Happy Birthday to me..

Last night I went to The Reef for a great and fun early birthday dinner with my friends - there were 8 of us all together, which is a very auspicious number :) especially given saturday's calendar date.

I had a yummy appetizer of scallops and prawns in curry, followed by the margot poisson, a lovely baked mahi mahi with roasted vegies. A few of us shared a lovely pitcher of pink rum cocktail which disappeared very quickly, and left us all quite happy.

Especially fun for me was that I was surprised by fabulous birthday gifts and treats - snacks, knitting, and reading.
Here it is together:-



and the details...

Wendy gave me "Knit Two" by Kate Jacobs. I'd read the first book "Friday Night Knitting Club" in soft cover, but haven't read this one yet. Haribo gummi bears and Tangfastics (my favs), and a huge jar of Pure Shea butter which I love using for my hands. She mined my Ravelry message posts to find my wishes...cool idea.



Marilyn gave me this fun bright bag and almost fluorescent umbrella so that I "don't get run over" on my way to coffee break. This is a private joke (ahem, now public) because we almost got run over in the mcdonald's parking lot near work one day when a guy stepped on the gas as we were crossing in front of his car. There would have been a lot of witnesses and the bonus would have been a flying lesson on Hillside avenue (which is a very busy road). The bag is big and roomy with pink handles (yes, still my favorite colour!), and has a smaller pocket inside.



Marjorie treated me to "Cashmere & Silk" for my birthday.
Here it is...

hiding in lotion form. :)
Also, she made these pretty handmade stitch markers with inspiring words (in English and Chinese). Here's a close-up:

and the card she gave me looks like a cute yarn guy - it's at the bottom left corner of the first pic.

and more - the latest Interweave Magazine Spring 2009 (hadn't bought this yet), a bottle of soak wash for my knit wear (yes, i'm excited about getting soap! - my knitwear is pretty excited about it too, come to think of it.), and a lovely and soft hand knit alpaca cord for a bronzit stone pendant (8-sided with a hole in the middle). Very pretty.



Deb found my queued wishlist and treated me to the Transition Gloves pattern and surprised me with a Namaste Cozy* in a pretty red-pink colour. *It's for straight needles.



Jen gave me a pink tape measure (handy and pink - I like that!) and handmade her gift - handmade pink stitch markers made with swarovski crystals, pearls, and sterling silver. She also handmade the box and the card -very crafty :)



Here's a close-up of the stitch markers - almost hooked Marilyn who was the only non-knitter/crocheter in our group. I could probably also use it as a pendant - yes, then, i'll always have one handy (lol).


and


From Sam, a handmade crafty envelope (she is crafty after all), and wonderful smelling tea from Nanaimo - Pink Pearl of Shanghai, and Lost Emperor's Treasures


Syl treated me to 5 packages of Argentinian Yerba Mate from Special Teas downtown - Regular, and flavoured - cranberry, mango, almond, and vanilla. I hadn't seen any of them other than the regular one. They all smell good and I've packed a couple of packages to bring into work on Tuesday.



For dessert, the restaurant gave me a fried banana smile with rum and honey sauce and 2 scoops of vanilla ice cream for eyes, with a cookie head, and lit a candle in the centre of the smile. I blew out the candle too fast; so I did a re-take and wished again, while my friends sang. Having only remembered my camera with the candle, I didn't get all of my friends in the pic.





Thanks gals - I had a great birthday party, and I've been royally spoiled this birthday. Warm fuzzy memories for years to come.