28 March 2011 (A)

It was my birthday yesterday and what an enjoyable day it turned out to be.  Normally I dislike the fuss and bother associated with my birthday feeling that it is more of an occasion for children (and always tending to feel slightly disappointed in them to be honest) however yesterday was different.  Firstly we had had a most enjoyable meal the night before with Dad, who left for Bahrain in quite high spirits (just for a change).  Secondly, although I had a not so good sleep the night before I did get the luxury of a bit of a lie-in.  Paul got Danish's and croissants for breakfast so we had a nice sit down breakfast all together.  I opened just two small presents which turned out to be a box of gourmet Coconut Rough and a book "Rosehips and Crabapples" by Susan Irvine.  And that was perfect, not excessively extravagant and certainly both agreeable to my tastes (and one could say that the Coconut Rough was more that agreeable to Chloe's tastes!).  Paul then went to soccer... he arranged to play a friendly with the team on Thursday night training forgetting what Sunday was.  I was not on the slightest bit concerned however because it meant nearly 3 glorious hours in which I could do nothing at all.  The kids spent the morning making cards then sneaking around the house so that I would not see the cards they were making however as their game involved an awful lot of giggling they did tend to give themselves away a lot.  Once Paul got home we had a bit of lunch and a potter about then I decided to go to Dawson's, taking Chloe with me.  Taking Chloe anywhere results in an awful lot of extra purchases and this was no exception.  We ended up with 3 strawberry plants and a Swan River Daisy (the mauve with yellow centres).  I got ranunculi, freesia and daffodil bulbs plus the beautiful Pierre de Ronsard rose that I saw when I was there last week.  I have no idea where he will go at this stage but he was my birthday present to myself.  Dinner was "Subway"... yum, yum!!!! and Paul got a lovely Almond Torte for cake.  I was pleasantly surprised as birthdays can on the whole be somewhat disappointing but this one was perfect from beginning to end!