The "BIG 80" Milestone Birthday

 

I know I'm very strange, but...I do wear this one as a Badge of Honor.

The actual day was this past Friday the 13th, and because I post an image on Shutterchance almost every Friday

of the year, this is the one I chose from our just-recently-ended Switzerland trip (next post, eventually),

where we saw these speed-limit signs everywhere.  It made sense to grab one for the occasion!

As I said on Shutterchance, "They say age is just a number, but 80 right now feels extra special because today is my 11th "Friday the 13th" birthday since 1945.  How many people can say that??!!"

That afternoon, Friday the 13th, at our senior-living's Happy Hour, I brought Swiss treats for everyone:

A nice selection of mixed-luxury cookies and Toblerone chocolates!

I took the same treats to Jeroen and Marissa's on Saturday morning, for a birthday koffie break, where both kids (Sem and Hailey) and Jaap, Astrid's ex, were also present.  

Marissa's new baby, due July 1, looks like she's ready to pop out any minute now, which is why we were there instead of our apartment.  (BTW, in case you forgot, it's a Dutch custom for the birthday person to supply the goodies for guests.)

That afternoon, Saturday (yesterday!), was the BIG BIRTHDAY HOERA (hooray) with our dear friends Jeannette and Femke, who live just a wee 5-10 minutes' walk from our apartment.  Seven hours of pure enjoyment!

OMG!  Even Astrid was in on some of the decorations, totally unbeknownst to me.

I actually "commissioned" Femke for the birthday meal they gifted me, telling her what I wanted from

 all the things they have fed us over the last 15 years:  her green salad (to which she added green asparagus!),

roasted potatoes, and spareribs.  I even asked for koffie ice cream, which was a first for Femke, who nailed it.

She also added the fabulous appetizer of salmon and tuna crackers, topped with sea grass.

The cake, btw, which we ate first, had a marzipan frosting of a photo

of me gnawing on a beef rib from another occasion with them.

How fun is that!  

So, yes, after 2 days of celebrating a milestone, I feel more than adequately feted!  Knowing that no day/year is guaranteed to any one of us, I'm more than grateful for the years I have had, and do pray to honor them by a life well-lived.  I've had a life "surprised by joy," and want to make sure I give at least some of that Joy back!

Visiting Philine in Münster, Germany

It was a year ago when we last visited dear Shutterchance friend, Philine, following her knee replacement, and was definitely time to visit her again, to see her progress with our own eyes.  Also, because of a renovation on her apartment building, where she had lived for 50 years, necessitating a move to an assisted-living community around the corner, we wanted to see her in her new home since February.

It's a trip that can be done in one day (2½-3 hours each way, 484 km round-trip) but, to make things easier, we decided to spend a night in one of our favorite Fletcher hotels this past Tuesday, April 29, and then drive the rest of the way, Wednesday, for our visit with Philine.

As you know by now, Astrid loves doing the research for these trips (big or small)

and found a lovely city for our lunch stop on Tuesday:  Doesberg.

Population:  ca. 11K.  Exactly our kind of place.

Where we ate lunch was at La Fleur Lunchroom, full of a gazillion teapots,

and all kinds of quirkiness.

Needless to say, both Astrid and I went crazy with our iPhone cameras.

The lady on the right is Fleur, the owner and matron of the place for 37 years!

Totally worth all the oohing and aahing!

It was another half hour's drive to our hotel in Lochem, over the back roads...

through farm country and wooded areas.

Exactly our kind of place for leisurely driving.

After settling in at our hotel for a couple hours, we went downstairs 

for our version of a Happy Hour:  nachos, beer and Five Crowns.

Exactly our kind of "snack" after a big lunch.

After breakfast on Wednesday, April 30, we left at 9:15am for our arrival at Philine's by 11am, in time to see her apartment before lunch.

OMG.  Where she lives in her assisted-living community is absolutely fabulous,

with 300+ residents in cozy and modern apartments.

Besides enjoying her own apartment, she took us on a grand tour of the place,

followed by treating us to a main-meal lunch in their communal, restaurant-style dining room.

That one meal is included every day in her rental fee, which we love for her, meeting her neighbors!

As you see, she was a good sport, letting me go crazy with my iPhone camera.

After lunch, Philine hailed a taxi to take us to the nearby 1684 Café, up on the 12th floor,

where we could view Münster's famous landmarks, recognizable by now

after several visits to see her over the past years.

She was up for walking the 15 minutes back to to her complex, trooper that she is,

passing many of the Münster highlights that by now are familiar to us.

Once back at the complex, we said our goodbyes to dear Philine, leaving for home at 3pm., fully thankful and relieved to see her being taken care of.  She's mostly on her own these days, at age 83, having lost her mother and brother in recent years.  Some of her past friends are also gone but we fully expect that by the next time we see her again, she'll have gained many NEW friends there where she lives.  

In the meantime, we'll stay in touch with Philine on our Shutterchance photoblog, where she posts regularly at Philine.  It's a small world after all, isn't it!  Exactly the way we like it.