Delicious day

Pardon the lighting. I assure you it tasted better than it looks, and I was just too eager to dig in that I screwed up the exposure.

So if you can't tell that it's a filet au poivre, a cone of frites and a nice bottle of Malbec, I'm sorry. I'm not sorry I scarfed it down (with a bite of Robert's duck confit salad, and after the pâté we shared).

A meal fit for a . . . birthday, and one where the odometer rolls big time.

I'd been dreading it -- well, "dread" is too strong a word; but certainly not looking forward to it.

And then in the shower in the morning I started laughing. At least I can still bathe myself, I thought. Small blessings.

And then the large blessing of having this meal, at 915, just around the corner.