I’ve had a nice birthday, facilitated by sweet friends and family.

My surprises started a week ago Saturday when my husband, who is notably NOT birthday oriented, got a bee in his bonnet that he wanted to do something specifically special for me. Both kids were at Robotics that day and he happily hijacked me to the art store for a “spree.” It is a distance away and we had a lovely time going and coming: as close to a date as we get! Anyway, to my surprise, he wanted to buy me an enormous canvas. I argued a bit: they are too expensive, they are a storage problem, where will I paint it, but he was completely undeterred and wouldn’t let me demur. “I want you to be free,” he kept saying. So we bought the biggest canvas that would fit in the van: 40 X 60. But he didn’t stop there. “You need a big brush too,” he insisted. Now, I’m not used to this treatment. We live under very modest means, pinching pennies right and left. But buy more than one big brush we did.

I thought I’d spend my birthday maybe painting the massive canvas, but this was not to be. Last Friday morning, my husband says he has errands to run. He’s acting a little weird when I ask him where he’s going; I wanted him to get an ingredient for me while he was out. He won’t tell me what he’s doing, which seems strange to me, because he’s acting like he’s going birthday shopping or something but already too much cash has been invested in treats for me as it is. He dashes out and back, hastily delivering my ingredient for what I was going to make for lunch, and races off. Later that morning, I get a text that he’s running late, and I’m annoyed because I’ve made lunch, and he has a gig to be at by 1:00 and might not have time to eat it. He’ll be home at 12:30, he responds, and will eat quick and run… And when he comes home, he has someone with him. What? WHAT??? WHAT!!! I was gobsmacked. My daughter had flown home from college to surprise me for my birthday. When she walked in I was speechless, just hugging her over and over, thrilled. Yeah, an errand. To the airport! When my daughter bought a $39 flight home for Christmas, she got another for this long weekend from school which coincided with my birthday. I was TOTALLY surprised. And so glad I’d made a nice lunch to greet her with! So my weekend was entirely different than I thought it would be and instead of painting today, I was taking her back to the airport (see photos below.)

In the photo above, you can see my presents from my two sisters: bright clothing and a gift card to the art store, respectively. After church yesterday, I enjoyed a nice family lunch out, where I had a grilled shrimp tostada with avocado and mango salsa (yum!) And this morning, I was honored with another delicious gougère which I love; you can see it in the bottom photo (click here for the recipe). On top of all that, email and Facebook friends have added another dimension to the day’s fun!

I’m so glad to be circling the sun with all of you!