Happy Birthday James!

August 6, 2006 -- My baby brother's 43rd birthday! As per usual we celebrated with dinner at The Old Spaghetti Factory, which is James' favorite place to celebrate. The evening was a bit of a comedy of errors as first the restaurant was busy. My meal turned out not to be very good and Olive's lasagna was dropped by the waiter face down on her place setting. Ultimately though we only had to pay for my meal (I ate half grudgingly); the restaurant didn't charge for Olive's meal which was replaced (after waiting a looong time) and of course James' meal was free being that it was his birthday. The waiting staff brought James his dessert topped with a sparkler and serenaded him with the happy birthday song. Simple things usually turn out to be the best.

I was going to post a picture of James in his younger, childhood days but was too distracted to hunt down a good picture. I'll post something like that later.

Yesterday being Friday and the end of the work week, George and I drove around our fair city. The evening was perfect for walking or doing really anything outside. It was perfect temperature and the city was bustling with activity. This is the ending of Week 1 of Folklorama and a walk arond The Forks after dark was entertaining. Outdoor watering holes at riverside with live music at one spot and competing taped music at another was enough to keep the night air humming. We walked around the site and stared at the sky which was being lit by light beams straight up into the sky as if to form a teepee. Darting in and out of the rays you could catch glimpses of fireflies flitting in and out along with sudden bursts of feathered creatures just catching the beam edge. It was just simply a most peaceful evening. I wish I had brought my camera with me last night; Winnipeg in the summer at night is quite a site, I have to admit. Next time .....

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