Happy Birthday to Me! (Warning: Contains graphic images)

Yeah, that kinda gross! My birthday week has been filled with stupid little accidents, mini-medical predicaments and lots of nice presents... and cake! The first thing that happened was Bob looked across the breakfast table at me and informed me that my eye was all red (an understatement). A broken blood vessel is to blame; I have been prone to these in the eye that I damaged. But this one was a bloody gusher and was awful enough that I called the Yale Eye Center. But they were less than impressed at my description and dismissed my concerns with a blase, "We really don't see people for those. It will go away on its own". And it is fading- finally- but I look like The Bride of Frankenstein and it's still enough to scare small children.

And then, as if to compliment the red theme of the week, I developed an heroic case of poison ivy (or oak) and broke out in itchy festering pustules. It really is nice when Nature conspires to make a physical wreck out of you for your birthday: it reinforces that underlying theme of mortality and the inevitable downward spiral to death and decay. Fun!
But despite these less than flattering additions to my 61 year old body, I really had a nice birthday week- and it's still continuing because friends are coming over on Tuesday to help celebrate. Family members gathered on Wednesday to shower me with delightful foods and wines and offer gifts in the form of clothing (to drape over the poison ivy) and smoky eye make up (to disguise that red eye) and fabulous plant material, in the form of two wonderful lilacs to add to my rapidly expanding shrub border and a variegated Physostegia virginiana to fill in one of the holes that has developed in the garden. (And contrary to the opinions of certain family members, I do NOT have too many plants and no where left to place them! I can easily think of at least ten specimens that I'd love to squeeze into my horticultural madhouse...) But where was I? Celebrating my birthday!
It's been a good birthday, despite the above afflictions and the intense heat. Bob and I had a nice, quiet birthday celebration, with more gifts and cake and sushi...
, which turned out to be a good thing as I needed all the rest I could get. When I returned to work on Friday, all hell was breaking loose because of the excitement provided by an estate sale as well as an auction. People were predictably rude and demanding- that's nothing new. But on Saturday, an elderly gentleman who is a regular (pain in the ass) showed up to do himself one better in the annoyance department. He became insulting and abusive after the prices on some books that he wanted to buy were higher than he liked. My supervisor advised me to call the police (fortunately located directly across the street) if he wouldn't leave. Believe it or not, he returned three times (!!!!) to harass and lambast us. He also stood in the parking lot and harangued my boss. I am happy to reoport that he didn't go home and get a gun and shoot us all, but it was a stressful day. Thank goodness that blasted sale is over!!