The Birthday Blues

 Yesterday was my birthday (I turned 31), and it was a bit of a weird one. I woke up practically in tears; not sad or depressed, just emotional. I still don't know what that was all about - I like Kay's notion that sometimes we're just so full we overflow - but I ended up choosing to spend the bulk of the morning and early afternoon lying in my favorite field by a little waterfall and pool reading Harry Potter and sniffling. It was actually pretty good... for a while I became engrossed in just watching the earth outside of my blanket writhe and move with the universe of life in the grass and below. First I was awed, and then I got a little grossed out and starting thinking about how much we need to invent special field-lying blankets with an impenetrable perimeter that the buggies can't cross. Also? I got a little bored and made faces into the camera for a while. Good times.

Upon returning home, I ran into Gwen, and we headed back up to the targets for beer and chocolate. I love that girl - talking with her is one of my most favorite ways to pass time, and it was a blast to relax in the sun and chat about everything from the philosophy of logic to boys.

After draining a liter of beer between us, we headed back so I could take a much needed shower before heading out for the big event of the day, an 8-course dinner in France. Karryn and I share a birthday, so we decided it would be fun to do something really nice and out of the ordinary. The eight of us (Kay, Karryn, Gregg , Richard, Karen, Paul, Veronique and I) arrived in St. Gingolph for our foray into the high life at about 7, which seems early, but we're talking about a four hour meal here. It began with hors d'oeuvres (V called them pigs in blankets, but I'm almost certain they were much fancier than that) and a lovely white wine, followed by a small serving of gazpacho, and then we progressed into our menus (coupled with an incredible red wine. Dining with Paul and Veronique is always a treat - they really know how to pair things).  I started with a tomato/basil/goat cheese concoction that was amazing. Other items at the table included foie gras (blech), salad with quail, sesame seed covered fish filets, lobster, etc. I should have written down the descriptions, as I'm not doing them the slightest bit of justice, but they were all beautiful and delicious. Everyone had at least 2 entrees before heading to the 'main' course, which included fish in a tomato butter sauce, lamb, beef filets that Richard claimed required  neither knife nor teeth they were so tender, and lots of other things I'm forgetting. When we thought we could handle no more, they rolled out the cheese cart, and everyone picked 3 or 4 cheeses to try. Paul teased us a bit, as apparently you're supposed to pick several things and move from mild to strong, but everyone at the table got solely seriously stinky cheese. But holy cow, it was tasty. No sooner were those plates taken away than they pulled up the dessert cart. Again, we were able to choose several of them to try. I went with a strawberry tart and an interesting cake that had a hazelnut/almond creme filling. V got a creme caramel that he swears is the best thing he's ever put in his mouth, and the strawberry and basil salad was also a hit. And then, just when we  were certain it was over, they brought out little trays of candies and blueberry tartlets and macaroons. By the time it was all over, we could scarcely move, but nobody minded.

 

This photo on the ride home pretty well captures how I felt by the end of the day: blurry and tired, but very very happy. Another great birthday in Switzerland. I am blessed.