It’s the little things…

Yesterday was my birthday.  I spent it doing things I wanted to do.  I really really enjoyed it.

I sat curled up in the air conditioning (yes, we finally relented and turned it on) and hand sewed the lining into my coat.  I listened to Pink Martini Radio on Pandora.com and sung along in French whenever Edith Piaf played  (the lyrics are given).  I drank tea and then later switched to margaritas.  I watched as more than 100 friends sent facebook messages wishing me a happy birthday.

It was one of those afternoons where for the moment, all is right with the world.

We went out to dinner and then an evening showing of The Great Gatsby 3D.  I did actually enjoy it, though personally I think the 3D was gimmicky and dizzying.  I loved the story, and I loved the ending, and I thought it was a gorgeous and dark film, and I’m glad I got to see it on the big screen.  I know Baz Lurhmann films are over the top, and this was typical but it worked for me.

I opened a few presents from my wonderful husband who is starting to understand that I don’t need or want presents (too much stuff in the house already).  But he did oblige my one request.  I wanted the second sheep for my “flock”, which we found at Plow and Hearth.  There is also a baby lamb on back order which was my request for Mother’s Day.

That of course prompted a walk around the garden.  Everything seemed to have popped into bloom, I’m going to believe it was for my birthday.

There were the peonies.  New plants for us this year.

And there was the clematis, also a new plant.

And there were the rhododendrons, which are very old plants for us and I think this is the first time they’ve bloomed in about 15 years.

There were my irises, and my favorites, the blue ones and the coffee colored ones, had just exploded.  I hadn’t noticed until yesterday.

And finally, I looked in the pond and there, just for me was a beautiful water lily.

Oh, and of course, I finished my coat.

(note, my husband takes great photos, but doesn’t have OCD.  Since I do, the first thing I noticed when I looked at the buttons was that they were all twisted and not facing the same direction.  I can assure you that they were all correctly sewn, but alas, it takes a discerning eye to notice that things like buttons are twisted when looking through a camera lens, and I was on the wrong side of the camera.)

Although I can’t wait until fall to wear my coat, I’m not in a hurry to see the glorious growing season end…

Stay tuned.