My Fun Birthday

The day began shortly after we got up to exercise. My in-laws called at about 6:15 to sing me Happy Birthday. After nearly killing myself on the treadmill I took a leisurely morning getting ready before Mom picked me up. We first went to the local beauty school to have a manicure and pedicure each. My manicure didn't turn out so well, but the pedicure was great. That's one of my favorite ways to pamper myself. Mom had a book in her purse that she read to me between treatments. The chapter she read me was about the need of men (it was written by a man) to pull out their tools during a home improvement project and use their tools. Then other men get in on the act and before you know it there are seven men in the house and 12 cantaloupe-sized holes in the wall. Eventually they had to hire professionals to fix what they had done. She thought it pertinent when I showed her the pictures on my camera of a dividing wall coming down in the store remodel. That wall, however, came down just fine. Maybe it's because there were only three men involved rather than seven. I digress.

After our fingers and toes were made lovely we went up to Salt Lake to have afternoon tea at the Grand America hotel. It was divine. Our first stop was the bathroom. Everything was automatic (a fetish of mine) and even the stalls were luxurious. The stall doors reach from floor to ceiling, the walls are marble, and every stall has its own chandelier. After you wash your hands you dry then on cloth hand towels. I don't get to do that very often.

When we reached the reservation desk we were escorted to a lovely couch with a coffee table in front.

One of the most noticeable things on the table is the goblet with the pellet in it. Mom had told me about it before. It is actually a flower. Steaming water is poured into the goblet and the flower blooms.















I thought it was pretty cool. Mom ordered the Spiced Plum and I had the French Verveine tea. We enjoyed the music from the harpist as they brought out the food.





There are a lot of things on the plate I can't name, but my favorite was the salmon patte (middle row on the right). The cranberry scone (top left) was to be eaten with any of three different condiments: raspberry jam, lemon custard, or clotted cream. My favorite was the combination of raspberry jam and clotted cream. SO good! We ate slowly enough to savor every bite. Then it was time for dessert.


The options were cheesecake (I am one of three people on the planet who think cheesecake is an abomination), chocolate mousse cake, or a choice of three small desserts. I went with that one. There were several things on the tray to choose from and I opted for the eclair, fruit tart, and opera cake. All the desserts come with amazing strawberries and cream. I thought the opera cake would be my least favorite of the three, so I started to eat that first. Opera cake should be eaten in moderation, lest one should become used to ecstasy for the mouth. I took very small bites to make it last a very long time. The name Divinity should be used for this cake, not for the treat that already has that name. The rest of the desserts were about what you would expect, but a little bit better.

After we ate our dessert we went outside and walked around the garden. We took a few pictures (one is on my profile now) and then waddled to the car. We next went to see Becoming Jane at the American Fork theater. I enjoyed the movie, but disagreed with some of the choices she made. As my writing attests, I am not Jane Austen. Different decisions for different people. I did, however, agree with her big decision at the end.

Mom took me home after that and Eric made me a lovely dinner. It was a fabulous day. Thanks, Mom.