The left side of this square image features two nice fountain pens, a marbled dark blue Esterbrook Estie with gold trim and nib by a leather holder marked Esterbrook, and a green marbled Stipula Adagio with silver trim in a padded dark red box alongside a bottle of “ROSE NOIR” ink. On the right is Jill Danahey’s painting, “Winter Persimmons,” a stylized design of a bare tree with a dark, gnarly trunk and intricate branches against a blue sky and green field background. A couple dozen globular orange fruits hang at varied levels among the branches, and make an attractive, striking design. The words say “Photos © by G. S. Norwood. ‘Winter Persimmons’ © by Jill Danahey.”
A Birthday Indulgence

A Birthday Indulgence

By G. S. Norwood

By now you all know that I am a self-indulgent woman. I’ve blogged about how I value little rewards to myself for a job well done, or just for a laugh. But birthdays? Birthdays are an indulgence class all their own. Because I live alone, I can be really extravagant when it comes to a birthday indulgence.

In past years I have given myself pens and paintings. One year I famously gave myself a cat. Or was it Gift who gave herself a person that year? Sometimes it’s hard to tell with that girl.

In 2019, the Universe gave me a cat for my birthday. In this photo, calico Gift, looking very pleased with herself, lies on G.’s keyboard beside her microphone, in front of her computer.
Gift is one of my all-time favorite birthday indulgences. See Credits below.

Place Markers and Promises

One thing I enjoy is jewelry, particularly lovely rings. I have given myself more than a few for my birthday, including one made by a contemporary Native American artist, and one that looks like traditional Native American work, but was actually made by a friend’s husband.

For me, these rings are place markers. I wear them to remember a specific time I wanted to celebrate by giving myself this precious gift. The contemporary ring marked the birthday that officially made me older than Warren ever got to be. For me, it is a symbol of survival.

The “traditional” ring, lower left, is shown on the author’s hand. It is a large silver ring with an egg-shaped cabochon set in a scalloped silver bezel with three floral-shaped, stamped circular silver additions at the narrower end. The stone is turquoise green, red, and reddish brown. This is the one her friend’s husband made. Part of a handmade ceramic mug can be seen in the background. The ring at upper right is a bright yellow-green cabochon set in a silver bezel with a sculpted curving shape overlapping the asymmetrical triangle of the silver band. This is the one created by the contemporary Native American artist. The author’s hand rests on a handmade leather journal by Iona Books. Below the photos the words say “Photos © by G. S. Norwood.”
The ring on the left made by the author’s friend’s husband. On the right, made by the contemporary Native American artist. See Credits below.

The Symbol of a Vow

The traditional ring has an even stranger story.

I spotted it in a photo of work my friend’s husband was taking to an art fair. Since I wouldn’t be able to attend that weekend, I figured the ring was as good as gone. Something that lovely would surely sell fast.

When the weekend was over, I asked if he’d sold the ring. He hadn’t. He offered to send it to me on approval. If I liked it, I’d send him a check in return. The ring arrived a few days later, and I liked it even more “in person” than I had in the photo. But the only finger it fit was the ring finger of my left hand, where I no longer wore my wedding band.

I decided, if I was going to wear the ring on that particular finger, it should symbolize a promise I made to myself. Now when I look at the ring, I am reminded of my vow to be strong, to be brave, and to take control of my future instead of drifting along, cowed by all the challenges of life. When I wear it, it is much more than a birthday indulgence. It is the symbol of my vow.

This photo shows two architectural details from Santa Fe, NM. Above is a decorated, stained, scalloped crown beam supported by columns that runs perpendicular to dark, parallel ceiling beams in a characteristic Southwestern US style, which the author found at a shopping plaza. Below that is a decorative, carved tile wall-topper on the Lensic Theatre with a design of dragons or sea monsters in a Spanish Colonial style. Both photos by G. S. Norwood.
Architectural details in Santa Fe, New Mexico: At a shopping plaza, and the Lensic Theatre. See Credits below.

Getting Out of Town

Sometimes I give myself an experience for my birthday, rather than a self-indulgent thing. Like the time I gave myself a weekend in Santa Fe, New Mexico. That one started out as a way to keep myself honest.

You see, there was this piccolo audition. I work for the Dallas Winds. From time to time a musician will retire and create an opening in the core Winds ensemble. We fill those openings by holding blind auditions.  They can last all day and be a real beating, even when you’re not the musician behind the curtain with your career on the line. When the Winds decided to hold piccolo auditions, they discussed a variety of dates, one of which was my birthday. I told them I could work any date but that one. I planned to be out of town that weekend, I said.

In my world, “out of town” can simply mean “not in Dallas.” Since I live in a little town about 30 miles north of Dallas, any time I go home I’m technically “out of town.” But this was my birthday. So when the Audition Gods decided my birthday weekend was the best possible time for piccolo auditions, I decided to get out of town for real.

Scenes from Santa Fe, NM by G. S. Norwood, clockwise from upper left: the Façade of Santa Fe Cathedral; the upper section of the St. Francis Cathedral Façade; a view of Santa Fe Plaza with pedestrians, trees, a motorcycle, and shops in the background; and La Fonda, the hotel where she stayed on her Santa Fe trip.
One birthday I treated myself to Santa Fe, staying in La Fonda, around the corner from St. Francis Cathedral and not far from the Plaza. See Credits below.

A Trip to Santa Fe

But where could I go that would require minimal travel time and offer an affordable adventure? I chose Santa Fe. The flight was only an hour to Albuquerque. From there I’d have the modest adventure of driving another hour into the mountains to Santa Fe. Oooo! That meant a rental car! I love rental cars. And a hotel? I booked myself into La Fonda, one of the coolest historic hotels I’ve ever stayed in.

