Apart from a sweet card (love that bear!) and a lovely birthday letter - a letter that foreshadowed a possible real-life pal event next year - the bag contained a cute notebook (already in use), a pack of tiny origami papers (a particularly inspired idea :o), a box of wonderful chocolates (uh, I just noticed that they are not in the picture, because I forgot to take them out of the fridge, but it's a big red box full of handmade, creamy chocolate heaven) and a skein of KOIGU. Yep, that's right, the Holy Canadian Grail of Sock Yarn in my humble home. I love it all, and the yarn is already balled up and on the needles for a pair of mittens. Andy had a reeeeally good long look at the yarn, the sweet man is trying his best to learn what fibery stuff I like. Yeah, honey, just keep thinking along the Koigu lines, and life will be great ;o)
Thank you so much, pal, for a great birthday surprise. I appreciated it all more than a blog entry can say. I'll miss Marty though.
Otherwise, my birthday wasn't completely terrible either :o). I spent all of Friday and most of Saturday home alone, because Andy had an out-of-town workshop, and I used that time to give my room a complete do-over, including moving furniture and rehangingn pictures. I love how it turned out. My work/computer area is much cozier and tidier now, and I made a lot of room for all things crafty. Then on Saturday, I talked on the phone with my dad (who got over the chicken incident, thank goodness) and some friends, had a little cake and bubbly by myself, while chatting with my friend D. I liked puttering around by myself for a bit, all relaxed and low-key, and when Andy came home, he broke out the champane, ordered great Thai food, and there was a bit of present-opening going on.
Apart from see above, I got some very nice, posh care products from Andy, who knows that I love them but almost never indulge. He also gave me a fantastic book called "Aftermath" with Joel Meyrowitz's exclusive photos of the post-9/11 work at Ground Zero. Utterly captivating. He said that he was nervous about his rather less-than-cheerful choice, but the pictures and stories are so impressive and meaningful ... it's really hard to describe, have a look at the photos if you can.
More books. "The Knitter's Book of Finishing Techniques" by Nancie Wiseman, a book I had wanted for a long time - very useful, with clear, detailed explanations. And two books that had me slightly puzzled until I talked to my dad today. "The Twisted Sisters Sock Workbook" and "Hands On Spinning". Can you see where this is going? Oh yeah, I got a spinning wheel for my birthday!!!! And since I have to choose and buy it myself (Dad doesn't know from fiber-related things :o), Dad wanted me to have something to read in the meantime. I am excited like you wouldn't believe. Dad wanted to spring for a new Ashford Traditional, which was my choice among the wheels I had the chance to try a while back - although it's hard to say for a beginner, because the process is so new that you can't really concentrate on the differences between wheels. But it felt really good and can be upgraded quite a bit, so a Traditional it is. However, I told Dad that I would get a used one on ebay, because it's not exactly cheap to begin with. I mean, you don't give your kids a new car as a first either, right? I can always learn on a used wheel and get a nicer one later or something. So I placed a search with ebay and, as a little extra, ordered a spindle starting kit with some mixed fiber to play with - as a little gift from me to me, to sweeten the waiting for my wheel.
I missed my mom a lot during all the excitement. She always took a great interest in all my yarn (ad)ventures, and I would have loved to share the spinning plans with her. Not to mention the family birthday cake. The last time I ate it was Dad's 60th birthday last year, and I remember having a slice while watching my mom, who had the greatest time. I remember thinking that this might be the last time I would be eating Mom's patented birthday cake. It was. I'm very grateful for these memories. Knowing that you will soon lose a person you love is terrible, but it does teach you to really live the happy moments, something we all know we should do anyway, but never seem to get around to doing. It's a gift I'll do my best not to forget again.
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