4.0

Chris knew how to make this palatable for me and has been planning and calling this my 4.0 birthday. I feel pretty great about it. I was made to feel special every minute of the day. It began with birthday balloons hung by the girls the night before. Lovely to wake up to these and eggs benedict.

Then thoughtful gifts that brought me to tears. A coupon book from Natalie.

Moose magnets, story book, and picture from Audrey.

Gifts inspired by cool locations along the 40* latitude/longitude parallels from Chris, and 4 teas (think about it for a minute). The poem from my mom. A list of 40 sisterhood memories from my sister. A card with all of the wonderful things from 1981 from Jerry and Linda. A 1981 shirt from the Taylors. And more completely perfect thoughtful things from friends and family.

Then we took a long family walk, dog and all. Along the way we found an icy hill - no sled required. I managed not to injure myself, surprisingly.

Once home we began our 8 course tasting menu event. The food was mouthwatering, the entire family helped, we got out the fancy napkins, and loved that we could create this together at home.

1 - crab escabeche

2 - roasted beet salad with goat cheese and walnuts

3 - rocket soup, or shorbat jarjir

4 - truffle and pecarino malfaldine

5 - smoky bacon brussels sprouts

6 - bacon topped filet

7 - strawberry mousse with strawberry salad

 8 - peach and blackberry gallette

I am overcome with the amount of love I was shown and the creativity from so many to make this milestone memorable and special. It was a perfect day. One for the books. I give it a 4.0.