I only had a couple of days there, but I loved every minute. Best of all, I spent my birthday morning touring the art galleries along Canyon Road. In the afternoon I walked the Plaza, and logged some quality time just sitting on my private balcony, watching the crows that lived around the Loretto Chapel.

This square detail of a photo by the author shows a wide view of Santa Fe. And a large adobe building stands across from the Loretto Chapel, with its tan walls, reddish-brown roof studded with Spanish Colonial details of gables buttresses, and a cupola topped by a cross. We see rolling mountains and a somewhat cloudy sky in the background. A couple of trees turn autumnal colors and have begun losing their leaves in the foreground below.
Santa Fe and the Loretto Chapel, as seen from my balcony. See Credits below.

I connected with a friend I had only known online. We met up the next morning for breakfast and several hours of amazing, wide-ranging conversation. I found an interesting bookstore and a lovely restaurant. I walked all over, then drove even farther, going back to Albuquerque via the back roads to see even more new stuff.

By the time I got home to Dallas, I was replete with new experiences and memories that I cherish to this day. Plus, no involvement in the piccolo auditions, and an unsullied reputation for honesty. Talk about a birthday indulgence!

Three photos from historic Cerillos, New Mexico by the author. Clockwise from the upper left, they show the top of a metal gate behind an adobe building with jutting downspouts. Metal spikes at alternating angles top the gate. At the center, someone welded pieces of metal together to form the word “Grazie.” A wooden sign with a scalloped top and Sun medallion design at upper right says, “OFFICIAL SCENIC HISTORICAL MARKER” across the top. Below that is a brick-red and white metal plaque that reads, “CERRILOS Elevation 5,688 FT. Before the arrival of the Spanish, the mineral rich area around Cerrillos produced turquoise, which was broadly traded across the American Southwest and into México. An early settlement of Los Cerrillos harbored Spanish refugees from the 1680 Revolt, but the present community was not founded until the lead strike of 1979.” Across most of the bottom and left of the photo is a picture of an adobe wall and the turquoise-painted wooden front porch of an adobe building. A large, ancient tree with fall-foliage yellow leaves leans at a definite angle over the fence and spreads its massive branches over the entire area. A dusty hill dotted with vegetation rises behind the building and tree. In the lower right, the words say, “Photos © by G. S. Norwood.”
I took the back road, called the Turquoise Trail, down to Albuquerque. See Credits below.

A Birthday Indulgence

As my birthday approached this year, I began to think about a new birthday indulgence. I wouldn’t be able to travel. Aside from the ongoing pandemic, I have a trip planned for later that will use up all my dog-sitting resources. I have all the pens and books any sane woman could want, and I haven’t seen any fresh artwork that needs to find a home on my walls. I could invest in a bit more renovation—I need tile in my den, and there’s a closet that could be rebuilt. None of these ideas grabbed me.

The one idea I kept returning to was a gas log for my fireplace. I love a good fire, but I hate hauling wood and shoveling ashes. After last February’s deep freeze, I thought it might be prudent to get something for my house that could give off heat even when the electricity is out for an extended time. I searched online, found a local dealer, and gave him a visit. He had a style I liked, at a price within my budget. And yet . . . Somehow, I kept holding off.

The left side of this square image features two nice fountain pens, a marbled dark blue Esterbrook Estie with gold trim and nib by a leather holder marked Esterbrook, and a green marbled Stipula Adagio with silver trim in a padded dark red box alongside a bottle of “ROSE NOIR” ink. On the right is Jill Danahey’s painting, “Winter Persimmons,” a stylized design of a bare tree with a dark, gnarly trunk and intricate branches against a blue sky and green field background. A couple dozen globular orange fruits hang at varied levels among the branches, and make an attractive, striking design. The words say “Photos © by G. S. Norwood. ‘Winter Persimmons’ © by Jill Danahey.”
The same old indulgences didn’t appeal on this birthday. See Credits below.

Somebody Needs to be an Adult

And then, one morning, I opened the door of my clothes dryer to find it had died mid-cycle, and was no longer responding to my commands, pleas, or prayers. While I am old enough to remember clotheslines, I don’t have one in my back yard, and I don’t really fancy going back to the days of lugging heavy baskets of wet sheets outdoors to pin up in the breeze.

I went online and did my research. Turned out the kind of dryer I wanted cost . . . just about exactly the same as that set of gas logs I’d been eyeing. Clearly somebody in my household needed to step up to be an adult. That “somebody” was me, of course, because you can’t count on cats or border collies at moments like this.

So there it is, folks. This year I have chosen to indulge myself in warm, fluffy sheets and towels with that fresh-out-of-the-dryer smell. I have named my new indulgence Emily, for no good reason beyond the fact that it seemed a good match for Arthur, the washing machine. Emily is a champ at getting things dry.

It might not be the kind of decadently indulgent birthday present I usually give myself, but I am satisfied with my choice. Well done! Happy birthday to me!

This square design centers on a photo of the author’s new clothes dryer, “Emily.” She stands next to her washing machine companion, “Arthur,” in a tan laundry alcove under a window with dark red louvered blinds We can see the edge of a framed painting in the extreme upper left corner. Below, it says, “Photo © by G. S. Norwood.”
Emily and Arthur—together at last. Happy Birthday! See Credits below.

IMAGES:

All photos were taken by G. S. Norwood. Winter Persimmons is © by Jill Danahey. The jewelers whose work is featured in the “rings” photo are not credited.In case you’re curious, the fountain pens are an Esterbrook Estie and a Stipula Adagio.

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