Vive la France! (and Italy, too)

July 19, 2014 – Vive la France (and Italy, too)!

A full week of birthday-ing included two lunches out with friends and a wonderful happy hour with the best ever neighbors.  At Wednesday’s lunch at Bellissimo in Fairfax City, Cheri presented me with the perfect gift – a beautiful ceramic grater plate that she bought during a recent trip to Aix-en-Provence.  It’s used for grating garlic.  How did she know I’ve wanted one for years?  Ennio, our very friendly waiter, serenaded us with Italian songs while we ate a delicious lunch:  chilled white wine, warm bread dipped in olive oil, salad with goat cheese, perfectly cooked salmon, and then a surprise for dessert.  There was a birthday candle in the tiramisu and Ennio led the entire restaurant in a chorus of Happy Birthday.     

Lunch at Bellissimo

Since my birthday, July 14, falls on Bastille Day, I usually try to have a French-themed birthday celebration.  This year, the original plan was to go into DC to see the Degas/Cassatt exhibit at the National Gallery of Art.  However, the forecast for Monday, the 14^th of July, was for continued hot and steamy weather with a strong chance of thunderstorms, so I postponed the trip until later in the week.  By Friday, the temperatures and humidity had dropped to a relatively comfortable level, just right for an excursion into the District.  Michelle, Joelle, Cheri, and I enjoyed not only the Degas/Cassatt exhibit but the Wyeth exhibit as well.  In fact, I was especially impressed with the Wyeth watercolors, which radiated a stunning sense of natural light.  Both exhibits are definitely worth seeing if you’re in the area.  We followed up the viewing with lunch in the National Gallery’s Garden Café.  In honor of the Degas/Cassatt exhibit, the buffet featured French food (mais, oui!).  We shared a bottle of Alsatian wine, made several trips to the buffet table, and finished off our festive lunch with the light and lovely tarte aux fraises.  

with Michelle, Cheri, and Joelle

Tarte aux fraises

After all that food, I thought I wouldn’t eat again for the rest of the day, but just a few hours later, I was back at home and munching away along with my wonderful neighbors.  Thank you, Anne, Mike, Pam, Bud, Ellen, Michael, and honorary neighbor Meredith (visiting from Qatar) for making this final celebration of my 64^th birthday so much fun.  

Elliott says hello from Fairfax Hospital

The only downside to the evening was Elliott’s absence.  That’s right – Elliott decided he’d rather spend his time at Fairfax Hospital.  It’s a long story but the short version is that he had a little mishap late Wednesday afternoon while sawing through an old and very dirty piece of plywood.  When he decided to break it off, the ragged edge of the wood lacerated his arm.  He got stitched up at the INOVA emergency room on Wednesday evening.  When he went back for a wound check on Friday, the doctor said he had developed an infection and needed to be treated intravenously with antibiotics. He’ll be in the hospital for another few days, but he feels fine.  I hope he has learned a lesson from this unfortunate experience – no more playing with sharp objects, especially without supervision!