So, our youngest (now almost 35) was visiting for the weekend a couple of weeks ago with her two of our eight grandchildren and I noted that today is our 40th wedding anniversary. I said that I thought it was an achievement our children should recognize while Sahib was not enthusiastic (as he isn’t in celebrating special days of any sort!). I thought, at the least, I should get flowers!

Well, in the ongoing Pandemic World, our three kids, like most normal people, have learned to shop online effectively – even from thousands of miles away in Canada (VCR area, Edmonton AB, and Burlington). They have also roped in my brother and his wife in Edmonton and a friend in Germany! I don’t know who sent what beyond the Amazon delivery from my brother and his wife yesterday that gave a foretaste of things to come:

Yup, my flowers became flours! And, I should have plenty of good baking days ahead since this is the haul starting at 10 am and about every other hour since until now at just after 3 pm:

I would not be surprised were there more to come (maybe even some flowers beyond those on the e-card sent by my brother?)!

We actually had a celebratory dinner last night since our favourite restaurant is closed Sundays and enjoyed a feast of sushi that we opted, in these 6th wave of Pandemic times, to pick up and bring home!

And, looking at this picture, I think about past travels – both for work and pleasure – as I note the table cloth and napkins made from fabric bought on our 30th Anniversary trip to St. Paul de Vence, France, placemats bought in Bogota, Colombia on a work trip, jade chopsticks and rests bought during a work trip to Beijing, China, a ceramic tile I painted in Ankara, Turkey while visiting a friend, the hotpad under the bottle of wine that was my grandparents and which sat on my mother’s kitchen for years after their death until it came to me, the grass hot pads under the daffodils from our garden – one of which was, again, my grandparents, the rest of which were bought at the Naschtmarkt when we were living in Vienna, Austria, the wine glasses that were wedding gifts and the chairs that were a fixture in my Great-Aunt Molly’s kitchen in Toronto as I was growing up! So many, many memories – all in one photo!

With thanks for children with the wit and savvy to make our day special!