The Next Day--Sequel to My Birthday

Saturday dawned cloudy and misty. Today was the day Danny would take me shopping for birthday presents... We arranged that I would take care of the kids in the morning, and then we would leave at 4 p.m. I had to do the bulk of my laundry, and also had the misfortune of burning two fingers on a sizzling pot while making lunch--owie!! Other then that, the day went by smoothly, except for a hectic few moments right before leaving--I'm of the firm impression

that NO WOMAN in the world can get ready to leave as fast as I can, heh.

Bummer we don't have any pictures of our time out, but it was a simply smashing time. Danny had his heart set on getting me a few articles of serviceable clothing, and so we headed for town amidst a grey drizzle, with the baby safely tucked and bundled in a harness. Luchi kept Floppy at home for us, THANKS AGAIN LUCHI!!!

So we traipsed through some ritzy stores in a hip part of town looking for bargains. I'm a lucky-ducky in that--Sunday is Mother's Day here, so there were promotions and sales in every store. We thought of getting me some much-needed sunglasses, but were immediately repelled by both the shoddiness of the cheap ones, and the horrific high prices of the designer ones. We decided to search for something more middleground-ish another day.

We ended up getting me some lovely sport stockings, a smart pair of jeans, and a belt. A great big men's belt, double leather, wasted white finish, with a massive buckle. My favorite. Actually, it was Danny's idea. I think he's intending to wear it himself, heh. He still wears my greenish-black scarf I got myself in my first Argentine winter.

Reminds me of the guy who bought his wife a chainsaw for her Christmas present. He slept on the couch for the next week or so, and finally complained to his buddies, "Well, we needed a chainsaw..."

WAHAHAHAHAA!! Nope, that's not how it's like. I'm wearing the belt now, and it's just awesome. Danny punched some extra holes to accommodate my rather skinny frame, of course, and it looks so very good on me. Danny also treated himself to a new pair of jeans, hallelujah!!

Oh yes, an interesting thing happened while I was in one of the dressing rooms trying on some jeans. When I came out to show Danny and the saleslady the finished effect, I found Danny with a bright red face, in lively conversation with a doting sort of lady. Apparently the lady, charmed by our beautiful bouncing munchkin in her manly father's arms, had come up and asked Danny what the baby's name was. And Danny couldn't remember her given name. An awkward

second or two passed before Danny laughingly spluttered that he gets confused sometimes, because everyone calls her "Goobers", and he forgets her complicated French name (at this point the name popped into his mind), Chantal, given her by her French mother. I emerged from the dressing room in time to catch the last half of the conversation. I tried very hard not to laugh just then at the sight of the lady's face.

Hee hee hee!

Now I'm going to show you a few pictures, and you'll be very delighted. I hope...

No, wait, that's Danny singing a happy song, as his doting wife provides giggling harmonies.

Take a good look at this next one:
No, it's not my beautiful grumpy baby, or my beautiful red shirt, or the fact that I have no earlobes. Look at my face...

I poked my nose with a spit!!! No really, we went to a jolly little tattoo parlour and a nice young chap in a white smock and elegant moustache did some unholy incantations around my nose, and put a thick sterilized needle through one nostril. Then he distended it. I made it a point not to cry, but a tear or two slipped down anyway. I smiled bravely. Meanwhile Danny had a jolly ten minutes swapping yarns with the tattooed pierced fellows below. When my ordeal was over I had a spike peeping timidly above my right nostril, and I had a pleasant conversation with the pierce-person. A charming fellow, very young; wants to travel through Europe. And I was delighted to hear him advise me on the care of my piercing: "Wash your nose three times a day with white soap, warm water, and salt." I wondered aloud about the usual prescriptions for store-bought ointments and cleansers, and he replied, to my further delight, "Well, we're very 'casero' (rough trans: homemade) here; we prefer using the good ol' natural things. And who knows if someone might be allergic or react badly to chemical treatments, anyway?" I have been following his advice, by-the-by, with one little addition of my own: I use antiseptic surgery soap instead of white soap, which chaps my hands. An my nose is healing beautifully, although it does feel as though I have something perpetually stuck up my nose...

Anyhoo, I came downstairs to find Danny worried half to death that my handbag had been stolen, as he had been carrying it and hadn't remembered that I had swapped baby for the handbag before going upstairs into the piercing office. Oh well, all's well that ends well. It was a fitting end to a jolly day. Here's another tribute to my beautiful nose before I go on with my tale:

Ah, so charming. I just love that red shirt.

Anyway, after the nose-piercing adventure, we went to our favorite Mar del Platense restaurant, Mambru's. Ahhhh! The delights of a full stomach! I'm going there again asap, and that's a fact! It opens at eight p.m.; we got there about 3 minutes too soon, and had to spend those three minutes sheltering from the drizzle under a gracefully arched bush over one of the porch tables. We were the first to arrive, but we soon had company. During the next 3 minutes, about 10 or 12 people began crowding around the front doors. And when the doors were opened from the inside, and the lights within switched on, people streamed inside, and by the time we reached the entrance (from about 6 yards distance), four tables were occupied, and people were crowding around the take-away counter.

A word about Mambru's. Their specialties are pizzas, hamburgers and milanesa sandwiches. And their food is known for being generous in both size and flavour. And there's a beautiful back patio covered with vines and a skylight, and cozy couched wall benches. We sat in our favorite spot, and managed to consume the monstrous mountains on our trays. Deeelicious.

Well, in all, Danny's outdone himself once again, and I've had such a wonderful birthday. I think I'd better stop talking about it before y'all get envious. I love you lots!