birthday fun

I had a really enjoyable birthday filled with friends and celebrations. There are times when I get moody and convince myself that I have no real friends. If it weren't for Neil and Lindsay, I would die alone and be slowly consumed by my cat. But then there are times like my birthday, when my friends really exert themselves in a way I cannot deny.

My wonderful friend Simone flew in all the way from Germany. Our neighbor upstairs was away and let Simone stay in her apartment. So we could see each other every day, but could also retreat into our own spaces at night. The week with Simone was wonderful. We laughed, made fairy wings for Lindsay's Halloween costume, went to Wave Hill ( a lovely public garden in the Bronx), and the Cloisters. It was kind of funny to go see medieval art in NYC with someone from Europe, but the views and art were lovely and we had an enjoyable lunch in their garden. Simone is also a fabulous cook. I trailed her as she made her famous tiramisu and chocolate-cherry cake. We made two huge trays of the tiramisu for my birthday and an 11" cake. Yum!

We went to Chelsea to peek at the galleries. There were two shows that really stood out to us. One was a Julie Heffernan show called Booty at PPOW.


The other show we enjoyed was Andrew Woffinden's show at Dillon Gallery.


Then there were my friends Sandi and Jim who came down from Rhode Island. They are in a particularly busy time with their business, so it was touching that they took the time to visit. They joined us for a lovely dinner at Po restaurant in Brooklyn. Our other friend Sue joined us for dinner as well.

Then Neil organized a small group of our friends to come over for wine and cake in our backyard. He decorated it with candles and with the warm weather, it was magical. I really felt celebrated.