Not Just A Number!

Not Just A Number!

I have to say I’m amazed that I’ve just turned 70, but more than amazed, I am so very grateful for the opportunity to do so.  

My older brother Tim didn’t get the chance and neither did my mom.  So, I’m feeling quite honored and special to have been given, what I would consider this “Moment in time.” 

Denny planned a five-night stay at the beautiful Marriott Shadow Ridge Resort in Palm Springs, California to celebrate the occasion. He and I and Craig drove over on Wednesday and Jeff and Rose and our 3 grandsons came in on Friday evening.  My sisters and two nieces from Arizona joined us on Saturday. 

On Wednesday evening, Denny and I had dinner with Don and Marianne Barneson, friends of ours from California that we hadn’t had the chance to have a good visit with for a long time. 

They invited us to their beautiful home in La Quinta.  Don cooked steaks and we had a great time remembering the great times we had when we all lived in Orange Co. and played golf at Candlewood Country Club. 

On Thursday night we met Ross and Ilene Grabel, more friends from Orange Co. but who now live in Palm Desert. We ate at Bucatini’s Italian Restaurant. The Chicken Marsala and the seafood pasta were delicious as well as the garlic flat bread. 

If you like Italian food and you’re in the Palm Desert area, I definitely recommend Bucatini’s.  We went back to their house for a night cap.  It was wonderful seeing where they live and catching up on their families and lives. We all agreed we love retired life, playing golf, bridge and just having the time to do what we want to do. 

It’s always a thrill when those three grandsons of ours come busting in with hugs and kisses, so Friday couldn’t come soon enough. They arrived about 8 in the evening, with cards and packages, and a video the five of them had put together of songs and birthday dances and sentiments to last a lifetime. 

A Big thank you goes out to Jeff and Rose for the wonderful gift of having a photographer set up for a family photo on Saturday morning.  She was wonderful, she took pictures from three different areas of the golf course we were staying on. We all wore green or blue and the lush green landscape, flowers, and waterfalls, made a gorgeous background. 

Jeff and Rose made dinner reservations Saturday evening for the 13 of us at Casuelas Café. It was a fun, family-owned Mexican restaurant, and we had our own room and a wonderful waitress.  Back at the hotel we celebrated with giant balloons (a 7 and an 0,) along with chocolate cake, with white frosting. 

Swimming was the main attraction when we weren’t eating, enjoying a cocktail or two and catching up on everyone’s lives. Oh! how time just keeps marching on and so much can get lost when we don’t see each other as often as we wish we could. 

It was hard saying good-bye to everyone on Sunday. The Arizona gang had to get back as did Jeff and Rose for school and work the next day. 

This family of mine inspires me to make some crazy great things happen this year. The whole family wasn’t there, but the ones who were able to come, each played a Big part in making this the best birthday I can ever remember.

  

Instead of making a wish when I blew out the candles this year, I made a promise to myself that this will be the best year of my life yet. 

We met Ross and Ilene again for dinner Sunday evening, this time at Cactus Jack’s a local bar and grill known for their prime rib. The food was great! Service was excellent and Denny said they make a very good Manhattan. 

When we got home on Monday, I had a package waiting for me from  my sisters and nieces. It was an Isabel Bloom sculpture. I’ve wanted this one for a long time and there it was delivered to my front door.

Isabel Bloom is a local artist from the Quad Cities, where my family was born and raised. Her shop is in Moline, Illinois, there’s also one in Davenport, Iowa. 

All of us have a pretty good collection, but now I have my cherished birdbath!