Friday was my birthday. I'm now officially 87. My younger sister reached 83 two days earlier. We always have a lot to talk about. Mostly reminiscing, recalling things of the past. Her memory worries her, it has become elusive. She suffers from a multitude of ills; sciatica is a particular issue since she's always in pain with it, making it difficult for her to walk, but she has lung issues as well. She doesn't get out at all anymore. My brother-in-law has gradually taken over all the tasks involved in daily life, from preparing meals to cleaning their condo, to doing all the shopping. Until a few years ago she was still going out dancing -- a recreational passion with her. Old age hasn't been kind to her.

For me, it's another birthday. Irving always tries to make it special, but really, it's just another day. I cautioned him not to buy anything for me, but he never listens. I now have another two gold bracelets; my wrists jingle with them. Another several months before he catches up with me. The weather certainly didn't reflect a special day. It was heavily overcast, dark and gloomy and the rain was constant. So on that 'special' day we couldn't even take Jackie and Jillie out for their daily hike through the forest.

Still, I made use of the day and baked a pumpkin pie, one of Irving's most favourite desserts. And we had breaded chicken breast cutlets, tiny roasted fingerling potatoes and steamed cauliflower after our chicken-noodle soup, for that 'special' dinner. So special it was no different than any other dinner, other than that we enjoyed it just as much as all the others, and were comfortable and pleased with the day as is usual.

This morning after breakfast I set about cutting up a pineapple. It was ripe; before I buy a pineapple I always test it for ripeness by yanking at one of the innermost spears; if it detaches readily, the fruit is ripe. But even so, I struggled to cut it into quarters so I could detach the flesh from the outer shell. I'd never come across another pineapple as difficult to cut as this one. Finally, I had to ask Irving to help and he made quick work of it, but not without exerting himself in the process. 

Although the weather forecast was for a semi-sunny day, but for an absence of rain we had yet another in a too-long series of heavily overcast skies and darkness prevailing. Happily, there was no wind, and even better, no rain. And the fact that the  temperature had descended from yesterday's 7C to today's -1C was another bonus. It meant that the trails through the forest, thanks to copious rain would be frozen solid.

When we did go out with Jackie and Jillie for our usual afternoon circuit, unsurprisingly, there were areas of the forest still holding leftover bits of snow and ice. And some of the trails remained icy; the reason we wore our spikes. All these changes encouraged people who regularly take walks through the forest from within the wider community to come out with their companion dogs today.

Which meant that our circuit was well punctuated with the arrival at various times, of cookie-seeking friends of Jackie and Jillie. Invariably they're so well-behaved, their eyes speaking volumes of their expectations. It's just such a delight to see them.