Iva had a wonderful 37th Birthday. Iva, Karri, and I went to Kenny and Diesta’s house. We got to play with the kids (Kyrie and Jalin) and cooked up barbecue food — steaks, potatoes, and corn-on-the-cob. We used the big Brinkman BBQ that Iva and I carted over from our house. Since we only live a block-and-a-half from them, we thought we’d just wheel the BBQ down the street. Unfortunately, the wheels on the BBQ weren’t meant to travel down a street, so one fell off and I dumped piles of charcoal ash and various BBQ supplies all over the street, gashing up my legs and toes in the process.
But once we got there, it was a blast. Iva got some great presents: A special coffee blend from Kenny, a shopping trip with Diesta, a new teapot and spatula from Karri, and a medicine ball from me. You’d wonder how a spatula could be a great birthday gift, but Iva has desperately wanted one for a while now. OK, and I guess a medicine ball is a bit weird, too, but she wanted that to complement her workout regimen for abs.
The best part for me was giving her a matching Tanzanite earring and necklace set. She loves the gem (it’s a light-violet gem found only in, you guessed it, Tanzania) She even cried. She cried again when we balanced our checkbook today and she found out how much it cost. Ah, well, so we’ll be broke until next paycheck.
Meanwhile, today I continue preparing for my upcoming surgery and subsequent gimphood. I’ve moved the computer downstairs to the living room near the love seat that will be my new home for the next six weeks. During this time, I’ll be studying for many of my tests and rebuilding this website to meet some new design standards I’ve learned. I’ll also be building the website www.jenbresnahan.com for my friend Jen, a local musician here in Portland. I’ll be very “wired” the next few weeks.
The latest things I’ve posted to the website include some pictures from this summer’s Grand Rose Parade, Matt & Janel’s Wedding, the 2003 Oregon Country Fair, our hiking trip to Silver Falls, and the Seattle Hempfest last weekend and a visit with Iva’s brother Ivan (no, that’s not a typo. In her family there’s an Iva, an Eva, an Arvin, Eldon, Ellis, and strangely enough, an Ivan and a John… which is sort of like having a brother Joe and brother Jose.)
