Happy Birthday, Arne!

Arne didn't want to acknowledge another birthday but I did it anyway. I gave him a book on "Nature of Florida" along with "Florida Weather" and a rain gauge. He was interested in meteorology as a youth and has loved the thunderstorms we frequently have here.

I told Arne I was taking him out for dinner to a place of his choosing. He chose Crispers where he had tomato bisque soup and large Greek salad. He said it was delicious. For dessert, we drove to McDonald's for a hot fudge sundae.

We then decided to "explore" and drove down a road we'd not been on before. It was a beautiful drive and just minutes from the shopping strips. On the left side of the road were homes in The Villages and on the right side were cattle, acreages, and horses. At one time, this area was mostly pasture and known as horse country.

We no sooner walked in the door than the phone started ringing with birthday wishes. Cousin Eileen called from California. Lisa called from Mesa and got Erik on the line so the four of us could talk. Aaron finally got through. He had sent a text message and an email earlier in the day. It was nice to hear from all of them.