birthday celebration, part i

today, my parents came to baltimore for a dual birthday visit (my mother's is june 26; mine is july 1), and along with salimah, we all went to the baltimore museum of art to see their cassatt/whistler exhibit. not the most impressive thing ever, but i got to see some nice etchings of venice and figure drawings of mothers with their children. very pleasant and enjoyable to wander around and then browse in the gift shop. salimah bought me an extra long postcard with a print of 'nighthawks' by edward hopper, a magnet for the fridge, and a couple of ink stamps for my letter writing endeavors.

afterwards, we drove to greektown and had a scrumptious dinner at ikaros, a baltimore institution for 30+ years. spanikopita, moussaka, lamb so tender it fell apart when you stabbed it with your fork, soft, hot bread, salad with huge chunks of fresh feta cheese, cocktails, yummy galaktoboureko (custard topped with phyllo dough and sugary syrup), good conversation, relaxed time together. i was sad to see my parents go, but thankful that the time had gone so well....

after a brief nap, salimah and i drove to barnes & noble to read and have some drinks (her, a white chocolate mocha and me, a chai creme frappucino). i started a new book from my collection and am already finding myself marveling (some 10 pages in) at anne lamott's well-crafted prose.

tonight, as we drove home through the cool night air, i couldn't help but think that today was just so nice....i had made a decision this morning that i would enjoy whatever came my way today, and i had no problem feeling really pleased about it all. perhaps this will turn out to be a good birthday after all. stay tuned. tuesday is just around the corner:)....