By now I have had 74 birthdays, some I cannot remember, but many I can. I actually remember as far back as my 4th birthday. I remember what I wore, the birthday party in the backyard, and saying proudly, "Now, I'm four years old," as my mother listened. There have been many since and all some deserving of their own blog. However, the one I want to focus on is the one I just celebrated this past week.
This year I spent my birthday in Pittsburgh with my younger son, John. I actually arrived on the day before (Wed. the 19th). It was so great to see my son again. We spent a casual afternoon together which included a delicious lunch at a local Thai restaurant. Later we chilled and watched Netflix and had a good time catching up with each other.
The next day my birthday really came alive. My phone began loading with texts and even a video of two friends singing Happy Birthday. My Bible Study girlfriends called and sang over the phone with their own glorious version of Happy Birthday. I cannot even describe the Face Book Responses! I got so many extremely kind birthday wishes with compliments that were overwhelming. My son, Robert, wrote a post that would melt any mother's heart. It was all incredible.
John and I went out that afternoon to a nursery that was comparable to the Dallas Arboretum. The flowers were breathtaking. We selected flowers to plant in his backyard and also got two hanging baskets for his front porch. The weather was really warm so we decided that the planting would be done the next morning when it was cooler.
Plus, we had to get ready to go out for my birthday dinner at Altius which is an exclusive restaurant located on Mt. Washington that overlooks Pittsburgh, very close to the Incline. It featured Chef Jessica Bauer's contemporary American cuisine and was truly a premiere dining experience. There are no words for the beauty of the views from our table as we saw the rivers, yellow bridges and fabulous skyline of Pittsburgh. It was an absolutely incredible evening.
On Friday morning we planted the flowers in John's backyard. He has a big project planned back there and it is going to look great.
After we finished with our planting, we went to meet Allison Fong for coffee at the California Coffee Bar. Allison is Taylor's wife who I met at the Trombone Retreat a few years ago. They are expecting a baby boy (who they are naming Harrison) in August. We had fun visiting with her and talking about baby things. We were also anticipating the fact that Taylor would be our special waiter when we went out to dinner later that night. After saying good-bye to Allison, we went for lunch at a neat cafe named Mezza Luna. It was so fun to eat at all of these places that were chains or places I was familiar with.
On Friday night we went downtown to eat at a restaurant named Eddie V's. When we arrived, Taylor had arranged for a three layered tower of seafood to be waiting for us. It was scrumptious and beautiful, too. Wow, it just started off the night of unbelievable service by Taylor. He said we were the first friends he had ever served personally. Eddie V's delivers a world class dining experience and is known for its seafood, steaks and curated cocktails. (I was excited to find there is one in Dallas). Our food would be hard to describe since every bite was so good. Of course, the celebratory champagne and delicious wine certainly added to the occasion. Taylor ended our meal by bringing out a dessert tray of Creme Brulee, Bananas Foster, ice cream, cookies band biscotti. Oh, my gosh, it was so fun! Truly another unforgettable night.
My reservation was for me to go home on Saturday but John invited me to stay an extra day. I wanted to be able to just chill out after the past two days and I also wanted to see how the new patio furniture would look that John bought on Friday. It turned out great. His front porch is really coming along and will be a great place for him to entertain friends. We ended the day by dinner at home and watching a movie.
Sunday morning John cooked a fantastic breakfast and afterwards we headed to the airport. It is always hard for me to say good-bye to John when I leave Pittsburgh but I am comforted by how great he is doing and how happy he seems to be. I must add that this was the best visit in Pittsburgh that I have ever had!
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