The day

Say what you will, everyone should have a birthday where 1. they’re healthy 2. and the weather is grand. It also helps if it’s a week-end.

How to begin? Easy.

A chocolate croissant, a latte, an NYT story about a depressed NY chef.





Then, the market. Madison’s own. Uncomfortably crowded at times, but still, it is The Market.

People say that at this stage, the market is too dominated by flower sales. What’s wrong with flower sales?









Besides, there's always music to love and adore. Right? What, you don't like bagpipes?





Next, a bike ride. I ask my biking pal Ed to think of a good loop, and he does. First we travel from Brooklyn to Albany. Because he knows I like New York. Then, onto local roads that remind me that this is… not New York.







Happy cows; rare to see this pastoral scene outside happy cow countries


Oh, and as it’s my birthday, I ask for an official photo.





A quick return to Madison. I am so ready for a Caribbean therapy session at Cameo (the Spa on the Square). You know, I should have guessed it would include a soak in a tub. But with changing lights? The name for this part of the spa treatment: chromotherapy. Really. (It felt like a nice long bath with lots of New Age music and rainforest sounds in the background.)





But the mud pack was grand and the essential oils of this and the other were fantastic.

With smooth and supple skin, I walk across the Square, where EVERY set of Capitol steps is occupied by women in white.







she's checking her rear, he's thinking -- can I stand being married?

Time for the movie, In the Land of Women. You have to know that I have been amused by Meg Ryan since her Sally, then Sleepless, then French Kiss roles. So this would be an acceptable step in the Meg run of films. Even though she is more credible in comedy confection than in a serious rendition of a mother-daughter struggle. Still, it’s nice to look at a big screen again.





And finally dinner. At Sardine. I truly think it deserves the crowds. There is something quite right about it. And, unlike the 297 restaurants in NY closed last week for health violations, to my knowledge, Sardine has no rats, roaches or mice droppings. It feels so fresh in there! Honestly.