Sunrise this morning.
Lovely, lovely day yesterday.
Aside from getting something from the IRS in the mail which indicated we owed a huge chunk of money, even though I had sent in our tax payment in early November, which led to me panicking, running upstairs to the office and then remaining on hold for 45 minutes until I could speak to someone. I was hoping against hope there was a simple explanation; that our payment hadn’t been processed yet when the letter was printed and that the discrepancy in the amount due was just an additional late fee.
Whew. That’s exactly what it was. We owe a mere $21.00. Major sigh of relief.
As all this happened right before we were due to leave for dinner, I wanted to get it out of the way so I could relax!
Don took me to a local restaurant that I knew of but hadn’t been to yet. It’s called the Gunk Haus. Gunk is a word used freely around here, a shorthand for the local mountain range, the Shawangunk Mountains. Gunk Haus opened a few years back and they have a great menu which includes some vegetarian and vegan dishes, along with their meat entrees.
(Photos will be dark as everything celebratory happened after the sun went down.)
Here’s my adorable husband.
And me.
The food was delicious and we’ll definitely be going back. It’s in an old house/barn, which has been beautifully restored.
We came back to the house and Don made me go upstairs while he ‘arranged’ everything:
The cake. Don’t you love the sentiment? It was made and decorated by a local bakery. It’s a flourless chocolate cake that is unbelievably swoon-worthy. Oh. My. Heavens.
The maestro with his birthday extravaganza.
I made a wish, blew out the candles and we gathered up the presents and retired to the den.
A box of caramels, some Crabtree and Evelyn hand cream and some foot balm (all set for winter!) I also received some earrings in a pretty leaf shape – as Don kept saying, “I know you love plants” – and the most beautiful snow globe I’ve ever seen (photos tomorrow). Neither of us is normally into snow globes but this one is incredibly well made and very striking. The scene is a large cardinal surrounded by snow. Don said it reminded him of winter life around our cottage. It’s really beautiful.
The large package you see there? When Don asked me what I wanted, I mentioned a certain something and he came through:
Another Wallace Nutting. This one is much larger than my other Nutting. It’s called “Apple Pool.” Don told me he spent a long time at the antique emporium, looking at one, than another, but he kept coming back to this one. It’s gorgeous.
A closer look.
On the back:
We’ve decided that as we gather more of these beauties, we’ll hang them on the wall in the office/studio. Dad’s painting has moved to the upstairs hallway and it looks great there.
A piece of cake – oh lordy! – and a little boy named Z singing Happy Birthday to me on the phone. A perfect day.
Thank you for all the birthday wishes! You are so wonderful, all of you!
More tomorrow.
Happy Tuesday.
Happy Belated Claudia! Such a lovely birthday celebration. Don’s sweet (and proud) gift presentation was adorable and sentiment on the cake made me laugh out loud. So glad you enjoyed your day and thank you for sharing with us so that we could enjoy it with you.
~ Cassandra
You’re most welcome, Cassandra! Thank you!
Sounds like a perfect day…except for that IRS thingy…grrrr! But cake always makes things better…and that one looks scrumptious! Love the Nutting! ;)
Oh, the cake is so good it’s sinful, Donnamae! The Nutting is now hanging on the wall in the office/studio. I love seeing it here.
What a happy celebration. My husband used to buy small snow globes for our girls when he went on business trips. I bought narrow IKEA shelves and mounted them over the bedroom and closet doors. Their snow globes run around half the room.
A perfect gift from their dad, Wendy. This one is gorgeous and I promise to share photos tomorrow.
Very handsome escort you had and he’s a super party planner to boot!…..Dianne
He is! (I think he’s much better at that sort of thing than I am!)
So glad you had a wonderful day, Claudia! I love your birthday celebration and the sweet touches Don added to it! That painting Is gorgeous!! And your cake made my mouth water!! 🎂 Can’t wait to see the snow globe!
The cake is sinfully delicious, Francine!
Don sure spoiled you with lots of birthday goodies.
He adores you and you him. I love that.
Are those cherry blossom trees in the painting?
Such a beautiful scene there.
The cake is perfect and I can tell it’s yummy with my
own smellivision. : )
I’m glad your day was special. You definitely deserve it.
Have a lovely Tuesday,
Monica
No, they are apple trees, Monica. Aren’t they beautiful?
What a great day (except for the IRS thing of course) but that turned out well also. I love going to a fun restaurant and a special dinner with your special guy is always a gift. Love his presents to you (can’t wait to see pics) and the Wallace Nutting is gorgeous. Your home is well suited for these amazing photos. Happy Birthday my friend, yes we will still feed you and love you at 64!! Hugs!
Oh good! I need food!
Looks and sounds like a magical celebration. You surely have a special guy.
I do, indeed, Shanna!
Happy belated birthday, Claudia, and I love your childhood photo from your post yesterday. So precious! Wonderful you had the royal treatment on your special day from your prince. The painting is gorgeous.
Thank you, Susan. He’s the best!
Don is so thoughtful and he made such a nice birthday for you!
He is! I am very lucky. So often, it’s just the two of us on a birthday and we try to make them very special!
