Round up twice the usual number of suspects

This last week was my birthday. It was just as unusual this year as it has been the previous two years.

Last birthday no one was here but me, and our new kitten escaped just as I was finally filled with enough Chardonay to be fully relaxed and to cope with being by my lone self on my special day. I found the him in my unfriendly neighbor's garage under his car. He had positioned himself regally on the concrete and was quite out of reach. I stumbled around with my neighbor's broom trying to excise the cat somehow with a minimum of noise so as to not draw their attention. Well, its a pretty involved story.

Then the previous year in the early morning, the dog and I found a baby swallow that had fallen from its nest, and worked to keep it warm and full enough until we could get it to a bird shelter that opened at noon. I went to the internet to find out what to feed it (crushed dog kibble with a little warm water administered through an eye dropper). It's neck was so transparent you could see the food go all the way down!

This year I made it clear to Esperando that his presence WAS required on my birthday, come hell or high water. Esperando's plane landed at 11:3o pm from Mexico (it was my third trip to the airport in 24 hours--Uncle from Ontario, Mother from San Francisco, Esperando from Loreto.) As we drove back from the airport the magic hour arrived-- midnight. Now it was officially my birthday! He woke me up at 5 am and said, "Happy birthday, I need to go to the emergency room," since he couldn't pee. Wow, what an eye opener!! By the time the hospital was done with him at the end of the day, he was pretty washed out. Fortunately my mother, uncle and sister were here to keep me company as Esperando, poor guy, melted away into the bedroom shortly after birthday cake. What could possibly top this one next year? I shudder to think.

Today Esperando is mostly fully recovered, and all my other guests have gone back to their respective homes. Tonight we are grilling buffalo steaks and enjoying the great bottle of Jaffurs Syrah 2006 from Santa Barbara County that my sister gave me as a birthday gift. I highly recommend it. Esperando has been sidelined until we leave for Baja, a big plus for me even though he will be working from home.