My Birthday!

Usually my birthday is a fairly intimate affair with most of the family being in the UK so today it was lovely to have a few of my favourite people visiting.
Part of my celebrations was a trip to the Meditation Path at the High Coast Hotel. Along the path is a large windshelter with a fireplace inside. We took firewood with us and lit a fire to see how it worked. Some smoke went up the chimney but an awful lot eddied around inside the shelter! However, the view, seen here, was great. The dramatic sunshine, cloud, and shadows made it even better than usual.
Note the total lack of ice on the river!
We came home to a delicious meal, and some birthday cake, before heading out again to FilmStudio and the film "The Journey", about a part of the Northern Ireland peace process.
As part of my birthday I received some interesting books that may be featured in a future blip. Just now I'm reading "Talking to My Daughter About the Economy" by Yanis Varoufakis, which I'm really enjoying. I'm a bit doubtful about some of the history details he mentions but his explanations of economy, of a market economy, and of banks and crises are simply explained in a very credible way.
This is a backblip - today's blip is here.