Lucky me!

Have you ever seen anything as pretty as this umbrella?  It was Lina's present to me and she told me I was lucky to get it.  I can certainly understand how she would have liked to keep it for herself...

Yes, Olga, the atmosphere at the party was relaxed, with people all talking to each other.
Rather than one long table, we had three separate tables, which made intermixing much easier. Philip and Manami did an excellent job with the food.

Birthday party

I had a wonderful party lunch yesterday, with about 20 guests.  Lyndall made and decorated the cake and gave me one big candle (instead of 70 little ones).  My niece had had the photo of my mother restored and brought it with her, so we hung it on the wall during  the festivites.  (Mum died in 1998, aged 80, and we think the photo was taken when she was about seven.  The sideboard was hers, too - I had it restored for the Mayfield house.)

Everybody seemed to enjoy themselves and the food, prepared by Manami and Philip, was delicious.  I was given many lovely presents and feel very spoilt.  We were fortunate the wild weather of the previous night calmed down and the sun came out, with only one or two showers which didn't really matter, as the tables were set up on the deck which has a roof.

More birthday flowers

These beautiful flowers are from Philip and family.

Oh dear, it's POURING rain and windy today.  There's room enough on the deck upstairs for  three large tables for lunch tomorrow, but it will be such a pity if the weather isn't nice.

Today we'll all be busy with preparations.

Thanks for your lovely birthday thoughts, Olga.

The BIG 70

Mariko, my Japanese piano teacher, gave me these beautiful flowers for my birthday.  Thanks for your email greetings, Michael and Winifred.

I can't quite believe I'm 70 as only other people get old!  I still feel exactly the same inside as when I was 17.  And I still muddle along in life, finding experience doesn't help much.  If I have gained anything worth passing on, it is to not accumulate so much stuff.  I think I've moved house more than 30 times and have still ended up with far too much stuff.  The less you have, the better.

Of course, that does not include friends - I'm pretty good at accumulating friends.  I think I must appear friendly, as when I'm out I'm frequently approached by strangers asking directions.  And more than once I've been known to bring them home with me!!!

Birthday flowers

Goodness gracious me - I'll be 70 tomorrow!!!!  Hard to believe.  I bought these flowers - and many others - to brighten up the garden, as it's normally all green.

Thanks for your card, Frank and Rose.  The family are giving me a party lunch on Sunday, so I'm expecting to have a lovely time with friends.

Morning walk

This is the kind of house I saw on my walk this morning.  (I didn't take this pic, but got it online.) I love the tree-lined streets and beautiful gardens. I wonder if the owners realise just how privileged they are.  Had a coffee and croissant in my favourite patisserie and bought myself a new handbag.  I'd been looking for one for ages that has pockets on the outside for keys and bus/train tickets so I don't have to dig into the depths searching for them.

Crazy weather continues

Gone are the seasons - cold in winter, hot in summer.  This February, normally stinking hot and unbearably humid, has actually been cool (among a variety of things).  The other day I found Muffy buried under the doona on my bed, trying to get warm!

I swim most days, whether it's hot/cold/raining/blowing a gale.  No use waiting for suitable weather.