NormaJean is 43

6 of October in the year 2009

Tuesday

Saturday night was NormaJean’s birthday. NormaJean and I have been friends since the 9th grade when she had boobs and I did not. We are 3 months apart in age and come January, I will be 43.

Friday night, at 11:59 pm, NormaJean called and woke me from a Cape Cod Coma and with something like a puff of breath she announced: “It’s my birthday—I just turned 43.”

“You did? Oh, sweetie, that’s awesome—umm, any plans?” I asked.

“I’m Grandma-sitting for the next eight days but you go back to sleep. I didn’t mean to wake you.”

And, I did.

Saturday morning arrived and after a breakfast of champions (for recipe, see Saturday morning, 3 of October post) I called NormaJean and said I would be throwing a birthday party for two; I had props, costumes and an ACTIVITY. Yay!! Yay!!! I would arrive after she tucked Grandma into bed and all I asked is that she provide the Martinis in pretty glasses with pretty pics.

And, she did.

I showed up at her mom’s door with aprons (circa 1956) and a pair of peep toe heels for each of us to wear and a box of tomatoes. I tied aprons on each of us and had her slip on the shoes (I was already wearing my heels). I ran out to the car for the box of tomatoes which I held out to her and said: Let’s drink and can tomatoes!

And, we did.

We canned tomatoes, drank and laughed until two-thirty in the morning when we tried to watch a movie on her mom’s TV but neither of us understood the remotes. (In our defense, there were five remotes with some three hundred buttons collectively.)

 

Grandma did not get up until eleven in the morning. I told NormaJean everyone has one Grandma who typically spoils the grandchildren and I thought it was this Grandma that was sleeping upstairs allowing us to nurse our hangover with dignity.

Sunday morning, after crawling out of the bottle of vodka we fell into the night before, we counted 9 quarts of tomatoes—nine beautiful quarts of tomatoes canned in four and a half hours.

Other interesting Sunday morning data: two tablets of Excedrin, 500 mg each; four mugs of coffee with Baileys, we each drank two; a red beer with fresh lime for each (lunch); and the 1940 Hitchcock movie, Rebecca, which we watched twice. (I think.)