A day on which wisdom and wrinkles accrue

So now I am no longer the answer to Life, the Universe, and Everything, but at least I am prime. At 8:30 a.m., I got presents and singing from R. and D., then they left. J. logged on at 9 a.m. and spent the next hour with me, and I opened the present he'd left here a few weeks ago. I also let him try the monkey game in the e-card keyboard_monkey had sent. My mom called and sang, too. Then... I curled up with Robin and went back to sleep!

Finally I mustered the energy to go to work. Judith also sent me an e-card, one which had me do a quiz and then created a reality series personalized for me! Basically, I will win $118,000 if I spent 8 months in Crete with 118 of my friends and our pet wallaby and manage to convince the locals that we are Lithuanians. The completion of this card left me with slightly eerie jungle music coming out of my computer speakers while I processed this week's subject payments.

After a while, it occurred to me that since it was my birthday, I shouldn't be eating a boring old spinach quiche but should instead indulge in some sushi, so I went and bought that and sat around jolting myself with wasabi for a while. I left early, stopped at Chef's Kitchen for this week's menu, and was on my way home when I realized that I had time to go walk in the woods a bit, which I did. The day was chilly and grey -- high fog rather than clouds -- and all the bright, dark, November colors (the reds and golds of the leaves, the dark greens of the conifers) took on a pastel quality so typical of Oregon winters. I especially liked one storm-mangled oak whose thicker limbs were coated with moss so lush that ferns were sprouting from them, while the thinner branches wore pale green lichens.

I came home about when R&D did, and we ordered dinner. I had some Yaquina Bay oysters bordelaise and "halibut chanterelle" with dijon sherry sauce; R. had "Swiss chicken chanterelle" in cream with spätzele. (Chanterelles are in season -- can you tell?) As soon as we finished eating, B. arrived and gave me gifts too, and then the three qualified to do so played Settlers! The game lasted just over an hour, and R. won. Now Robin is climbing all over me deciding where to sleep, and I am about to indulge in my new books while waiting to see if J. can spare time from his homework to chat about our days.

Gifts and greetings:
Two drawings and a fuzzy lion magnet (from D.); How Right You Are, Jeeves and The Code of the Woosters (from B); the Harryhausen Sci-Fi collection ("20 Million Miles to Earth," "Earth vs. the Flying Saucers," and "The 3 Worlds of Gulliver"),a beautiful glass piece of art with swirls and bubbles that look like a Christmas tree, Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, The First Fossil Hunters: Paleontology in Greek and Roman Times, and The Art of The Two Towers (from R.); Another Fine Myth and Myth Conceptions and the Settlers game (from J.); cards, etc., from my mom, dad, sister, and in-laws; e-cards from keyboard_monkey and Judith; e-mailed or IM greetings from abbzug, Paul, DM, and JM. Whee!

And from the newspaper "birthday horoscope" and thought-for-the-day columns:

• "Use your creative talents to come up with new and prosperous ideas. An unusual turn of events will lead you into something you may not have considered in the past. Be open and receptive to suggestions. Your numbers are 18, 23, 26, 33, 41, 46."


• "You are creative, outspoken, and very intelligent. You have a worldly outlook and can see the possibilities that are available to you. You are an explorer who is always in pursuit of knowledge."


• And the thought for the day: "Let the world know you as you are, not as you think you should be, because sooner or later, if you are posing, you will forget the pose, and then where are you?" -- Fanny Brice, American actress and singer (1891-1951).

Even ultra-cynical Danae has given up her attitude for my birthday:


My official birthday self-portraits:


Thanks, everyone, for the great birthday! (Neither wiser nor wrinklier, though.)