Birthday pics

I had one of the best birthday weekends ever (yes..it's been a good month) a couple of weeks ago...I went on a lunch cruise with my future mother-in-law Ms. Evans. It was fantastic to see Philadelphia from another angle, on the Delaware River with the various bridges and foliage in the background. The best part was the fact that unbeknownst to us it was a gospel cruise, which meant I FINALLY got to hear African-American gospel music...something I've been dying to do for years. It was always looks so festive and energizing when I see performances on TV but I have never made it into a church to see for myself. Just down our block, there is a church where all the ladies and gentlemen come so finely dressed every Sunday...big colorful hats and all...which has been making me want to go listen even more. Lo and behold I got to do so on my birthday! It was SUCH fun and very energizing. Then Hasan and I went to dinner and then to see Billy Crystal's new play 700 Sundays, which I highly recommend if you get a moment. Can you imagine his family....they started Commodore Records on 42nd Street and produced Count Basie, Duke Ellington, and Billie Holiday. In fact he went to his first movies with Billie Holiday. How very cool...



The Monday after I got to see some of my family...drove up to Parsippany NJ at the crazy hour of 5 am and spent the day eating, eating and more eating. How nice is it when your aunts and uncle make everything you want to eat? They even had a surprise birthday cake and balloon for me - which by the way is the gift that keeps on giving: our cat Roxie cannot get enough of this balloon and string; it's making her practice her jumping skills in a big way.



Here are some pics of the weekend...with captions on all of them, as per Hillary's request.