Thank you for all of the birthday wishes! I so appreciate them – and you. These days, social media is an extravaganza of Happy Birthdays and I’m here to say I like it!
We had a lovely day; rather low key, by design, and full of peace. It started out with a FaceTime call from my sister and Little Z – he was very talkative and lively. Finally, he said “That’s all the news I have for you” and that was that. He makes me laugh.
Earlier in the day, Don wrote a a piece for acoustic guitar and as I was writing the blog, etc., I kept thinking how hauntingly beautiful it was. Later on, he told me that it was entitled, “Claudia.” I swooned. When he gets a good recording – he’s still learning it – I’ll share it with you.
Don made a simple comfort food dinner (fries!) and after dinner he presented me with a birthday pie with candles and my presents. A note about the pie – it’s a sugar-free apple pie that he found the recipe for online and he was worried it wouldn’t be good, but it was fabulous! Such a good pie! As you know, I prefer pie to cake and since I’ve gone sugar-free, it’s not always easy to find a good one – especially one that doesn’t have a dicey sugar substitute. I can’t remember the last time I had some pie. This one was perfect and I’ve already insisted that Don make it again for Thanksgiving.
Presents: a copy of The Moonflower Murders by Anthony Horowitz. It was just published here in the States, and a work table, not unlike our kitchen island, that has yet to be assembled.
This came about because I realized that working on dollhouses would be much easier for me physically if I had a taller surface. Right now, I have to torque my body into strange positions and it hurts my back. Where the heck I’m going to put it is another question!
And this. I sent a link to Don for both this and the book, knowing he might need some gift ideas. This is from Tiny Dollhouse in NYC.
A hand made umbrella stand, made by British artisan Tony Dunham. It came with two canes.
I thought it would be perfect for Dove Cottage and I’ve had it marked as a favorite for a long time.
I need to buy a couple of umbrellas.
Isn’t it lovely?
All in all, a wonderful birthday, with a FaceTime call from Rick and Doug, as well as calls from dear friends.
I am blessed.
Stay safe.
Happy Sunday.
Your favorite things on your day. Happy Birthday again…prayers for another restful day on your birthday weekend…
Thank you, Brenda.
Stay safe!
Belated birthday greetings dear Claudia
Sounds like you had a perfectly lovely day
Siobhan x
Thank you, Siobhan!
Stay safe.
Lovely, all. A couple of paper drink umbrellas would probably work for scale in your umbrella stand, too. When I had a life-size one, I always had a couple of paper parasols from Chinatown to add a bit of color. How special is a song written just for you!? I know, because I received one once 💖
He’s written a few for me, but only one on my actual birthday!
Stay safe, Shanna.
sounds like a wonderful way to spend any day … and especially a birthday … ease, cards, talking with family members and friends, perfect presents, a homemade sugar-free apple pie and being with the man of your dreams (who wrote a song for you)! i am happy for you!
hope you are having a good start today, too.
it’s cold here so we cancelled the (socially-distanced) sunday morning walk and hope to go after online church and lunch. in the meantime, i am taking it easy. i will do the ironing even though i could get by without it this week … only working tomorrow and friday (and am very happy about that)! might read a bit or see about knitting a hat.
hope you, don and everyone else here have a nice day and stay safe!
kathy in iowa
ps: might don share that apple pie recipe, please? thanks.
It’s cold and damp here as well. Rain today and tomorrow! So glad you only have to work two days this week, Kathy.
Stay safe.
It sounds like a fabulous day! I do love birthdays and this year they seem to mean more than ever! Now I must add Horowitz’s Moonflower to my list!
That umbrella stand is darling. So beautifully crafted. It looks just perfect by that door!
Enjoy the rest of your birthday weekend. You’ve worked hard this week!
Thank you, Jeanie. Relaxing today, except for putting the work table together and rearranging everything!
Stay safe.
Bonjour Claudia,
You will probably remember this very special birthday and these special circumstances. The most important thing is to believe in the future. We will overcome this dramatic crisis.
Très bon anniversaire encore Claudia.
Prenez bien soin de vous deux.
Merci, Helene!
Stay safe.
That sounds like a perfect day to me. I like pie better then cake also. The apple pie with no sugar sounds good. Love the umbrella stand! I find I have to adjust the way I do things to take care of my back also. Getting older is so much fun! Hugs!
We just had a piece of pie (refrigerated all night) and it was even better!
Stay safe, Linda.
