Saturday Was My Birthday

Yup! Saturday was my b-day.

51 years.

And for my birthday, the weather was the nicest it's been all week.

Ariana and I started off the day early. We left a little after 8:30 AM to take a drive down to LaSallette Shrine in Attleboro on a mission to get a twirly rosary ring at the gift shop.

When we arrived there, we saw lots of very nicely dressed people getting out of their car and heading towards the building that housed the auditorium and gift shop. At first I wondered if they were all going to Mass. But then I noticed that some people were dressed in Indian outfits. A couple even carried trays of what appeared to be food.

So, I guess they weren't going to Mass.

When we got into the building, I discovered that the event that all these people were going to a memorial service for a Swami of the Ramakrishna Vedanta Society. I found that very interesting seeing that LaSallette Shrine is an über-Catholic place and Vedanta is a Hindu sect. How very nice that LaSallette engaged in open-minded ecumenicalism.

The gift shop was still closed, so we decided to wander to the rosary pond.

The Rosary Pond is one of our favorite places at the shrine.

And this time we were pleasantly surprised to discover that the Rosary Pond was stocked with a group of good-sized koi fish.

We had never seen any koi the last time that we were there.

One of the fish could have easily fed a family. Bit fortunately for the fish there were "No Fishing" signs around the Rosary Pond.

The Rosary Pond is also home to water fowl like ducks, geese, and this graceful swan.

Ariana and I were in for a treat when this magnificent swan flew breathtakingly low across the pond. When it got to the other end, it let down its "landing gear" and came to a splashy stop.

Here's Ariana at the center of the Rosary Pond.

And once again.

Yours truly's top matches the beads of the giant rosary.

Ariana took this picture of the both of us.

After we were done taking in the sights and tranquility of the Rosary Pond, we headed back to the gift shop. There was a five minute wait before the shop opened, so we sat and waited at the bistro just outside the shop.

We were disappointed to find out that the gift shop no longer carried the twirly rosary rings, especially since Ariana had lost her old one.

But we discovered Infinity Circles instead. Infinity Circles are polished stainless steel washers that have one-word affirmations stamped on them. We both got 6 circles apiece, plus ball chains to hang them off.

With our mission accomplished we left LaSallette and headed to Seven Arrows Herb Farm and Uncommon Nursery so that Ariana (who's leaving for Texas at the end of the week) could say "Goodbye" to Judy and her husband Michel. Judy gave Ariana a polished amethyst as a parting gift.

It would have been nice to relax with a cup of tea in the tea room, but we were on a deadline. So we just had some juice and something sweet to eat instead.

Time to get back on the road and head for the next destination.