Nancy's Birthday

How's it going, everyone?

Nancy just celebrated her 44th birthday yesterday.  And, of course, to celebrate this she was the recipient of typically Australian prezzies;  an electric blanket, and turtlenecks!  We also went out for supper to a wonderful Thai restaurant with another Canadian and her husband who we met about 7 - 10 days previously. They are a really nice couple and we very much enjoyed their company.

This Thai restaurant is located 45 minutes north of Albany at the foot of the Porongarup Mountains (hills) in the middle of nowhere. So here we are driving along a lonely road in the dark amid the low lying fog and drizzle trying to find the entrance to this place just waiting to glimpse the shadows of a werewolf loping in a nearby paddock. We finally found it, drove up the long lane to the building only to find we were the sole car there. We were all under the impression that it was very popular and reservations were inevitably required at least one or two weeks in advance.  Within a couple minutes however a community tour bus drove up filled with people, balloons and laughter.  So much for a quiet (albeit remote) dinner. 

To make a long story short the food was authentic Thai food and proved to be absolutely delicious. The restaurant is run by a Thai lady with her Swedish husband.  They have a commitment to fresh, organic food and they grow all their herbs and most of the veggies as well as a 130 acre bamboo nursery.  The people on the bus were a group from Denmark (the town nearby) whose birthdays were all in May.  Therefore, Nancy was given a party and had a birthday supper with 20 - 24 of her closest strangers (she even got a party hat).  It was fun and enjoyed by all.  Well, almost all.  The worst thing about it for me (Boyd) was that I was surrounded by a bunch of Taurians whose main goal in life was to make as many lists as they could think of - Nancy was in her element!