So glad you had a marvelous day! The painting makes you feel like you could step into it. Until the cake photo, I could not think what Beetles song had an age in it! That husband of yours is truly one-in-a- million!
He is, Debbie. I’m a very lucky girl!
That cake is priceless! Such lovely, thoughtful gifts from Don. (He’s a keeper!)
Priceless and yummy, Barbara! He is indeed a keeper and I plan on doing just that!
Sounds like the perfect birthday celebration to me!
I think Don is a real keeper. :-)
He is! And don’t worry, Bridget, I’m not letting him go!
Looks like you had a wonderful birthday! Hope it turns out to be a fabulous year full of blessings and joy!
Thank you, Lori!
What a great day Claudia! I know you’re vegetarian…what did you end up having at the restaurant (love the name of that – Gunk!!). The Nutting is stunning.
Lentil soup with curry, and a risotto dish with chestnuts and kale and brussel sprouts (all grilled) that was delicious. A great smoky taste.
Oh my gosh – sounds wonderful!!!
It was!
So, Claudia, did you have chocolate cake for breakfast?
Remember, chocolate is made from beans, so that makes it a vegetable.
We’ve discussed this before, with regards to chocolate cupcakes.
Best wishes as you begin another trip around the sun .
Just had a piece for lunch, but I’m going to crash from all that sugar, Nancy.
Tell Don, “well done”.
I will, Mary. Thank you!
The Wallace Nutting is just gorgeous! It reminds me of Washington DC when the trees bloom in spring time. That cake is to die for cute! Your husband did very well at treating you to a wonderful birthday.
He did very well! But then again, he always does!
What a fun day. Don certainly made it special!! And the IRS thing ended up being ok, too. I would have done the exact same thing and not left until I knew for sure what was going on ~~ or I would have been obsessing over it all through the rest of the day.
I can’t wait to see the snow globe. Cardinals are so special! Remember ~~ when you see one in your yard….. it is someone who has passed, coming by for a visit!! That thought always makes me smile. Have a happy day-after-your-birthday!!!
I love cardinals. Don always forgets they’re called cardinals (although maybe not in the future) and calls them ‘the red birds.’
I’m so pleased you had such a wonderful birthday. You are in such a wonderful partnership it makes my heart glow. Sending you Blessings..
Thank you so much, Lesley!
I am so glad you had such a great birthday! Don really outdid himself. The Wallace Nutting is just gorgeous! The cake looks delicious. Can’t wait to see the cardinal snow globe (I sometimes call them red birds, too. ) They are my favorite of all the birds. Did you all get much snow? The news this morning said parts of upstate New York got several inches.
No, we had a scattering on the ground which melted. Upstate of us, yes, they got snow. So far, so good!
Belated Happy Birthday wishes Claudia! Don’s love for you shone through in your photos. How beautiful.
Thank you, Valerie!
Your day looks to have been so special. You certainly deserve it :) It sometimes brings good tears to my eyes to see how the two of you treat each other. Its a rare and beautiful thing to see two people so concerned with each others happiness.
Oh, thank you, Sue!
What a great birthday, Claudia. Nice haul too, I must say. Your Wallace Nutting is just beautiful. And that flourless chocolate cake is making me salivate. Now that I know gluten has been causing my lifelong skin issues, I steer clear of it as much as possible and have become a massive fan of flourless cakes. So far, the best ones to me have ALWAYS been the chocolate ones. Yum, yummier, yummiest! ⭐️
It’s so rich, Janet! Oh my goodness. I have to cut back now, I don’t usually eat anything with sugar and so this is almost overwhelming!
PS – I forgot #ThisIsNotNormal. Mea culpa. See how easy it is to forget?
Exactly!
Happy birthday and many more! Now I can rest as I have finally finished your entire blog from Alpha to Omega. My opinion? Best blog ever! The dogs, the flowers , the pottery. Little Z, who could solve the energy crisis just by smiling. Best picture of all? Don stocking up on mallomar cookies. Thank you for being so human! We should never let our differences distract us from the bigger picture.
Best wishes from Best Bun.
Oh my goodness! You went back to the beginning??? More power to you, Best Bun! Thank you so much for your support and for liking the blog! So glad to have you with us!
I’m sorry I missed your birthday this year Claudia….I had to have the internet taken out of “his” name and put in mine so we had no service for a few days…Thank goodness I love books or I would have been bored to tears!..lol…I see that Don planned a great day for you as usual…I’m going to catch up with what I missed…From me, Alice & all her friends!
A very merry
Unbirthday to you,
To you, A very merry
Unbirthday to you,
To you,
It’s great to
Drink to someone,
And I guess that
You will do,
A very merry
Unbirthday to you!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RdsZT7WKjW8
Thank you, Nancy!
A very belated Happy Birthday! Looks like it was a perfect celebration. Did that cake taste as good as it looked? Now you get to keep on celebrating. Happy Thanksgiving, too!
That cake was extraordinarily good, Judy!
A belated Happy Birthday Claudia! Sounds like a perfect bday to me and your presents sound lovely. I hope this year brings you much joy.
Thank you, Brenda!