Mam's Birthday

Today was our mother's birthday ~ 81 years!


I arrived at Mam's house just before 2:00 PM. Roma wasn't there yet.

One of the first things Mam wanted to do, after I gave her a home-made card and a small bouquet of picked flowers, was to show me her "farm" ~ her backyard.

Mam is passionate about gardening.

She's done a lot with her postage-stamp size garden.

And it shows with all the greenery around her.

Another noticeable feature in Mam's garden is the cats that she feeds. Almost all of them are very shy and skittish, but not this kitty. She was extremely friendly and affectionate, following us all around the garden and stepping on our toes.

She was also very pregnant and will probably have her kittens within a week.

Even though this kitty likes to dine in Mam's yard, I think that she may belong to someone else because her fur was very clean and neat.

The kitten on the far left and the black fluffy cat were more skittish, both of them bolting when we ventured too close.

Despite her shyness, the black fluffy cat was a very attractive cat.

Here is the kitten hiding under Mam's gooseberry bush.

You can get a better look at the kitten in this shot. Cute little bugger.

One of Mam's favorite plants is this rue plant with the yellow flowers. Rue is special to my mother because it is the national plant of Lithuania and it's a reminder of Mam's home land.

But of course, Mam's pride and joy are her roses. Isn't this a perfect bloom?

The white Valerian flowers accent this cluster of yellow roses beautifully.

And Mam's neighbors are in awe over the climbing red roses in front of her house.

After Roma arrived, we took Mam to the Atwood Grill in Johnston, Rhode Island.

They served great Italian food there.

Tony joined us there.

And so did Michael.

Even though we were there to celebrate Mam's birthday, I had my own private celebration in that once more I was liberated from having to subsist on rice and beans.

After stuffing our guts with all that fine Italian food, we had to have dessert. Mam was tickled pink when the restaurant staff brought out her chocolate hazelnut cake with a birthday candle in it. We all sang "Happy Birthday" to Mam.

I wonder what kind of wish Mam made when she blew out her candle.