Birthday Ramblings :-)

Yep.  It's my party (and I'll cry if I want to!)...  Nah - no need for tears today.  It's an awesome day and I fully intend to celebrate my LAST YEAR before I become eligible for AARP!!! (although I have NO doubt I'll start getting solicitations in the mail - any day now! :::sigh:::)

Soooo  "Whad'ja do?!  Whad'ja do?!"

Well, hubs opened the pool today (Yay!!!)

No more fretting about the dogs falling in (and *under*) the pool cover!

But the birds (who used to eat the seeds that blew onto the pool cover) are none too happy about it!

And I decided to tackle cleaning/setting up the Tiki Bar, in anticipation of my College Buddy D's arrival, later next week...

Ugh!  Messy work (but gratifying!)

"Thank God the Tiki Bar is Open" --John Hiatt

I actually accomplished a "fair amount" of stuff today.  Had a lot of krep that had accumulated on the bar (in the house) that really belonged "elsewhere" so I put a bunch of sh*t away.  Thankfully, D (who has been my friend since college - and I really don't care to calculate how many years that's been!!!), anyway D knows me and really doesn't care if my house is a little cluttered (and it definitely *won't* be spotless when she arrives)!  Nevertheless, I've been wanting to deal with some of that clutter for quite some time, anyway...

So, yeah, today was pretty productive - all things considered.  My hands are paying for it now - not sure how my feet will be tomorrow (but I remain guardedly optimistic).  Friggin' psoriasis!!!

"Soooo  whad'ja GET for your birthday?!!"

Wellll...  First off (not *really* a prezzie - but a nice surprise!), I found my first Stupice tomato in the Finny Farm!

Yay!! Stephanie!!!

Annnnnd...  Neighbor C brought me a jar of pretty flowers:

Bringing even MORE sunshine to the Tiki Bar!

(And, evidently, we are still waiting for Tele-Flora to make an appearance!)

Teleflora arrived! :-)

Friend P was up at the Studio doing a raku firing this morning, and she brought me this:

Super-awesome Raku Sun.  

Not sure what underglazes she used, but I know she put Clear Crackle and topped it off with Ferric Chloride to give it a shimmery golden effect (the photo really doesn't do it justice!).  I will hang Mr. Sunshine over the doorway on the inside of the Tiki Shack/Studio so he can keep an eye on things!

Annnnd, P brought me a blackberry plant - which will get potted-up sometime in the coming week...

And hubs...  Well, hubs gave me these really awesome books:

Brand-Spankin'-New "Sunset Western Garden Book"
(which really is My Bible!) (Totally "gets me thru winter!")

Western Garden Book of Edibles

Annnd...  What to do with all those Edibles?!  "Preserve 'em!"

Awesome!  Truly Awesome!!!

Annnnnd...  The Pièce de Résistance (for this - ahem - aging gardener):

"Some Assembly Required"

Assembly underway...

More assembly...

And throughout the assembly process, one of our neighbors has some kinda "Garage Band" or something and they were rehearsing (or performing?) in their backyard, so I got treated to a Freebie Live Birthday Concert!  No - it ain't Buffett, but - to be honest - they aren't half bad (Instrumentals: pretty good. Vocals: So-So, not great, but not horrible)...

Yayyyy!!!  Almost done!

All done!

So yeah, all told, I'd have to say it was a pretty productive and Very Nice birthday.  I'm sure we'll be heading out for dinner later tonight (lol - if I don't fall asleep first!)...  Yep a Nice Birthday all around!