Happy Birthday, Julia!

I met my friend Julia 5 years ago. We were both posting in an on-line community of over 10,000 people from across the world. Turns out she lives around the corner from me. Turns out we were at the same point in planning an adoption from China. Turns out our husbands both like to play the guitar. Turns out we become great friends. Turns out our daughters are from the same province in China. Whenever we call each other on the phone we say, "Hi Julie, it's Julie."

I love sitting in Julia's kitchen. She always makes me a cup of tea or offers me a wee dram of whiskey - depending on the day I've had. A couple of the cats come in to keep us company. Willow mellows down and lays on my feet. Lyra and Clara occasionally need to be rescued from one another. But mostly we get to chat.

Lyra loves Julia's kitchen, too. No matter how recently she's eaten, she'll always have a meal at Julie's. She especially likes the animal crackers from the big jar on top of the refrigerator.

This time of year, the frost builds up on the inside of Julie's kitchen windows from the steam coming off a pot of boiling water or a vegetable soup on the stove. A cup of tea with a dollop of honey sits in front of me. The bushes outside have one or two brave birds who are getting fed from the feeders in her yard. And we'd be planning dinner at Kyoto's later in the day - maybe just us girls.

Happy Birthday, Julie.