Happy Birthday to Grandma!

I woke up early and went for a run at the linear park (rail trail). It's a lovely place to run and I envy Connecticut residents of the area for having such a great resource! Early in the morning there's no one out there except a few retirees, which is especially nice. It's like having the whole thing to myself, except for the company of the occasional bird or rabbit. What a fine way to start the day!

I got home and found John working on Grandma's birthday breakfast. I showered and dressed, then helped him figure out how we would get everything to the nursing home. Dan helped us load the cars and we set off for Miller Memorial Home in Meriden. Grandma seemed a bit quiet and confused by all the fuss, but was very nicely turned out in a blue and pink pantsuit that matched the pink in her birthday corsage.

Breakfast was quiche, caesar salad, dates and my chocolate cake. We all ate heartily, except for Grandma who only picked at her food. She often appears self-conscious when eating in front of us, although she always wants us to join her for meals. Go figure. After we were done, John and I took the leftovers to the employee break room for them to enjoy-- a whole quiche and half the cake.

With the entire day ahead of us, John and Susan offered to take us to see some of the local sights. Most times we visit, we are only in town on weekdays and they're too busy with their jobs. So it was a nice treat to have them to ourselves for once. They took us to a trail leading to the top of a waterfall, which was fun. I don't think I had ever seen a waterfall from the top before. Then we went to a local park where we saw some Canadian geese, and then we went for ice cream.

Dan and I took a little nap and then Susan took us to Hammonasset Beach, one of the few public beaches in Connecticut. Dan thoroughly enjoyed the beach, as he does all beaches. Then we went to Middletown and had dinner at a Thai restaurant. By the time we got home it was after midnight-- an unusually late night for my aunt. It was about bedtime for me and Dan too, so we didn't bother trying to get online and just went to bed.