Happy Birthday to Me!

It was my birthday this week (Thursday) and thanks to some very special people, what would normally have been just any other day (another year bites the dust) turned into something quite special indeed! As I don't have any family I don't normally celebrate some certain people had other ideas this year!

My day started off opening some packages that had already arrived. First was a beautifully stitched needleroll from Val - another to add to my little collection (I am really getting into these!) together with a very pretty stitched card which I will frame once I can bear to take my cards down. After that came packages from Susan (Dinky Dyes silk threads and a lovely hand made card) and Abi (WDW threads, a sterling silver fairy charm and a great card which is very me!).

I then headed off to work where I had a desk piled high with cards and gifts from my lovely work colleagues. Amongst my gifts were a very pretty umbrella (much to nice to use in the current inclement weather conditions!), an Art Deco style mirror compact, a very pretty coffee cup and saucer, some cat shaped pomanders and a box of orange truffles, a half bottle of Spanish Cava, and (my favourite!) a half bottle of white wine, some crisp white grapes and a big hunk of Stilton cheese (Rosemary obviously knows me very well!)

On the way home from work I picked up a parcel at the post office - from Mouse - which contained aome Dragon Floss and a beautifully handmade beaded scissorkeep, and a lovely hand made card. I shall have to buy an extra special pair of scissors to do this one justice.

And it didn't stop there. On Friday I went for lunch with my work colleagues (there were 20 of us). We had a lovely time, despite having to fight out way through a ferocious hailstorm to get there. When lunch finished I was surprised by one of my colleagues, John (who has only been with us for a very short time) insisting on payign for my lunch - and then another suprise - a bottle of champagne which had been arranged by one of my colleagues who was unable to make the lunch! I had taken the afternoon off and came home feeling very privileged and pampered indeed.

This morning I picked up another package from the post office - this one from Yvonne. Inside was a stunning stumpwork card of some thistles and two hanks of the most gorgeous thread from De Havilland Embroiery.

I really do consider myself very lucky indeed to have so many lovely friends. I know a great deal of very nice people indeed who have gone out of their way to make my birthday special in their own ways. Thanks to the wonders of the internet I have met some of the loveliest people I have ever come across - and through my blog I would like to thank Abi, Karen, Mouse and Val for being such good friends through thick and thin, for laughing with me (and at me sometimes too!) and generally just for being them - sometimes I just don't know where I'd be without all of you. I have been lucky enough to have met some of you personally - Val that day will come I promise!

And on that sentimental note I'll get back to the tennis and some stitching. Thank you for reading - check back soon!

Hugs,

Ally xxx