Ellen's Wonderful Birthday Weekend

Ellen did it! She turned 58 without even so much as a teardrop falling! Most people celebrate one day, but we celebrated all weekend! It was great. It began on Friday when we cooked lobster tails at Sharon's house. Yum, Yum! On her birthday, she got to talk to Nichole in Copenhagen on SKYPE. That is such a fun way to keep up with friends and relatives who live far away. She opened presents from them. They were really cool things from Crate and Barrel. One was a wine cooler. It is remarkable in that it keeps the bottle very cool even when not in the refrigerator. We have used that a lot already. The other was a carafe which I am sure will also be used frequently. Presents from others included a ticket to see "Phantom of the Opera" in Las Vegas in March, a new-fangled paper towel holder, a flash drive, and a new CD of beautiful string orchestra music. We went to dinner at Red Lobster on Saturday evening, and then to the symphony orchestra concert. It was truly a wonderful evening.
All of that should have been enough for anybody's birthday, huh? But, not for Ellen! On Sunday morning at church, the entire congregation sang, "Happy Birthday", to her.
Later that day, her son, Joe, and Sharon's husband, Paul, came for a delicious dinner. So, you see, we really did celebrate all weekend long.
Today will add to the celebration because the staff at school will provide lunch for her, and the kids will add their birthday wishes. What fun times we had.