The Big 5-0 - The Best Birthday Ever

When I turned 30, it was no big deal.  I was still footloose and fancy free...single and loving life in downtown Raleigh.  I still thought I was all that.

When I turned 40, I didn't want to acknowledge it.  I was happily married but like wasn't so footloose.  I was miserable in my job and miserable in my own skin.  I was in bad shape physically (though the worst was still a couple of years away).  I woke up on my 40th birthday with my left eye swollen shut from conjunctivitis.  I should have stayed in bed.

I really didn't think I'd make it to 50.

But I did.

And in a much better place in so many ways that I was at 40.

I'm still happily married and thankful he puts up with me.
I am no longer miserable in my job...I'm poor but money isn't everything, right?
I'm a good 150 pounds lighter than I was on my 40th and I'm not as worried about being the first to die in the zombie apocalypse.
Best of all, I'm surrounded by the best family and friends a soul could want.

So, for my 50th, I wanted a party.

My husband and my mom were shooting for a surprise party but my dad was having none of that...so he called me and tattled on them.  He wanted to make sure I got just what I wanted.  Did I mention I'm still a Daddy's girl?  I'm lucky like that.

Well, I did get exactly what I wanted...a low key, laid back gathering in the coolest location possible, Sutler's Spirits, a distillery in an old West End warehouse next to out current favorite restaurant, The Porch, who ended up catering the shindig.

It could not have been more perfect.

David did surprise me with the best birthday cake in the shape of my Bear Hug logo.  It was yummy too!

Here he is. He did good!

My friend, Hattie, helped a lot and as if that wasn't enough, she gave me this wonderful painting by one of our favorite folk artists.  (Well, she said the puppies but we know the truth.)

My bee from Raleigh came up!  We've been a bee for 25 years!

My old friend, Sam came.  We were peas and carrots before I move to Winston and he moved to Latvia.

My Trade Street sisters came.  (These are about the only thing I miss about that job.)

My best roomie, Muriel!

Sister Laura and Brother Gary!

Here's our host, Scot, giving out samples of his gin and rum.  I hate gin.  I haven't had it in about 30 years.  This gin though...good stuff.  I may be converted.

A blurry photo of my brother and my mother doing gin shots.  I didn't see that coming.

The Badens and the Brendles...instigators and encouragers...they are the best.

My little brother in his bulldog sweater.  When he did a toast, I was very afraid.  Very. Afraid.

My Aunt Dianne whose always been my cheerleader.

And a gaggle of quilters and husbands.

There are many more photos because that's what my mom does...take photos...of everything but I'll stop there.  You get the idea.  There were a lot of folks there from family to high school to those crazy 20-something years to work friends.  But the majority were quilt friends because outside of blood family and a select few, quilting has been the tie that binds.

I was blessed the day I first picked up a needle and thread.

Birthday Surprises

A couple of nights before my birthday, we were sitting in the living room and both realized neither one of us had checked the mail that day.  So, David went to the door to get the mail (our mail box is on the house right outside the front door).  Suddenly, he says "what the...!!" and I look up and he's half hanging off the side of the stoop.  (Our front porch isn't big enough to be called a porch.)

He said he saw something floating down the hill right at him.  It was a pink balloon.  A pink Happy Birthday balloon.

Happy Birthday to me from the universe!

Is that weird or WHAT?

The next birthday surprise wasn't weird but fun just the same.  A get a text from my DH letting me know he's made a reservation at the Chop House for New Years Eve to celebrate my birthday.  I was surprised just by that - he's usually not one to go make plans for outings without prodding or input.  I was right proud of him!

Then, we got to the restaurant and the table was for six, not two!  He had called Quiltkeemosabe and Mr. Q and Nane and Go Postal to join us!  I can't tell you how tickled I was that he put this little celebration together for me!

It was the best of birthdays!

Brussel Sprouts

You either love them or hate them. No one seems to just like them. I LOVE them. Last night we went to one of our favorite neighborhood restaurants, Celtic Cafe. It was Dave's birthday. Celtic Cafe recently moved to a new location downtown so this was the first time we've been to the new digs. It was great. It has more of that Irish pub atmosphere and O'Brien has stepped up the menu now that he has a real kitchen in which to work. If you're in the neighborhood, please go check it out. It is fantastic.

Back to the brussel sprouts... I had prime rib, Irish potatoes, brussel sprouts. They were melt-in-your-mouth good. How many restaurants serve brussel sprouts? Not many to the chagrin of sprout lovers like me. I was in heaven.

Oh... and the prime rib...sigh...I may faint.

Happy Birthday, Mom

This is one of my favorite "pre-me" photos of my mom. I don't know what was so funny but it must have been good. Well...maybe not. Sometimes it doesn't take much to start that uncontrollable fit of laughter to come spilling out of my mother. She's fun like that.

She doesn't, however, like birthdays...her own in particular. Everyone else's she has always made a great big deal. So, I'll quietly say "Happy Birthday, Mom". Then move on to something funny to make her laugh...like a strawberry margarita. That should do it.

Happy! Happy!

When asked by my mother what I wanted for my birthday this year, my response was "a long weekend of peace and quiet to quilt at the lake". Well, I got the long weekend at the lake but the peace and quiet was a bit too much to ask. What I got was a long weekend at the lake with my husband, my dog, my parents and my two nephews (there lies the loss of peace and quiet, by the way).

Though not exactly what I was looking for, it was still a productive weekend for me. I got caught up on all my blocks of the month and pieced seven quilt tops. Here are a few.

Now, before you start yelling at me, with the exception of the last one, I had all the blocks pieced. I just had to set them in rows and put the top together. Three of the other tops not pictured are 9 patches (already pieced) and a square single patch set on point. I'll try to get pictures of them up tomorrow.

I am lucky to have a room to myself to quilt in upstairs in this house (I share it with my DH when he's not playing golf or watching TV). I come downstairs for meals and occasional conversation but mostly I am the "crazy aunt upstairs" which I like very much. Occassionally my nephews would come visit, mostly to chase Shelby and jump on the bed. They did take an interest in what I was doing though. The 8-year-old took a few scraps and arranged them in a little square and I sewed them together for him. If it were just him, I may have let him use the machine but with little brother there, I didn't want to risk it. The 4-year-old sat on my lap and wanted me to make the sewing maching go fast, which sent him in to howling laughter fits. (Sometime it just doesn't take much, you know.)

The highlight of my birthday weekend had to be the cake though. Grandmother and the boys made my cake and presented it to me at lunch. The boys decorated it themselves and then after lunch, the eldest got to cut the cake and serve it to everyone. Dessert and entertainment in one sweet package.

All I wanted was a long weekend of peace and quiet to quilt at the lake.

I got the long weekend.

I got the lake.

I got to quilt.

I traded peace and quiet for two wild little boys that made a big mess, made my dog exhausted, made me a cake, made me laugh and made a memorable birthday.

If I really wanted peace and quiet...I would have stayed home. This was much better.