Happy Birthday To Me!!!!

It's my birthday today - I'm 47 years old and don't feel a day over 97!!!

This picture is the best I can do for baby/childhood photos - these three images were put onto a t-shirt for my 40th. In the centre I was probably about 11 months old - sitting in the coal house with a peg and a pop bottle, the right hand one about 8 years old and the left hand one around 13 or 14 years old - would you allow your daughter out with a hairstyle like that?

My lovely children had, after enormous unveiled hints, visited one of the fabric shops in town and each picked a fabric from the half-price rail to buy half a metre of. Sarah chose the brown after a description from me, Lou went for the red art deco design and Nick plumped for the green one with the wolves on - all fairly predictable in a lovely way. The pins were a useful extra - they know I use them all the time.

But then came the surprise - totally unexpected - a foot spa. I have problems with arthritis in my fingers - probably from too much stitching, not that it will stop me but......... also it seems to be affecting my feet too - this one not from stitching I hasten to add, although the extra weight I lug around obviously doesn't help. So the surprise will be very much appreciated and is a really thoughtful present. I will sit in my conservatory hand stitching away with my feet in some lovely warm scented bubbles. Sarah said as I unwrapped it - "we couldn't afford to send you to a spa so we brought the spa to you" - bless!

My sister had also had her thoughtful head on. She had been surfing around on ebay and purchased a beautiful antique silver thimble for me, still in it's original box.

It is tiny and will only fit on my little finger which leads me to think it was either owned by a very petite lady or possibly a child. On the top it is dented in slightly at one side and has obviously had some usage.

If you look carefully on the box you can see it came from a jewellers in the North East of England which is even more exciting - it may well have belonged to a Durham Quilter making north country quilts with their distinctive patterns. This makes it extra special then.

Oh how I wish it could talk :o)