CHRISTINE TURNS 36

This post was meant to go up sooner than now, and closer to the day of my actual birthday, but the end of summer was especially full of good things and I struggled to find the words or time to update this blog.  But I have many updates!

As we're in September now, I'm mourning the end of summer, as I usually do, holding on to the last vestiges of warm weather, and hyping myself up for fall activities, trying to ignore the inevitable winter beyond that. It will be good for me to look back on memorable moments of the end of summer with these posts, as a way of reliving and cementing.

My birthday this year meant I turned 36, and happily so.  It's been better each year, the experience and lessons really showing up with their value, and me being able to access the confident parts of myself with more ease.

Each year on my birthday, I like to take the day off work and then spend the day doing something that I have been wanting to do throughout the year but hadn't done yet.  This year, I wanted to spend some much needed time with Ken and also to try one of the RVA Bike Share bikes I've been seeing pop up downtown.  We did just that: starting with breakfast at Subrosa, and then rode to Potterfield Memorial Bridge next to Brown's Island, rode across the bridge and then biked up to Perly's, one of my favorite spots, for lunch.  It was a spectacular way to spend the morning. 

I also spent some of the day pickling things and reading Ruth Reichl, which just felt right. 

Later that day, we went out to Carytown to Garden Grove with the girls and my MIL, mostly for their ginger ale, which is made in house and oh so good. 

And finished off the day with Benny's giant pizza slices. Ken and I agree it's one of our favorite places for pizza these days. 

The next day, our friends came from out of town and we had a relaxing day hanging out by the pool and ended the day with a dinner outdoors in the backyard on a long table, which was my dream - the weather was perfect, the food delicious and company delightful.

I always prefer pie to cake for my birthday and my cousin Lois delivered with her signature blueberry pie, which we stuck with candles, sang over and enjoyed for breakfast the next day. My birthday extravaganza lasted over several days this year and this pie was the perfect way to end it!