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Birthday bubbly, after Mah Jong
before Chinese feast!
Chef to the right of the picture. |
I have delayed this week’s blog till next week in a burst of
birthday festivity. First as I opened up my Lenovo this morning, it
was charming to read on-screen, “Averil Clayton’s birthday
Tomorrow all day.” Even my computer loves me once a year, I
thought! After Petanque [much-loved but seldom-played these last
several weeks!] was cancelled yet again in the face of robust showers
nicely timed for 9.00 a.m. I was thus home when a delivery man called
with TWO bouquets. He was happy to catch me as one bouquet sender had
specified, After 17.00 and the other, Before mid-day. Lovely to
discover the beautifully-coordinated roses were from California and
the other with my favourite Agapanthus shining azure in the floral
midst, from local friends. How lucky am I! The subsequent activity
involving throwing away the last two weeks’ flowers after rescuing
still-living stems and blooms for small vases, and incidentally
scattering many petals from the fading flowers over the black-tiled
floor nicely-timed to be sprinkled around by the stiff breeze from
the open terrace door. It took forever as I arranged, clipped,
selected but eventually after finishing my truly enjoyable
chores, a friend arrived to pick up something before her departure
for France tomorrow and she left promising a birthday bottle of
French wine!! This birthday lark should definitely occur more often
though the mounting numbers might give pause for thought!!
I wrote
the above four days ago since when I have received a total of FIVE
bouquets, all gorgeous! One from my Suffolk daughter; one from my son;
one from my Oud Huis Amsterdam friends; all these added to the one
from California daughter and the one from three local friends. Today,
resting in my floral flat, I am still very tired after a succession
of lovely activities, small in scope but more frequent than the
normal rate of action!! The usual coffee with the girls, on my
birthday by chance; brunch with my lovely friend and neighbour
Michele at Cafe Adriaan on my birthday plus a couple of hours of
family Facetime too in the evening. Thursday morning Mah Jong with
bubbly and Nancy’s wonderful Chinese lunch with barely sufficient
rest time before I tottered over to the Oud Huis Amsterdam and more
bubbly with my group. Friday too tired to move though did my weekly
training with weights etc by a miracle, and entertained a friend,
bringing a cadeautje of beer, in late afternoon! Today, Saturday, to
the market to buy a plant to take tomorrow to a friend after which I
located de Bruhne in Sint Salvatorskoorstraat which a friend had
recommended for its take-away.
De
Bruhne turned out to be amazing! Anna is the owner with her husband
and frankly I was so entertained and impressed by her. In her early
seventies I would guess, she was delightful and forthright. She only
uses organic ingredients and prefers not to use eggs. She flashed a
card featuring a handsome cockerel [Belgian obvs!] to underline the fact
that “
We don’t use chicken from Vietnam!” I caught a glimpse of
her husband [grey hair and similar age] in the kitchen and discovered
that that is the entire de Buhne team. Her containers, plastic to you
and me, are beautiful and special, as she noted, and suitable for
both microwaves and normal ovens. They can confidently and stylishly be taken to
the table, as Anna pointed out. She asked me about myself and when I
explained she said it was a beautiful story. She supervised my
descent from her front steps before returning inside to serve the
next waiting customer and frankly I floated away on my post-Anna
cloud. Astonishing how a short transactional meeting with a
restaurant/take-away patron can colour the day positive!!
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This gives barely a nod to the delicacies available
chez de Buhne! All made by Anna. |
I had
received a birthday note from beloved Sarah Pacini in Nordzandstraat
giving me 50 euros deduction as a present. Lovely gesture for me and
shrewd move from S. P. Sales Manager!! I needed a pair of black
trousers and would not have gone to S. P after spending a
mind-numbing amount on an outfit there last week. [Excuse to myself
then: I will save it for the first of two family weddings next
year!] And that amount had been after considerable sales period
savings! But, today, riding on my Anna-cloud, I went straight to
Sarah Pacini and bought the needed black trousers and a super chic
black and white knitted sort of cardigan for the Autumn, suggested by
the assistant, the lovely Tinette, because of additional astonishing
savings. I had, by amazing synchronicity,
hit the first hour of Final Reductions! She did, in fact, say, “Now this is a little bit naughty
of me but do look at this; amazing savings!” Etc!! Result: My
birthday high spanned four entire days so that I hardly noticed the
increased age number!!
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Back view of fab black and white
Sarah Pacini cardigan. |
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