And a good birthday was had by Katia :)

Gifts from me to her:

Card featuring a kitten sitting on a large turtle, looking at each other, with the text inside "Birthdays have a way of sneaking up on you, don't they?".

Small stack of gourmet chocolates (Ghirardelli and something else).

Adorable statuette of a pair of dachsunds attacking a sock, from Hallmark (she adores dachsunds).

Stuffed sea lion (named Sealia, heh) from Sweetwater Market, because she loved the sea lions at the Central Park Zoo.

Dinner cruise on the M/V Manhattan, which went splendidly despite the intermittent rainstorm. I had "Grilled Ribeye Steak with Caramelized Onions and Demi Glace", she had "Seared Salmon With Herbed Garlic Butter" (hence the Thing Learned the other morning); appetizer was a salmon chowder, wine was a very tasty blush. And despite a small leak of rainwater onto my head once, and an overcharge for drinks we didn't get from the cash bar, which was then corrected, we had a great time.

Yay! =)

This one's for Jester :)

From the 25 July 2001 Onion

Anne Geddes Starting To Lose It