Happy Birthday Marion!!

I forget EVERYBODY'S birthdays.

I consider it a personality flaw. Really. I SUCK AT IT...

To be fair -- I really don't expect anybody to remember my birthday, either -- so don't think you can get back at me by ignoring my birthday. I honestly won't notice...

Really, the older I get -- the LESS I WANT TO CELEBRATE. But I realize that's not how everybody feels about it.

And I think a person's birthday SHOULD BE A SPECIAL DAY....complete with the perfect chocolate cake...and well wishes from the people who KNOW IT'S YOUR SPECIAL DAY...That's the whole point of birthdays, eh??

So -- with that in mind -- HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MARION!!

Because my young Canadian friend has a birthday on the last day of January (right? or was it yesterday??)...I am making this my blogging mission for 2012. Because I am WAY BETTER at the blogging thing than I am at the birthday thing -- I'm going to use the blog as my own personal "birthday card" to people who I love.

AGAIN -- HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MARION!!

And I am already looking forward to our 2012 road trip. Where will it be this year?

The LAST time we got together -- Marion was recovering from chemo...so she booked us into a fabulous hotel in downtown Chicago...where she could do a little shopping therapy...

We had a wonderful time taking the Frank Lloyd Wright architectural tour...

And we LOVED, LOVED, LOVED the boat tour of Chicago...I'd recommend this to anybody visiting the Windy City!!

Of course -- you MUST go to the Art Institute....

This is one of my favorite pics -- a mirror shot in the hotel room.


For me, the living memento of that great Chicago trip -- when we stayed at the JAMES HOTEL -- was popovers!! I will always remember that fabulous dinner -- when they delivered a hot, crisp popover, in it's own little metal pan -- it was SO DELICIOUS....and as I went on and on about it...you were amazed, and said, "I can't believe you've never had a popover."

You have brought a lot of joy into my life, Marion -- and we've had so many wonderful trips together. New York City, Arizona, that car trip through Oregon? Remember that little breakfast joint with five tables and the homemade bread?? Our writing workshop adventures...where we learned,

"why would anybody write fiction when the truth is so bizarre, it will NEVER let you down!"

Because we met when we were both in the fabric business -- there were sewing machine conventions -- you visiting my store, me visiting your stores. Your visits to Iowa -- sitting on the porch -- my trips to Kingston, Ontario -- learning how to Kayak (okay -- that never happened)..

OH MY GOD -- what was your favorite trip? NYC?? Upstate New York....visiting FDR's home -- and eating lunch at the CIA...??

Thanks for all of it, Marion -- and HAPPY BIRTHDAY. I'm going to make popovers today -- IN YOUR HONOR. Every time I make them, I think of them as a gift you gave me. (even though, in ALL THE TIMES I VISITED YOU -- you never ONCE made me a popover!!)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MARION...I can hardly wait to see where we're going to go next!!