Remains

I have had a great week - last Tuesday was my birthday and I spent the day with my nearest and dearest around me. It made me feel really lucky to have these people in my life and having them care enough about me to make the effort to come from near and afar to spend an evening with me. Later in the week there was the monthly get-together at the quilt shop, old and new friends of all ages sharing the same interests, being generous with their help and inspiration - crafters truly are wonderful, giving people!
On Friday my big sister generously spent an afternoon driving me around town shopping for a new hoover after the old one finally gave up the ghost the day before my party after weeks of having dust bunnies stuffed down its throat manually. On Saturday my friends gathered to celebrate my day. I made couscous salad with lamb and chocolate mousse for dessert - forgot to take pictures before the party, nothing left to photograph after.... - and we spent a great evening chatting, drinking wine and laughing so much that my stomach muscles hurt afterwards.
And now the whirlwind of a week has passed. There's still some fudge cake left, and my old camera does really not make it justice - it's sooo moist and "fudgy", almost irresistible, I must say, and it really tells a lot about my self control that there is so much left of it still... I also got to bring out that old turquoise cake platter that was always on the table at my grandmother's parties, so she kind of took part as well. The wine will keep until more company arrives, though , I was never one for drinking on my own.
The birthday celebrations also brought some cash rewards, so now I'll stop moaning about my blurry photos - I'll just have to decide which camera to buy - lucky me :-D