The best birthday ever

Today is my birthday, I hit the double digits!

As I was thinking about how I've celebrated my birthday over the years, I remembered that my 'best birthday ever' didn't start out that way!

Years and years ago my birthday fell on a Sunday, and the guy I was dating at the time was to take me to dinner.  This wasn't any ordinary dinner, mind you - it was dinner theater!

He had something come up at the last minute and couldn't take me (let me pause here and say he wasn't the most reliable person in the world).  I'd been so looking forward to this for weeks, and when he cancelled at the last minute I was really crushed!

I didn't want to spend my birthday all alone in my house because I knew I'd get depressed, so I decided to take myself to dinner.  First place I went to (I think it was called The Pleasant Peasant) had a wait time of over an hour.  Yeeech, I didn't want to wait an hour!  I decided to go to Hogate's on the waterfront - 45 minutes wait - sheesh!  I figured I may as well stay, have a drink in the bar.

Somehow I got in a conversation with a lady sitting on the stool next to me, told her it was my birthday, boyfriend stood me up, yadda yadda yadda.  She sympathized and bought me another drink. I was starting to feel a bit better!

A guy sitting on the other side joined our conversation and offered to buy me another one ... well, two was my limit so I politely declined.  By that time my table was ready; I asked the bartender for my tab and he winked at me and said forget the tab.  Feeling better and better!

On the way to my table I told the maitre d' that I wanted a nice table because it was my birthday.  He sat me at a very nice table at a window overlooking the Potomac - better still!

After I ordered, the guy I'd talked with in the bar asked to join me, I said sure!  He said he had already eaten but he wanted to sit with me awhile because nobody should eat alone on their birthday - and that he'd asked my waiter for my dinner check because dinner was on him - wow!

My new friend had to leave after a few minutes.  When I finished eating my waiter brought me a slice of cake with a candle, and 5-6 other waiters gathered around and sang Happy Birthday to me!

That was the best birthday I ever had!

I know how I'll celebrate my birthday today, I hope you have a great one too!  Sew forth and sew on

Happy birthday to me!

Three things to be happy about:
(1) Longaberger baskets
(2) hot coffee
(3) animals playing in the snow

Today is my birthday, I've reach the ripe ole age of 65 - yes!  That means three significant things to me - (1) I'm eligible for a reduction in my DC property taxes - 50%!
(2) I can get the "senior citizen" rate when booking flights, and the most important thing
(3) I got the Birthday Dollar!

This birthday dollar is very important to me, you can read the full story on this post

Yesterday was a snow clean-up party kind of day in my neighborhood!  Some cars got dug out...

and another dig-out of the sidewalks

someone had music playing, you could hear it for a long way... and notice the beer cooling in the snow at the bottom right of this picture!  I like that kind of neighborhood comeraderie!

I didn't participate in the shoveling, but I hung out at my neighbor's for awhile and enjoyed a delicious bowl of 18 bean soup.  I took over some of my quilts for an impromptu show-n-tell, and saw this super cute quilt that 3-month-old Colin's grandmother made for him...

so cute!  She's a self-taught quilter who made her first quilt when she had her first grandchild - three years ago!

Yesterday was a no-sew day for me, just a hang out and watch Netflix kind of day.  Sew forth and sew on til later...

Happy birthday to me

Three things to be happy about:
(1) good health
(2) good friends
(3) another birthday!

does your 64th birthday make you a "seasoned senior?"

Have yourself a great day on my birthday!  Sew forth and sew on...

So thankful

Three things to be happy about:
(1) birthday wishes
(2) birthday wishes
(3) birthday wishes!

I want to thank you all so much for all the birthday wishes, they made my day even greater!  They all went directly to this little ole lady's heart  *sniff*  It's quilty friends like you who make blogging such a great experience!

I was gifted a lovely piece of Jinny Beyer fabric that she designed for the November 2012 Quilters Quest.  It's almost too pretty to cut up!  I also got a Fons & Porter Klutz glove - NEED IT!!  Did you notice it's in both pictures?  That's because on two occasions when I was rotary cutting the blade jumped the edge of my ruler... it didn't come too-too  close to my hand but it might have!  Both times I said to myself  "I really should get a pair of those Fons & Porter gloves"... but I never did.  Now I have a pair - thanks Renea!

Then yesterday evening while I was sewing there came a tap-tap-tap at my door - it was my neighbors Rachel, Isaiah and Matt from across the street with birthday wishes!  They are such sweet neighbors!  Matt had shoveled the snow from my walk and steps on Thursday morning... while I was still sleeping, LOL. 

