Sunday, November 13, 2016

Sunday, November 13, 2016


Tonight's picture was taken in November of 2008. Actually right before Peter's birthday. I know this because Mattie had his second major limb salvaging surgery the day before Peter's birthday (November 12). Therefore, Mattie wanted to give Peter a birthday gift early. Mattie made this wonderfully colorful model magic birthday cake for Peter. It is a beautiful cake and it still sits atop of our bedroom bureau as a reminder of that moment in time. 






Quote of the day: Volunteers don't get paid, not because they're worthless, but because they're priceless.  ~ Sherry Anderson

Today is Peter's birthday! This is how his day started out.... Sunny and I sat on the couch and gave Peter several birthday gifts. Peter is sitting with two of his gifts.... a frame and mug, both of which have the "rescue dad" theme. The frame says, "who rescued who," and includes a photo of Sunny and Peter at Great Falls park. The mug says, "rescue dad" on one side and the other side says, "never underestimate the warmth of a cold nose."


Sunny went to his Canine Good Citizen training today, and today's session went better than last week's. Maybe things were too new last week and the initial experience was overwhelming and chaotic. This week, I understood what was going to be expected and I can see the teacher loves Sunny. After all, who doesn't love Sunny?! I haven't met one person yet!!! This training class is four weeks long and then on December 4th, Sunny takes a test with an evaluator, who assesses him and my handling abilities. We need to pass this Canine Good Citizen test in order to qualify for enrollment into pet therapy classes. 

As the day wore on, we were both tired and with that comes edginess. Peter even debated about whether we should go out, and if so where? Peter did not want me to make a big deal of his birthday, but I did have several restaurants in mind to celebrate the occasion. However, I made the decision that it would be nice to walk to dinner and stay local and I decided on the Lombardy Cafe, located within the Lombardy Hotel in Foggy Bottom, DC. 

The Hotel was built in 1927 and has true old world flair, but the service inside the hotel matches a by-gone era. Over the years, with my parents visiting DC, they fell in love with the Lombardy Cafe and the waiter who works within it. It was my parents who introduced me to Mohammad. Which is rather funny since Mohammad's restaurant is several blocks from where I live, and my parents live in Los Angeles. Sure enough Mohammad was a the cafe tonight and spoiled Peter and treated him to a dessert for his birthday! Check out this beautiful rack of lamb we each had for dinner. 

We ended the night with homemade chocolate mousse and fresh berries. It was a very special evening, and even more special to be in a restaurant that isn't congested, loud, and frenetic. I could see Peter relaxing as we both enjoyed wonderful food.