Oh what a lovely birthday. I mean it, I've had the loveliest celebration that lasted days and days. I've had, as I mentioned before, a slew of not-so-special birthdays, from plain old meh to downright miserable. Not this year. This year I felt cherished and loved and celebrated just the way a person should be on her birthday.

In eastern Virginia the lilacs are blooming around birthday time.

I took a great yoga class, and it was thrilling to watch friend after friend walk in to join us. Then off to lunch for more surprise guests and a fabulous meal. Not to mention presents! I wasn't expecting presents!

Neel and Callum took me to the beach for a picnic supper.

Here's Neel putting together the picnic table.

We snacked on chicken and olives and pistachios and champagne and watched Callum chase away the seagulls and the fog roll in. I spent a lot of time thinking about how much I love the ocean and how grateful I am to live near it. But those are thoughts for another post.

On Friday night, SOBO helped me celebrate with a fire pit, lots of food and, ahem, lots to drink too. It was my favorite kind of Friday evening. Hanging out in my most comfy clothes, kids and dogs running around. The buzz of laughter swirling around me.

Tyler made rum punch, Jean made Sangria, Rebecca made this lovely dessert and all I had to do was show up!

Even Bear Grills says there's nothing better for morale than a fire.

I love this picture of the morning after...testament to the wonderful evening we had. And even after that, the festivities weren't finished. Neel took me to dinner on Saturday night and surprised me with even more friends....my very favorite way to spend an evening. Good food, good drink, and the warm and wonderful company of those I am fondest of. My only regret was not having my camera handy, for lunch on my birthday, for dinner last night, for the tulips my dad sent me and for the extra helping of dessert that Rebecca made for my breakfast (right Neel?).

So here we are at thirty-eight, facing a whole new year. This past year has been a good one, and I have high hopes for the next. I guess birthdays are time to take stock, and I've been doing that too. I'll probably process that here as I figure out what is going on. For now it's enough to face the busy last months of school, Callum's play next weekend, and the one year anniversary of this little blog. I've been considering an overhaul...what do you think?