Birthday Bash

It was Jeanette's son's idea for her to be with her sisters as a celebration of her sixtieth, which she then took up and made happen, not without difficulty. As she said, life is short, and we don't get together often enough.

Her birthday was actually in May, but today Leyna treated her to a special meal in a small restaurant in Spain that we love. I took candles for them to put on her dessert, and then everyone said they were too full for dessert... except her, phew! Miguel, the waiter, winked at me and came back, candles ablaze and "Happy Birthday" in English blaring over the loudspeakers - so noisy, so Spanish, so fun.

Gratefuls:
- Jeanette, our little sister, born in Manaus, in the place we were staying, with an English midwife in attendance
- surviving another blazing hot day (over 40C/104F plus) without too much distress, with various coping strategies, like the wine vat
- an outing tonight to Monsaraz, where we watched lines of satellites promenading across the sky, seemingly emerging from the Big Dipper

Extra: a photo of the three of us, with our parents, on a visit to America (about 1966) - Jeanette is the one in our Mum's arms. The photos are of our half siblings.