Sounds like a perfect day for you. Great conversations, great food, thoughtful presents, and a song? What more could a gal want? ;)
Nothing!
Stay safe, Donna.
What a beautiful day you had!! One you will always remember. And a song….. really perfect! Who could ask for anything more? The umbrella stand is lovely. As are the walking sticks! I think a lot of us would like a “life sized” one just like it!!
Enjoy another day of peace. 2 in a row would be a beautiful thing, and a bonus gift!!
You’re not kidding! I do have one walking stick, but it was handmade by a longtime friend of my dad’s and it’s too beautiful to use.
Stay safe, Chris.
I’m glad you had such a nice birthday!
Brian and I ditched processed sugar about four years ago and were only relying on pure organic maple syrup or raw local honey (our neighbor-friend is a beekeeper) if we needed a sweetener for baked goods ~ though I don’t bake much anymore. However, the past few months, we’ve both fallen off the wagon and have had some yummy but bad-for-us cookies from Trader Joe’s. We both noticed the sugar was definitely an addiction – we were always wanting more. We decided last week we are DONE again. No more cookies/sugar. When I remind myself how awful it makes me feel and how it causes inflammation in the body ~ it’s a no-brainer on giving it up.
xoxo
I’ve been off sugar for well over a year now. This pie used apple juice (no sugar at all) and it’s a bit tart and it’s delicious!
Stay safe, Melanie!
Sounds like a perfectly lovely day…plus pie! Yum. That cane/umbrella stand is so dang cute! The cottage’s personality is being slowly revealed, like getting to know a new friend. Stay safe!
I feel the same way, Nora. It’s becoming a good friend.
Stay safe!
I’ve never seen a miniature umbrella stand like that! Is its design to be rattan? And the blue are like little ceramic tiles? So fab.
Next thing, would Don be willing to share the recipe for the apple pie? Like you’ve shared your recipe for the amazing cloud biscuits. I’d love to know how to make it (the pie) indeed without the fake sugars. Did he actually make homemade dough/crust? Wow.
Don is quite the guy; you hit the jackpot, Claudia; he’s so soulful and romantic (I keep hearing that Elton John tune, “This is a song for you…” [or how did that go, come to think of it; I was still in high school {maybe 1970-ish?}, was early-early Elton and I’ve always liked it, “My gift is my song, and this one’s for you; and you can tell everybody this is your song; I put down in words how wonderful life is while you’re in the world” … that’s Don to you; he put down in words what you mean to him).
I am having the best day I’ve had in a week. Yesterday, after six days of him not eating from as far as I could tell, my griefstricken ‘kitten’ (who’s now age 12 and who just lost his elderly mama cat on Monday night), took ONE bite out of his food bowl, and that’s also because I enhanced his regular protein-rich food with a few sprinkles of cooked ground turkey. I felt like a new person; FINALLY, he eats. And I watched an orange cat come visit him today, so maybe they’ll bond in some way in the back reaches of my heavily-foliaged rear yard/hillside.
I’m grieving the loss of the mama cat, much more than I ever thought I would (she wasn’t a lap cat; she was an outdoor/mostly-wild, feral cat; but she WAS in my life every day for 13 years almost TO the day, in fact, which is just weird [meaning she died the very same week in 2020 that she first came to me in 2007), but my husband and I spoke yesterday of how we have to pull out of this melancholy, we’re likely overly affected as well by everything going on in the news, we want to have an enjoyable and gratitude-filled Thanksgiving Day although it’s just the two of us, he wasn’t going to go back in the grocery stores for awhile but I’ve decided I need more plant-based eggnog and he wants a pecan pie from the store’s bakery, so we’re planning our week ahead with a focus to be brighter and get back some happy (not the least of which is comfort food!!!). And I talked to a friend today who’ll be alone on the holiday, so we’ve already planned to call each other again on Thursday because she said it’ll cheer her up although she’s being very sensible about gathering (not doing it) and I’m proud of her for being conscientious, and she’s trying to remind herself that next year will be different/better.
My husband went thru the garage last night (no easy feat) to find all the exterior holiday lights, so he’ll put those up on the house next Friday. And I decided not to get a ‘real’ tree this year; instead got a cheap but nice-enough 3-ft tabletop tree/artificial and I’m putting that up on Friday, too. Looking forward to the cheery twinkle of soft indoor multicolor lights (****no overly-bright LEDs for me indoors!!). My aforementioned friend said that, in her neighborhood, one guy already has up all his lawn inflatables like Santa and snowmen and reindeer. For this year, why the heck not? Do whatever makes you feel good!
