Our beloved Joan celebrated her 23rd birthday yesterday.

She and I agonised for an age (she will claim I nagged her incessantly) regarding suitable giftage – back and forth between a nice piece of jewellery or an ebook reader (then between the sony [touch screen!] and the marvellously wonderful kindle), then back to jewellery. Rinse. Repeat. &etc.

Eventually, the kindle won out (truly, the evangelism is working) and was accompanied by a rather pretty case.

Other gifts included a stash of her favourite comfort food (chicken massaman curry) for her freezer (and some basmati rice – for her haus was riceless and we have an enormous bag) and a batch of Bessie’s famous brownies.

Given that her birthday fell on the most boring public holiday of the year, it was proving quite difficult to find a restaurant which would be open for dinner, so we trekked down the hill from her haus to the Woolloomooloo Bay Hotel for a pub lunch. It was a glorious autumn day and utterly perfect for the occasion.

It is a little disconcerting to have a child of such advanced age and such an eminently sensible one. We’re very proud of her.

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