Books, Celebrate, Movies

Sixty-nine on the Fifteenth

69 Comments

Tuesday, September 15, was my 69th birthday. Regular readers will know that our motto for birthdays and other special days is to celebrate early, celebrate often with simple pleasures. And that is exactly what we did for my birthday.

On Saturday, we went to Buen Apetito, one of our favorite restaurants in Waterville. We always start with margaritas, chips, and salsa before we move on to our meals. With its tasty food and lovely service, Buen Apetito is a pleasure for any occasion, special or not.

Yesterday, my actual birthday, was filled with many simple pleasures. Dee, Clif, and I took the day off, and Clif cooked us a delicious brunch.

After brunch, I went outside to take some pictures of the September garden.

In the afternoon, we—surprise, surprise!—went to a movie, The Uprising, starring, among others, Andrew Garfield. The Uprising is about the 1381 Peasants’ Revolt in England. Taxed beyond endurance and demoralized by the Bubonic Plague, Garfield, who plays Ploughman, helps lead the peasants to London to petition a very young and weaselly Richard II to relieve their burden. I will say no more about the plot except to note that Richard II gets what’s coming to him about twenty years later, when his cousin Henry Bolingbroke becomes Henry IV. (This is not featured in the movie, but as a Shakespeare fan, I am very familiar with “Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown.”) Until a completely unbelievable, made-up ending, The Uprising is a good movie, stirring and brutal and more than a little applicable to modern times.

After the movie, we picked up pastries from Barnes & Noble and headed to our favorite place of all, our own backyard, where we had drinks, snacks, and dessert.

I had a very good day indeed and will celebrate yet again when we meet Shannon and Mike at the end of the month for more birthday brouhaha.

Celebrate early, celebrate often!

****************************************************************

Reading

A Challenge: 70 by 70

I decided to challenge myself by setting a goal of reading 70 books by my 70th birthday. As I read between 50 and 60 books a year, this will be a bit of a push for me. However, I feel as though I am up to the challenge.

I am currently reading John of John by Douglas Stuart, and this will be the first book of my challenge. (John of John, along with The Things We Never Say by Elizabeth Strout, is long-listed for the 2026 Booker Prize. I’m not sure whether I will read the whole list, but I plan to add one or two more from it.)

 

 

 

 

69 thoughts on “Sixty-nine on the Fifteenth”

  5. What a wonderful way to celebrate: your family does it so well too. Enjoy your challenge of reading 70 books – that should be fun 🙂 🙂

      1. I had seen Andrew Garfield on interviewed on The Daily Show and he won me over and convinced me to get tickets. Another fantastic British actor…at least playing a Brit this time!

    1. Many thanks. I’m about halfway through John of John. I like it, but I don’t love it. We’ll see how it ends. There’s a heavy emphasis on sexuality—the main character is gay—which, as a sixty-nine-year-old woman, is not a burning interest for me. (This is true for straight sexuality, too.) But I am interested in the characters, their religion, and the setting, Scotland’s outer Hebrides. Anyway, I’ll let you know. Hope to finish by the end of the week.

  10. A finest way to celebrate Laurie and happy happy birthday to you! 💖🎉 xxx

  11. Happy birthday, Laurie. Seems like you celebrated in style! And good luck with the 70 by 70 challenge….I look forward to regular updates on the good, the bad and the ugly of your reading list

  12. Happy 69th! (I’m just seven months older.) Looks like you had a great birthday! That’s a cool goal for the coming year. I’m looking forward to learning about the books you read.

  16. Well, here is a 91 wishing a 69 a rather belated happy birthday and a wondrous year to come . . . am managing to be too busy to think of 92 books for me, but one can try 🙂 ! Have a great healthy twelvemonth to come . . .

  18. Happy birthday! Im new here its nice celebrating birthdays this way and i love your goal of reading 70 books until your 70th birthday. I hope you manage to read all.

  20. Not only did you have one of the most appealing birthday celebrations ever, you gave me an idea for my next birthday. I’ll be turning 80, and your “70 by 70” plan made me wonder: why not re-read 80 of my favorite books during my 80th year? Of course, that raised a question: do I have 80 books for the list? Compiling the list would be an interesting project all on its own!

    1. Thanks so much! 80 by 80 would certainly be a challenge, but how lovely for those books to be re-reads of favorites. If you included a number of children’s books that you loved, then 80 might be a little easier. 😉 I’m thinking I might continue the tradition of my yearly reading matching my age. I have a blogging friends who aims to bike, in one day, his number of years. He is in his 80s, and by gum he’s managed to do it as of last year.

      1. I hadn’t even considered children’s books. As soon as I read your suggestion, I thought of a half-dozen without having to struggle. There surely are more — what a good idea you gave me!

      2. I think most adult readers have beloved children’s books in their memories. Stories that were important to their younger selves. If you decide to embark on this project, I hope you will let your blog readers know what you are reading. Always such a delight to read what others are reading.

  21. Happy 69th Birthday, Laurie! 🎂✨ Margaritas, home-cooked brunch, garden walks, and backyard pastries sound like the absolute perfect birthday itinerary. ‘Celebrate early, celebrate often’ is definitely a motto to live by!

      1. It really is the best way to live! 🥂 Finding joy in those simple, everyday moments makes the milestones even sweeter. Wishing you a wonderful and joyful year ahead, Laurie! 🥳🥳🥳

  22. Happy birthday, Laurie. It sounds like you had a really wonderful day!

    I think I’m going to adopt your ‘celebrate early, celebrate often’ motto as the way forward in future. Simple pleasures are so often the best!

  23. Happy belated Birthday, Laurie! I’m so glad you enjoyed your celebratory time!

    I’m excited for your reading challenge and can’t wait to see which books you decide on as the years rolls on 🙂

    Hope you’re enjoying a lovely week!

    1. Thank you so much, Melissa! I had such a lovely day filled with simple pleasures. I just finished the first book—John of John, which I will write about in my monthly book log. Liked the book very much but do have a criticism or two. Everyone’s a critic. 😉

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  27. I have started reading The Underground Railraod. After reading quite a few books on slavery I am overwhelmed by the sheer scale of cruelty in human history.

    1. It’s heartbreaking. I love this book so much. The scale, the writing, and the imaginative aspects. Whenever I start feeling discouraged about this country, I think about Colson Whitehead and what a treasure he is. You might also want to put Colson’s The Nickel Boys on your list. He won a Pulitzer for both books.

  29. A belated Very Happy Birthday! I love the way you take every opportunity to celebrate. I hope you have something spectacular planned for your 70th next year.

    I like the idea of a book challenge. please let us know how you get on.

    1. Many thanks! Another birthday weekend coming up. Mostly for Clif, but a little bit for me with our Boston kids.
      I will make regular reports on my Book Challenge.

  30. “Celebrate early, celebrate often” is a great motto for birthday month. I hope you have a wonderful trip around the sun and that you enjoy every book you read, 70, or otherwise.

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