****our town recently replaced all the street lamps with LEDs and I do NOT like it because we’ve lost the warm golden glow of old street lights (although the more realistic side of me knows it’s better on the city budget and is something the bad guys don’t like [extra light on the streets in the deep, dark night]) … but I went thru this with my husband when we had a cozy little cottage from the 1920s, when LEDs in table lamps and in ceiling lights just did NOT mesh with the old woods and how the home was designed; was just too harsh with cold/white light instead of warm/golden light; to me, it’s no different from our city’s old street lamps which date back as well to the 1920s if not before in certain sections of town; but, oh well, progress … I guess! (Bah-humbug. It is so odd to look out my front door at night to see my street all lit up and, frankly, it’s gonna mess with stargazing.)
I’m not a fan of LEDs. I don’t like the harsh light. They’re also too bright!
I’m getting anxious to decorate. I think everyone is decorating for the holidays a bit earlier this year. We need some joy!
Glad you’re feeling better, Vicki.
Well, my little fake tree arrived today so I’m feeling similarly, getting ready to clear the decks and find the right space; I did string some multicolor lights over a bit of furniture in the living room (like a cabinet) and I love them. I go years when I do only pastels or a white-clear lights palette, like a blue & white theme and I’ve done the soft-champagne-beigy/pink thing but, this year, I want multicolor with a lot of red and green.
And my husband couldn’t wait; he’s out there right now as we approach 3pm, FOR HOURS, stringing up some amazing thing to the outside of the house. I told him he doesn’t have to try to get it all done in one day…it’s still very early(!!), only November…but it’s a beautiful still-autumn day (as in no sign of rain or ‘winter’) here in SoCalif with a stiff breeze and a lot of hot sun when it’s right on you, but has technically only been in the 60s if barely 70 degrees; we’ll take it when we get it. I think our high is projected to be 68 degrees on Thursday for the holiday.
Seriously, Claudia; I can’t believe how these lights brought me ‘up’; if you’re feeling the yen, go for it.
We’ll do it soon. Not time yet, but soon.
It’s hand painted and papered to look like bamboo, Vicki.
I’ll ask Don about the pie. Hopefully, when he makes it again for Thanksgiving, I can copy the recipe for you guys. He didn’t make the crust, he bought a ready made crust – which is what I do, as well.
Don is the best. I am very blessed.
Stay safe!
Oh, thanks about the recipe for sure. I know someone who makes quiche a lot and she always buys a prepared pie crust; saves a lot of work and time. I’ve got a couple in my freezer right now in fact (and I confess to say that I don’t make my own pizza dough either; it’s just too easy to get the already-prepared dough in the frig section of the store, and it’s usually dated quite far ahead so has a good shelf life in the frig at home; I think there are freezer options, too, for pizza dough. And of course there’s always Pepperidge Farm puff pastry for the freezer, and dough sheets in the can if you want to make a quick pot pie. (I’m no cook; I vote for easy.)
xo
Sounds like a great birthday! Wishing you many more! The pie sounds really good. Nothing like a healthy dessert. Your new kitchen piece may be very helpful for your lovely dollhouses! Have fun with it!
Stay warm& safe, Claudia.
Thank you, Priscilla.
Stay safe!
Apple pie and a song for you! Perfect way to celebrate, methinks. Happy Birthday! May this trip around the sun be a joyful one.
And a taller surface to work at makes a huge difference. Enjoy!
Stay healthy and happy, Claudia.
Thank you, Roxie!
Stay safe.
Wishing you a belated happy birthday, Claudia! May you have another year of happiness and good health along with Don in your cozy cottage.
And thank you as always, for your lovely blog. You have no idea how much pleasure it brings me! It’s the only one I read on a regular basis these days.
Take care and stay safe,
Lily
Thank you for your kind words, Lily.
Stay safe.
Popping in from Meredith’s to wish you a belated very happy birthday. The umbrella stand is amazing, I had to read it twice to make sure I understood how big it was!
Thanks so much for visiting, CJ.
Isn’t my nephew adorable???
Stay safe.
OOPS – I wasn’t online Sat & Sun and missed your birthday – Happy Belated Birthday! That umbrella stand amazing sweet! So glad you had a lovely day.
Thank you, Dawn.
Stay safe!