Belated Birthday Blog

I am now 34 years old. Half a life ago I was seventeen years old and a junior at Klein High School (terrifying thought). It seems like an instant jolt into adulthood, this evenly aged year and being half way to 68.

Do I feel different? Not really. I'm just larger around the middle thanks to Portland, Oregon’s phenomenal breweries.

During the week of my birthday I enjoyed several fine evenings with friends. We talked about our current projects, the state of the world, the loves in our lives, played Apples to Apples, and I got presents.

My Fantastic Gifts

While in Santa Fe, New Mexico, Suzie got me this amazing Icon of San Juan Apostle – “Patron Saint of Bookbinders, papermakers, printers, engravers, typesetters, writers, publishers, editors, painters, art dealers and against poisoning & burns”. I think I am now covered in all areas.

Suzie and her husband Don also brought me some pint glasses and four tasty IPAs (Dogzilla Black IPA, Laurelwood Green Elephant IPA, Deschutes Hop Henge IPA, Hair of the Dog’s Blue Dot). Don says I have to wait to drink the Blue Dot so it can age. Pure torture, says I.

Paige and fab fiancé Mark brought me this vintage book on doll making. How to Make Dolls - Doll Clothes and Doll Furniture by Nickie Edwards, Key Publishing Company, New York, copyright 1956 (hence the Mammy-Doll on page 53 – yikes!).

Amity, artist extraordinaire, brought me all of this amazingly beautiful fabric.

Bethany found this Jumping Wind-Up Dog for me in a NE Portland resale shop. He’s very cute. My cats love how much larger they are than him.

Half Life

So in honor of this big 34 I boldly opened my journal from my birthday in 1993. I had just turned 18. Close enough to half of this life I have led. My thoughts weren’t all that different. I was just as intrigued then as I am now by my friends who are so unique and different from me, and by boys who claimed that I am beautiful and perfect yet want nothing to do with me physically (you know who you are!).

High school was an odd time but let’s face it. How much do we really change after that? Sure we might mellow out a bit. Maybe we have families. We come to terms with the fact that every lovely boy we meet is not going to drop at our feet and surrender. But fundamentally we are the same person. We’ve just added on experience after experience over the years. At least that is the case with me. I treasure each and every moment - even the ones that suck.