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Sunday, February 20, 2011

Brunch at Cedar Knoll Restaurant, Alexandria, VA




Sybil, Theo, Aura, and Eugene, August, 2010

Sally being Sally showing off one of her presents

My small group of English speaking birthday celebrating friends got together at midday on this glorious Spring day at a restaurant over-looking the Potomac River 3 miles from Mount Vernon, home of G. Washington, the revolutionary general.
After a very short while Theo, our Swiss friend, botanist, hiker and nature lover, noticed a mocking bird outside the window - the first one I had seen this year. The mb looked healthy as it bobbed on the bow briefly before bouncing off.
Theo and Sybil -from Shropshire - is one couple, Aura and I are another, Sally our full-blooded American from Denver, CO, who also loves to hike  and has just been to the Himalayas, is single; and Eugene is our Portuguese friend who lost his dear Esmeralda two years ago, is retired and living in DC close to the Shrine of the Immaculate Conception.
It had been a few months since we were together so there were lots of presents to exchange; we were getting to gether to celebrate my November and Aura's December birthdays! We also brought along our Christmas presents. The presents were wonderfully wrapped and appropriate for each one. The fare was good and the conversation lively and good natured.
As I drove home later with Aura I could not help feeling very moved: How I love to be surrounded by my friends, to see them happy and enjoying themselves. "How good and joyful it is for [brothers] friends to be together as one", as Scripture says

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