Pretty damn good

Thank you all for the birthday well wishes. ?I was a little overwhelmed. ?Every time I opened my email I would have 6-10 new ones.

My birthday celebration actually started on Sunday. ?It was the first time the trusty husband and I have been able to celebrate together. ?Meaning my birthday and Father’s Day. ?For Father’s Day we spent it running around Portland, Oregon. ?Little decided to have my nephew’s 1st birthday party (has it been 1 year already) on Father’s Day. ?That meant we had to drive down to Portland. ?Never a fun experience in my opinion. ?However, we made the best of it by staying Saturday night with my sister-in-law.

G (we actually call her that btw) got up and made her brother cinnamon rolls for breakfast. ?Next to doughnuts that is his favorite. ?Of course no Lindholm meal would be complete without a trip to the store. ?So the trusty husband had to go get coffee creamer. ?After breakfast we did the trusty husband’s next favorite thing and visited the Vancouver Farmer’s Market where he purchased his weight in berries. ?Then it was off to Leo’s party.

Once we were done with the party we headed over to the mega home improvement store to find the long sought after valves for our sprinkler system. ?It just so happens that next door was a bike shop. ?I let the boy pick what he wanted to get his dad (I gave him options). ?He chose a bike seat. ?We found the bike seat and then were off to buy one of my birthday gifts. ?I didn’t know where we were going, but by the time we entered my favorite NE Portland neighborhood (where I would totally want to live if I ever had to move to Portland) I knew where we were headed.

We pulled into the parking lot at Portland Nursery and the trusty husband took me to the tool section. ?They had the tool that I wanted. ?It was very exciting. ?From there we ventured into downtown Portland for coffee. ?Originally hunting for a Peet’s we ditched that idea for Stumptown once we crossed the Burnside Bridge. ?Coffee in hand, we went back to G’s for a lovely dinner and another birthday present for me (an iTunes gift card that was used to purchase Big Whiskey).

That’s a whole lot of Sunday.

Yesterday was a nice leisurely day. ?We trekked out to South Hill for lunch at Sonic (just so I could have a Cherry Lime-Aide). ?It took me back to working in Southern Utah when we lived in Vegas. ?I broke in my new hoe and did a little more gardening.

In the evening the trusty husband made me a lovely dinner of halibut on the grill, fried rice and steamed broccoli. ?It was perfect. ?After dinner I was given an actual gift to open. ?I like to open presents. ?Inside was a truly surprising gift. ?Derek found a copy of The Artful Dodger by Nick Bantock. ?It is his “autobiography” and personal reflections on his art.

Nick Bantock is one of my favorite artists. ?His layers upon layers of different material and the way he can use a pencil to sketch something that looks like a photograph are amazing. ?I own every single one of the Griffin & Sabine books and have read them over and over. ?I’ve studied his collage work and tried to copy some of it. ?This book is like a little peek into his mind and I can’t stop looking at it. ?It was one of the best gifts I’ve ever received. ?Mostly because it wasn’t something that I’ve ever asked for and he knows how much I love Bantock’s art. ?Thank you babe!

I would have to say that turning 33 was pretty damn good.