Today, my darling husband turned sixty-four. Will I still need him? You bet your sweet bippy. I would have gone completely ga-ga many moons ago if not for his steadying, his reasonable and his patient nature. Sure, we take it in turns to become lunatics, but so far we haven't both managed to lose the plot simultaneously. Perhaps we understand that one of us always needs to be relatively sane.
Will I still feed him? Absolutely. Although he can cook, Michael regards kitchen duties as tasks to be avoided at all costs. He has a habit of vanishing as I'm stacking or unstacking the dishes or handwashing a surfeit of glassware. He will, if pushed, serve dinner from time to time, cook pizza from Hills Fresh or even construct a pizza from scratch if he so desires. Having had endless disagreements about the size of cut potatoes (!), I have decreed that Michael is now In Charge of potato segmenting and cooking. He has agreed to do so with only a minuscule grumble.
This morning in bed, we were joined by the Dynamic Duo (Pip and Stella) and Madame Grumpy Cat. Astonishingly, they all eventually settled down and we enjoyed a most luxurious lie-in. A great start to the day.
We ventured off to Mundaring this afternoon. Although the expedition involved food shopping, we were determined to make the most of An Outing on his birthday. He enjoyed focaccia and coffee whilst I tackled the boring supermarket groceries. Then, at Hills Fresh, we took our time, wandering up and down the narrow aisles stuffed with interesting produce, filling our trolley with wonderful fruit and vegetables and meat. Michael's extra special treat was an assortment of baklava and a gourmet pizza for dinner.
Adam, our local tech support, dropped into Station House and presented Michael with a new drone for his birthday. We were both touched by his affection. Adam and Gem are marrying at the end of September, so Adam snatches any spare time he can to prepare "Windward Retreat" for their Big Day. Jan and Greg then duly arrived with cheese, a cheese planer for Michael and vino. They had a pizza from the Freemasons' - we had the Hills Fresh pizza. The smoked Havarti was a triumph and none of us suffered any guilt from devouring Michael's birthday cheese in one sitting.
In spite of a lack of extravagance, Michael declared his birthday a great success. Now entering his sixty-fifth year, I reminded him that I expect many more birthdays to enjoy with him, otherwise, he'd be in strife.
"How could I be in strife? I'd be dead", he commented.
"Only until I die and then I will find you and you will be in strife", I responded.
I think he has resigned himself to sticking around far longer than he and Lawrence ever thought possible.
Morning shenanigans - Pip attacks!
Retaliation by Stella...
I'll just smile for the camera!
Madame Cat exiting stage left in disgust.
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