Iggy Pop

While it might be hard going forward to decide which picture(s) to post each Friday, this week was super easy.   

Let's take a short trip back to 1996.  In the two years before Alain and I were married, we lived in Switzerland.  The years were 1996 and 1997. At that time, Ygal was in college in South Carolina but he came home to Switzerland that particular summer.  July 29th of that year was his 20th birthday.  The rest of the family was away....traveling or working or in college.  Alain and I decided it would be cool to host a little surprise birthday party for Ygal.  We went to the grocery store, snatched up some decorations, presents, and champagne....then proceeded to decorate a corner of the garden.  I also made a homemade carrot cake.  When we asked Ygal to come outside, you should have seen his face.  He was so surprised and wicked happy!  (Can I also just say that Ygal was R-I-P-P-E-D that summer?  He looked really good ~ I guess that's why he wasn't wearing a shirt.)  This day was close to perfect.  The weather was divine and we were all in great, festive moods.  We grilled some food, ate some cake, drank champagne and soaked up the sunshine. We were out in the garden for hours.  As I've said before, it was life at its finest.  It is by far my favorite memory of Ygal.  I know he loved it too because he mentioned it a lot in the following years.  That means so much to me (and I know for Alain too) and I'm just so damned thankful to have this beautiful memory to hold on to.  

I don't think a lot of you have seen these photos ~ they were taken in the days before digital cameras, email, blogs, etc. ~ I hope you enjoy them..... 

I also chose these photos because Ygal's 36th birthday would be this Sunday.

Tio Iggy, wherever you are, Happy Birthday!  We love and miss you...

PS ~ We had to scan these photos to get them in a digital format.  Please forgive the blurriness ~ the pictures are beautifully clear and bright in real life!