l6.24434.26221.0.28918.13.11.0.2.2.0.269.1855.2j5j4.11.0...0.0.kDHxPqkfqic

1. Reading MA to Bluefield W.Va Union St.
2. Union Street to can't remember the name
3. Bluefield to Bramwell WVA
   
4. Bramwell to Reading
5. Reading to Lowell MA
   
6. Lowell to DC MA
   
7. DC to Scituate MA
   
8. Scituate to Helderinlinplatz Stuttgart Germany
   
9. Helderlinplatz to Olgastrasse
10. Olgastrasse to Reading Woburn St. MA
    
11. Woburn St to High Street MA
    
12. High Street to Main Street MA
    
13. Main Street to Pratt Street MA
    
14. Pratt St to 1085 Main Street Waltham MA
    
15. Main Street to Whitman Road MA
    
16. Whitman road to Epping NH
17. NH to North Andover MA
    
18. North Andover to 1085 Main Street Waltham
    
19. Main Street back to Whitman Road
20. WHitman Road to Tavern Rd
21. Tavern Rd to Wigglesworth Boston MA
    
22. Wigglesworth to Riverway Boston MA
    
23. Riverway to Castanet France
24. Castanet to Delle Avenue Boston
25. Delle Ave to Môtiers Switzerland
26. Môtiers to Payerne Switzerland
    
27. Payerne to Francois Lehman Geneva Switzerland
    
28. Francois Lehman to Corsier
29. Francois Lehman to Argeles France
    
    

It won't happen

I've a fantasy to fix up this deserted building around the corner in moments of complete madness. Fortunately my wallet keeps me on a saner course.

Usually I'm not mean spirited

And deaths are awful no matter how and where...

But I wonder how many people in CO, DC, VA, MD etc. don't believe in climate change.

How many are driving SUVs.

How many have fought wind turbines?

I will be more sympathetic when the death toll reaches 30,000 as it did in the European heat wave in 2003.

Okay, maybe I'm mean spirited, but sooner or later as a species we need to do something or as a species we will have self destructed, but maybe since we are such poor caretakers of the earth, we don't deserve the planet.