You can't see her but of course their dog Mia came; she knows wherever her mom and dad go, she can go too.

They presented me with this delicious tart (torte?) along with a birthday hat and a candle to wish on ... how thoughtful is that??

They could only stay half-a-second because Rachel was packing to catch an evening flight overseas, and that makes it even more thoughtful that they came over in the snow to wish me happy birthday!

Besides family and friends, I also got birthday wishes from: (1) my dentist "...we're thinking of you on this special day" - yeah, right, I'm due back in there in March! (2) my Honda salesman "Dear Linda, All business aside... I just wanted to wish you a HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" - he wants to sell me another car (3) Total Rewards casinos "May this year be the best ever. Happy Birthday from Total Rewards" - they just want more of my money! (4) the orthodontist who did my root canal "Happy Birthday Mary! We hope you have many reasons to smile today!"  Anybody who calls me "Mary" doesn't know me because everyone who knows me knows I don't like my first name.  So much for that nonsense.

Well, today is Bee day ... will I go?  We got snow yesterday and they're promising it will be clearing up but I'm not a fan of driving on slickery streets if I don't really have to.  Stay tuned to learn my earth-shaking decision - sew forth and sew on...

Happy birthday to me...

... Happy birthday to me
Today is my birthday,
Happy birthday to meeee! 

Three things to be happy about:
(1) happy tunes
(2) a stash of candy
(3) the difference a day makes

Today I reach the grand ole age of ... one year older!  What a difference a day (or a decade or five) makes; here I am at 7 (I think).  This was my second grade picture:


grade-school photo

My mother made that dress, in fact she made all our clothes.  I can remember her taking my father's old pants and cutting them down to make skirts for us.  Did she do it to recycle or "go green" or "upcycle"?  Nope, the simple truth is she couldn't afford to buy us new clothes so she used what she had!  She would save flour and feed sacks, cut around the words to make our clothes.  If the feedsacks were white, she'd bleach out all the writing, then make the clothes.

I was a senior in high school when this was taken for the year book:

high-school photo

Ahhh, so young and innocent - and thin!  My older sister Faye loaned me her necklace, she was a great sister. 

Shortly before (or after) my 40th birthday, this was taken for my church directory:


for church directory

And this one was taken a couple weeks ago in Sandy's quilt studio:

January 2013

Graying hair, dry skin ... I've hardly changed at all, right??  ;o)

Have a great Friday, make someone's day, sew forth and sew on...



Happy birthday to me...

Today's my birthday and I'm goofing off!

Sew forth and sew on...

 

One of my favorite things

Tuesday was my birthday but, unlike Oprah, I can't give everybody a truckload of goodies.  But I can share one thing that is very precious to me... the Birthday Dollar!  My sisters and I started a tradition a  few  years ago of passing along a dollar on each person's birthday.  The recipient signs it when she gets it, then keeps it til the next birthday.

This is a long story, so hang in with me if you can...

It all started when Ruby sent me a dollar in my birthday card...you'd have to know Ruby to understand how funny it was!  Then I started thinking... hmmm... maybe I'll send this dollar to Michelle on her birthday! So I signed it and told Shell what I was doing, and suggested she send it to Ruby on her birthday.  Shell signed it and sent it to Ruby -- and Ruby lost it!  ouch!

So... Ruby signed another dollar and sent it to me in January on my birthday; I signed it, sent to Shell in February, she signed it, sent it to Ruby in April -- and Ruby lost it!  goodness! 

SO... Ruby signed another dollar and sent it to me in January, I signed it and passed it to Michelle in February, who signed it and sent it to Ruby in April, who signed it and sent it to me in January... now we're rolling! 

Then I said, hey!  We're leaving Faye out of the loop!  So in September Ruby sent it to Faye on her birthday but forgot to tell her what we were doing -- and Faye gave it to her youngest for milk money!  NO SHE DIDN'T!!

Okay, let's try it again, we can do this...

Faye started a new dollar in 1996 by writing our birthdays on it, and sent it to me in January 1997, I passed it along to Shell, she passed it along to Ruby, who passed it to Faye, who passed it to me. We finally got it right, yes!!! 

So our official Birthday Dollar has been travelling between DC, New Jersey, Virginia and California since 1996.  Shell just sent it to me this week and I'll send it back to her in February.

This dollar is really precious to me because Faye passed away in April 2005, her last signature was in September 2004.  Ruby's last signature was in April 2008, she passed away in July of that year.

That's the story of our Birthday Dollar!  What traditions do you have?

Happy Birthday to me, Happy Birthday to me...

You GO, Tina - I should look half as good at 70!