24

As if I need to remind myself that I am now 24. I am now past that still-able-to-be-slightly-immature-early-20's. I have now moved into my mid 20's. At least my early 20's went out with a bang.

I don't know what I did that morning; I'm pretty sure I was lazy though.

That afternoon Leah, our new friend Anna and I made the quick trip over to Janice's house with a little detour on the way to drop Michael off in town. He had some shopping to do ;-)

 Janice and Jeramy surprised me with this beautiful Star-Gazer Lily and Gerbera Daisy bouquet!

What they didn't realize is that Star-Gazers are my absolute favorite flowers ever. They worried that Michael may have an identical bouquet for me later but his in-town attempts to find them turned up nothing so I was very lucky to get some from Janice and Jeramy. Thanks again guys!

After a fun afternoon of cooing over baby Kately and giggling at Kimber's attempts to say "Heffalump", the girls and I headed home, picking Michael up on the way back from his excursion into town.

Then we shopped for my Birthday dinner and this dinner, let me tell you, was one for the ages.

By the time we got home from the store we were both starving so we started out like this: perfectly ripe cantalope, some amazingly amazing local tomme cheese, 4 thin slices of ibérico ham that Michael got from the covered market in town (don't worry, he wasn't being cheap, this stuff is 99€ per kilo!) and another bottle of a new favorite, Muscat.

Then dinner started; first up were these wine braised artichokes.

Then some delicious, buttered, teeny, tiny pomme de terre (potatoes)

Finishing with Rock Lobster tail which I could not get to uncurl for the life of me. But really, who cares what it looks like? It's a lobster tail!

And all of this was accompanied by a delicious and complex local white wine that we purchased last week at the Fête de la Mirabelle.

Birthday present time revealed 

this beautiful, sleek fountain pen. I have harbored a not-so-secret desire for one since moving here where they are still very popular to use. At one time in my childhood, I bought one from Eckerd (back when it was on Main St.) and my writing has never been the same since I let it slip away.

Then came the cake which I didn't get a picture of lit in front of me because I started to sneeze as soon as Michael set it in front of me, thus prematurely starting the blowing-out process.

But the cake was wonderful. It tasted like my childhood: chocolate mayonnaise cake (seriously, the mayo just takes the place of the eggs and oil) with a swiss meringue icing.

It's good to be 24.